And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?
About the middle of the Feast of Tabernacles Jesus went up into the temple and taught, and His hearers marveled at His knowledge of Scripture and the law, the clearness of His interpretation and the force of His reasoning. Letters does not mean He could not read, but that He had never received a rabbinical education under the scribes and recognized teachers, and their wonder was heightened because they knew His poor and lowly life of manual labor with no schooling beyond His parents. His lesson book was the Old Testament Scriptures together with the book of nature, learned through diligent study, observation of God's works, worship at Nazareth and Jerusalem, and communion of His soul with God from childhood. His answer was that His doctrine was not His own but His Father's, and that anyone willing to do God's will as expressed in the Ten Commandments can know whether the teaching is from God. His wisdom came from God as His instructor, showing that formal college education is not necessary to understand and preach the gospel when Christ speaks through His servants and the Holy Spirit gives the increase.
Meaning and Historical Setting
About the middle of the Feast of Tabernacles Jesus went up into the temple and taught, and it was then that the Jews marveled at His knowledge. That feast was a seven-day celebration in Jerusalem attended by people from Palestine and other lands. It was marked by thanksgiving for the year's harvest and God's goodness, with people of every age and social standing bringing gifts and decorating the city with branches from the woods.
The words about letters and having never learned do not mean that Jesus could not read. They mean He had not received a rabbinical education and had not studied under the learned scribes, doctors of the law, and recognized religious teachers. Religious teachers were expected to have that training, so Jesus and John the Baptist had been called ignorant and unlearned for lacking it. He had not studied in the rabbinical schools, had not attended the Jewish schools, and had not attended the schools of the rabbis or any school to learn His letters. Those schools and their rabbis taught largely human traditions and human sayings added to God's law, which could contradict God's word and corrupt the mind.
The Jews and the people marveled at His knowledge of Scripture and the law, the clarity of His interpretation, and the force of His reasoning. Some wondered where He had studied and asked where He had learned, even as others sought grounds to accuse Him. The rulers tried to shift attention from His teaching to His authority to teach. Their surprise arose because they judged His knowledge by schooling rather than recognizing its divine source.
Their astonishment was heightened because they knew His humble position and His humble parentage, which did not provide the education they considered essential. His parents were poor, His youth was spent in poverty and manual labor at the carpenter's trade with His father, He attended no school and had no temporal advantage over the humblest citizen, and all the lessons He received were from the lips of Joseph and Mary. The same superior wisdom and judgment had appeared when, as a twelve-year-old from a poor family, His discerning questions and answers among the learned teachers astonished them although He had not received the advantages of formal education.
His educational advantages were daily lessons from the Old Testament Scriptures, the Sabbath service at the synagogue at Nazareth, the yearly festivals in the temple, and the communion of His soul with God. His knowledge came through diligent study of Scripture, observation of God's created works, and spiritual growth from childhood. The book of nature open to Him together with the Old Testament Scriptures was His lesson book, containing richer knowledge than all the productions of human art and learning, and accessible to all.
His knowledge included a clear understanding of the law in all its bearings, with clear interpretation of Scripture and clear knowledge of the law and Scriptures in His teaching and discourse. That understanding surpassed that of the learned priests and elders and exceeded that of the learned priests, though He had no formal scholarly training and had not studied in the recognized schools. The same wonder was seen when, as a twelve-year-old, He displayed superior wisdom and judgment through His questions and answers among the learned teachers, which astonished them and opened new understanding of His mission.
Divine Source and Present Lesson
The question opens the way for the answer that the doctrine taught is not of self but of the One who sent Him, the Father, and that anyone who is willing to do God's will shall know whether the teaching is from God or from self. Knowing whether the doctrine is of God is tied to doing God's will, which is expressed in the Ten Commandments, so that by obeying them men shall know of the doctrine. That knowledge comes through willingness to obey God rather than merely through natural talent or acquired learning. God has a kingdom controlled by laws that must be obeyed because He rules the universe as head, just as a father stands at the head of his family requiring obedience to the laws regulating it, with order and happiness when they are respected and confusion when they are not.
The rabbinical schools largely taught human traditions added to God's law, repeating human sayings that could contradict God's word and corrupt the mind. In contrast the teaching given was truth in harmony with the Old Testament and the law given at Sinai. Knowledge of the Scriptures came because Mary taught Him and He learned to read and study them for Himself, though He had not attended the Jewish schools. His wisdom and knowledge came from God, who was His instructor, an education of a higher kind in which He drew knowledge from the tree of life. For this reason Jesus and John the Baptist were called ignorant and unlearned by the educators because they had not studied under the recognized religious teachers and rabbis, yet their knowledge of Scripture astonished their hearers, their questions and answers opened new understanding of His mission, and challenged the leaders' claim to be enlightened.
The same wonder is seen when those who have never learned letters present clear, precious truth as it is in Jesus, because Jesus is in their midst speaking through His servants and the Holy Spirit makes the impression upon hearers. The seed is sown and the gospel trumpet gives no uncertain sound, and those who speak know whereof they speak, while the result does not depend merely on what the minister says but on what the Lord does in impressing the hearers. A Paul may plant and an Apollos water, but God gives the increase. Christ lived simply and taught the truth without college education, and His example shows that formal schooling is not necessary to understand and preach the gospel, while human lips are to share sacred truths as He did.
About the middle of the Feast of Tabernacles Jesus went up into the temple and taught, and His hearers marveled at His knowledge of Scripture and the law, the clearness of His interpretation and the force of His reasoning. Letters does not mean He could not read, but that He had never received a rabbinical education under the scribes and recognized teachers, and their wonder was heightened because they knew His poor and lowly life of manual labor with no schooling beyond His parents. His lesson book was the Old Testament Scriptures together with the book of nature, learned through diligent study, observation of God's works, worship at Nazareth and Jerusalem, and communion of His soul with God from childhood. His answer was that His doctrine was not His own but His Father's, and that anyone willing to do God's will as expressed in the Ten Commandments can know whether the teaching is from God. His wisdom came from God as His instructor, showing that formal college education is not necessary to understand and preach the gospel when Christ speaks through His servants and the Holy Spirit gives the increase.
Meaning and Historical Setting
About the middle of the Feast of Tabernacles Jesus went up into the temple and taught, and it was then that the Jews marveled at His knowledge. That feast was a seven-day celebration in Jerusalem attended by people from Palestine and other lands. It was marked by thanksgiving for the year's harvest and God's goodness, with people of every age and social standing bringing gifts and decorating the city with branches from the woods.
The words about letters and having never learned do not mean that Jesus could not read. They mean He had not received a rabbinical education and had not studied under the learned scribes, doctors of the law, and recognized religious teachers. Religious teachers were expected to have that training, so Jesus and John the Baptist had been called ignorant and unlearned for lacking it. He had not studied in the rabbinical schools, had not attended the Jewish schools, and had not attended the schools of the rabbis or any school to learn His letters. Those schools and their rabbis taught largely human traditions and human sayings added to God's law, which could contradict God's word and corrupt the mind.
The Jews and the people marveled at His knowledge of Scripture and the law, the clarity of His interpretation, and the force of His reasoning. Some wondered where He had studied and asked where He had learned, even as others sought grounds to accuse Him. The rulers tried to shift attention from His teaching to His authority to teach. Their surprise arose because they judged His knowledge by schooling rather than recognizing its divine source.
Their astonishment was heightened because they knew His humble position and His humble parentage, which did not provide the education they considered essential. His parents were poor, His youth was spent in poverty and manual labor at the carpenter's trade with His father, He attended no school and had no temporal advantage over the humblest citizen, and all the lessons He received were from the lips of Joseph and Mary. The same superior wisdom and judgment had appeared when, as a twelve-year-old from a poor family, His discerning questions and answers among the learned teachers astonished them although He had not received the advantages of formal education.
His educational advantages were daily lessons from the Old Testament Scriptures, the Sabbath service at the synagogue at Nazareth, the yearly festivals in the temple, and the communion of His soul with God. His knowledge came through diligent study of Scripture, observation of God's created works, and spiritual growth from childhood. The book of nature open to Him together with the Old Testament Scriptures was His lesson book, containing richer knowledge than all the productions of human art and learning, and accessible to all.
His knowledge included a clear understanding of the law in all its bearings, with clear interpretation of Scripture and clear knowledge of the law and Scriptures in His teaching and discourse. That understanding surpassed that of the learned priests and elders and exceeded that of the learned priests, though He had no formal scholarly training and had not studied in the recognized schools. The same wonder was seen when, as a twelve-year-old, He displayed superior wisdom and judgment through His questions and answers among the learned teachers, which astonished them and opened new understanding of His mission.
Divine Source and Present Lesson
The question opens the way for the answer that the doctrine taught is not of self but of the One who sent Him, the Father, and that anyone who is willing to do God's will shall know whether the teaching is from God or from self. Knowing whether the doctrine is of God is tied to doing God's will, which is expressed in the Ten Commandments, so that by obeying them men shall know of the doctrine. That knowledge comes through willingness to obey God rather than merely through natural talent or acquired learning. God has a kingdom controlled by laws that must be obeyed because He rules the universe as head, just as a father stands at the head of his family requiring obedience to the laws regulating it, with order and happiness when they are respected and confusion when they are not.
The rabbinical schools largely taught human traditions added to God's law, repeating human sayings that could contradict God's word and corrupt the mind. In contrast the teaching given was truth in harmony with the Old Testament and the law given at Sinai. Knowledge of the Scriptures came because Mary taught Him and He learned to read and study them for Himself, though He had not attended the Jewish schools. His wisdom and knowledge came from God, who was His instructor, an education of a higher kind in which He drew knowledge from the tree of life. For this reason Jesus and John the Baptist were called ignorant and unlearned by the educators because they had not studied under the recognized religious teachers and rabbis, yet their knowledge of Scripture astonished their hearers, their questions and answers opened new understanding of His mission, and challenged the leaders' claim to be enlightened.
The same wonder is seen when those who have never learned letters present clear, precious truth as it is in Jesus, because Jesus is in their midst speaking through His servants and the Holy Spirit makes the impression upon hearers. The seed is sown and the gospel trumpet gives no uncertain sound, and those who speak know whereof they speak, while the result does not depend merely on what the minister says but on what the Lord does in impressing the hearers. A Paul may plant and an Apollos water, but God gives the increase. Christ lived simply and taught the truth without college education, and His example shows that formal schooling is not necessary to understand and preach the gospel, while human lips are to share sacred truths as He did.