Verse 10, But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret.  No pomp, no applause, no attention…it’s not time for that yet.  And I like this because remember what the Feast of Tabernacles points to…that final day when all will be restored, where we will forevermore be with Him in perfection and in the presence of the Father…that is a road that Jesus must pave for us alone.  And so He makes His way alone to that city where in just six short months He will accomplish the plan laid out from the foundations of the world to bring about the eternal Feast of Tabernacles, the symbol of the prize as it were for the sufferings that lay before Him…He goes it alone, yet He goes it!

Verse 11, Then the Jews sought Him at the feast, and said, “Where is He?”  Per the Law, if a Jewish male lived within 15 miles of Jerusalem then He was obligated to attend this feast, outside of 15 miles Jewish males were supposed to but if they didn’t make it then it wouldn’t be considered breaking the law…and so the people gathered there, most likely in the synagogue as that is where we find Jesus in just a moment and they expect Him to be there. 

Notice….Jesus, healing, working miracles, teaching of God, proclaiming even to have come down from heaven…He is expected by the people to be in church…they look for Him at the synagogue.  You know it’s the same with us…people find out we’re Christians and they expect us to be church-goers and I believe it hurts our witness when we don’t attend fellowship. 

If we ourselves are flippant about Bible study, or prayer, or going to church then an outsider could say, “Well He’s a Christian or she’s a Christian, and they don’t always go to church, I guess I can be a Christian too and not go to church.”  How are we going to infect if we ourselves are not infected?  Jesus commanded His disciples to “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”  And what do we see in the scriptures but Jesus always being found in the temple, always being found in the Synagogue. 

And I’ve known people over the years who have stopped going to church because there’s nothing new being taught by the pastor.  Which in a way is very true.  I don’t strive to discover new truth to keep our studies interesting, in fact I find that borderline heretical.  We simply teach through the Bible, verse by verse.  But think of it this way, is there anything that any Rabbi or pastor could have taught Jesus?  Yet He was always found in the temple, yet He was always attending service at the Synagogue…what an important example for us that if our Lord was faithful in attending church, so we should be and the people actually expect it of us…those that are watching, those that are studying, seeing if this Jesus is indeed Lord…and these folks expected to see Jesus there in the temple…

Verse 12, And there was much complaining among the people concerning Him.  Some said, “He is good”; others said, “No, on the contrary, He deceives the people.”  Sounds like a debate on a college campus doesn’t it?  There is nothing new under the sun and this continues even today. 

Verse 13, However, no one spoke openly (or freely – no one had cheerful courage – the word there is parresia) of Him for fear of the Jews.  Fear is a tool of the enemy.  It is not an emotion of caution that God sends upon us to warn us of danger…like spidey sense…I believe it is a form of hate, a manifestation of suffering…a fruit of torture.  Why, because fear conceives and bondage is born…

1 John 4:17-18 says, Love has been perfected among us in this:  that we may have boldness (parresia – there it is again – FREEDOM / LIFE) in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.  There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves (or envokes) torment.”  Perfect love casts out fear and God has not given us a spirit of fear but a spirit of power, love and a sound mind (2 Tim 1:7). 

These folks, the ones who called Him good, were silenced, they were entrapped by fear.  Proverbs 29:25 says that the fear of man brings a trap, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe, strong, full of courage and free! 

Verse 14, Now about the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught.  And the Jews marveled, saying, “How does this Man know letters, having never studied?”  Twice before we have seen Jesus in the temple as we have studied John’s gospel.  The first time we found Him cleansing the temple, the second time we found Him with the man He had healed there by the pool of Bethesda, and now we find Him there again in the temple, teaching.  And that I believe is an interesting pattern.  Jesus cleanses, He heals and then He teaches.

Before I can powerfully learn the things of God, before I can effectively hear His voice and see Him at work, my heart must be cleansed of false gods, healed of idolatry.  These false gods, these idols, all they do really is harm me…keep me in a state of bondage.  And really, on my own, it’s hopeless bondage.  So where does my help come from?  Well notice…it is the Lord who cleanses, it is the Lord who heals…it is the Lord who teaches…we simply turn to Him in spirit and in truth…in readiness and in genuine submission, and the 1-800-GOT-JUNK trucks just pull up man!  That junk just starts to come out!  And pretty soon, your home is in order, you are in your right mind, and free!!

And so the Jews here they marveled, they wondered among themselves and the word there in the Greek speaks of admiration…He’s not Jesus of Nazareth, PHD…or Jesus of Nazareth, MBA…He has no letters to speak of His qualifications, yet He has mastered the scriptures!  Interesting that they don’t speak of His subject matter but rather His academic accuracy…

Verse 16, Jesus answered them and said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.  So Jesus says, wanna know why you marvel?  Because the doctrine that I teach is not the doctrine of men…it is not the doctrine that is taught in your schools but rather it is the doctrine of God! 

You don’t need to attend seminary or Bible college to be prepared to speak words of life and truth and correctly discern the Bible…I’m not saying those things are a waste, not at all, I’m just saying that they are not imperative.  

Martin Luther, John Wesley, John Wycliffe, Billy Graham, Chuck Smith, Kirk Cameron, Tim Tebow…you have the same Bible they do…C. H. Spurgeon, the man most used of God in biblical teaching during the previous century was a graduate of nowhere…but a diligent seeker of God, freely courageous trusting in Jesus and powerfully effective in his ministry!  The only imperative to discerning the Bible, humility.  Psalm 25:9 says the meek, the humble is to whom He teaches His way.” 

And Jesus, clothed in humility says to these people, I teach the doctrine of God the Father, not my own!

Verse 17, If  anyone wills to do His will, (so cool there, Jesus says man has will AND God has will, not mutually exclusive)  If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.  So humility, placing God’s will above your own, truly placing His will above your own, not just in desire and intention but in reality and action, will provide discernment as to what is and what is not of God…and that is why so many are so easily led astray by false teachers now a-days.  Prosperity teachers and even cult movements that deny the deity of Jesus…at their core is a desire to do their own will.  A desire to achieve their own righteousness and benefit…not God’s will and ways.    

Verse 18, He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but he who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.  So there it is, and look for this, who does that person on tv or that person on the radio seek to glorify?  Man or God?  Are they keyed in on the here and now, or are they keyed in on eternity?  What are you keyed in on?