Monday 2nd October
Read John 7:14-18
“Not until halfway through the festival did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. 15 The Jews there were amazed and asked, ‘How did this man get such learning without having been taught?’
16 Jesus answered, ‘My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. 17 Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. 18 Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him.” (NIVUK)
By standing in the temple courts and teaching Jesus claims training in the scriptures that everyone knows He did not receive from any rabbi. By teaching without citing His sources, Jesus could be accused of arrogance and independence of thought, but He clears that up immediately. His training and His teaching comes from ‘the one who sent me’, from the Father. He does not teach like a prophet but is greater than all of them.
How can one prove that their words come from God? Normally debate would ensue that compared teachings with long-standing traditions and with scripture. Indeed, we regularly encourage people to question what is taught from the front to see if it aligns with God’s words. But Jesus is not entering into this kind of debate. Jesus argues that the truth of His words is authenticated by those who seek to follow God with their whole hearts. It is authenticated internally. Only those whose hearts are fixed on God can recognise that this teaching of Jesus also points towards God and His glory.
So often our words and actions betray us. We are less concerned about honouring and obeying God then we are with looking good to those around us. We favour personal glory over divine glory. Often that personal glory is established by setting oneself up as the arbiter or judge of truth. But divine revelation can only be assessed from the inside, never from the outside. How can we, flawed as we are, ever stand in judgement of God’s words. No, Jesus is saying that those who truly seek God’s will find that when they hear Jesus, they hear God.
