John 7:15

Once there, the people in the temple, mainly Jews, are asking among themselves, “How does this man know so much, without so much as a formal education, as far as we know?”  John 7:15 EFP 

I tend to believe this text is a reference to the general populace in the Temple court.  Sometimes the term “the Jews” refers to the Jewish leadership or the religious rulers, but in this case a reference to the people in general makes more sense.  After all, the Jewish leaders have already made up their minds about Jesus.  They already know Jesus is not just another run-of-the-mill prophet.  He is not a political revolutionary intent on overthrowing the Roman rule.  They are past this question have moved on to, “How do we get rid of Jesus?”

Yet it remains intriguing to see the difficulty people have with Jesus as a learned teacher without the credentials associated with Rabbis of the day.  Two things are in conflict:  He knows a lot, perhaps more that the teachers of the law.  He also speaks with authority, as opposed to those who spoke on the authority of others (Read Mark 1:22).  Secondly, they also know he is not the product of formal rabbinical teaching.  This they must have heard through the grapevine.  On the other hand, his way of teaching was not the way the “certificated” teachers taught.  

It is the combination of these two qualities that the people find enthralling.  He is different.  He knows his stuff.  He speaks as a person who speaks from personal experience.  His authority does not comes from his educational credentials, but from a higher authority.  There is a something to be said about being seen in that light today.  It’s called authenticity.  It’s such a desired quality, but so hard to truly achieve.  Help me, Lord!