Rabbi simply means “my great one”—rab is “great” or “big” or “important,” and i at the end means “my.” So “rabbi” can be a general title of respect for someone, like we say, “Thank you, sir,” or just like “reverend.” “Reverend” used to be an unofficial term of respect for a holy person, but now you write “Reverend” with a capital R because it’s become an official title, which has a more restricted meaning. In the same way, Jesus is called “rabbi,” and perhaps with a small r, on thirteen occasions