Teachers understand that one of the principles of successful teaching and effective learning is that of repetition. It is always a source of joy for a teacher to have students who comprehend new concepts the first time they are explained. The percentage of students with this capability is usually somewhat low, however, because the majority of us need to hear new things more than once, and sometimes several times before we come to any degree of comprehension.
Most people require review on a regular basis. It is probably a good thing for most of us that Jesus’ disciples were average in their learning abilities because this meant He had to repeat His teachings often and give them reminders of what He had taught them previously. Sometimes He taught truths that were more difficult to receive or understand, however. Some were even met with dismay, leading many to turn back from following Him. We have an example of such a difficult teaching by Jesus in this week’s text (Bible, Expositor and Illuminator Union Gospel Press, Winter December 2020, January, February 2021).