What was the crowd’s perception of Jesus? Among other things…

About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning when he has never studied?” So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.” (John 7.14 – 16, ESV)

It’s a presumption that Jesus had never studied! He hadn’t studied under one of their known teaching rabbis, apparently. That’s an interesting choice by the Father. Jesus may have wanted to study. That’s what the incident at the Temple was about when he was 12. But God preferred that his Son be a layman! I wrote about this before.

Of course, they said the same thing about the apostles in Acts chapter four.

The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. (Acts 4.13, NLT)

What can we learn here? I don’t want to put down seminaries, but it’s apparent that Jesus himself and his original followers presented themselves as laymen. Only Paul had studied under a rabbi, but that teaching was medium useless. (His exposure to the Old Testament wasn’t useless, but he wouldn’t have learned anything from Gamaliel about Jesus.)

The major lesson is that God can and will use any of us!

Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. But the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ Now therefore hear the word of the LORD…” (Amos 7.14 – 16, ESV)