Scripture to Read: John 7:14–18
Though Jesus had entered Judea in secret, about midway through the week of the Feast of Booths, Jesus went to the temple and began to teach. The Jews were blown away by Jesus’ teaching. We read in John 7:15, The Jews then were astonished, saying, “How has this man become learned, having never been educated?” The Jewish leaders knew that Jesus had never been taught by any of them, so they wondered how He could know what He knew as He taught that day in the temple. Jesus, knowing what they had said, responded to them by saying in John 7:16–18, “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me. 17 If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself. 18 He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.” Jesus told them that He had learned from the One who sent Him. Of course, we know God the Father sent Him. But Jesus also said that anyone willing to follow God the Father’s will would understand His teaching. Jesus also clarified that He was there to glorify God the Father and not Himself. Therefore, Jesus said that everything He spoke was (and is) true, and there was no deceitfulness in Him. We must remember that Christ is the Truth and that apart from Him and His Word, we have no absolute truth to live by.
Challenge & Application
• Why did Jesus’ teaching blow away the Jews?
• How do we know that Jesus’ teaching is Truth and that there is no absolute Truth apart from Him?
Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!