Pharos Journal of Theology (Jan 2017)
Christ the Communicator and Educator
Abstract
This article investigates how Christ communicated with others, which resulted in His disciples establishing the early Christian church as a religious movement which eventually established a separate religion from Judaism, although greatly based upon it. Christ employed various forms of communication in teaching and preaching about the Kingdom of God. While on the opposite end the social setting, the religious leaders of Christ’s day employed various forms of communication to oppose the teachings of Christ and deny that He was the Son of God. Though the religious leaders were of the belief that they had ultimately won by having Christ crucified, it must have been disappointing for them to see Christianity starting as a movement and becoming an organisation with no bounds. The theoretical framework for this study is on Shannon Weaver Model of Communication and Cooperative Learning Theory. The Shannon Weaver Model of Communication because Christ is often seen as the sender and His audience the receiver and they in turn sent him feedback; the Cooperative Learning theory because although Christ taught large audiences, He also taught small groups of people. One specific small group was His twelve disciples which he mentored over a period of three and a half years. Although Christ taught many individuals, it was these twelve that were recognised as His Apostles. Jesus assessed His audiences and communicated with each group or individual so as to make the greatest impact on them. He spoke only truths and imparted His messages in a vibrant and dynamic fashion and considered relevance. This study method employed was desktop research using inter alia, a wide range of electronic and other relevant sources such as academic journals. The conclusion is that Jesus Christ’s possessed excellent communication and teaching strategies when dealing with His intended audiences.
