When Jesus spoke, people were blown away. From the beginnings of His public ministry, when He taught in the Capernaum synagogue on the Sabbath, those who heard Him “were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (Mark 1:22). One time, when He preached in His home “church” in Nazareth, those who listened were astonished at His words and said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?” (Matt 13:56) And this morning, I’m reading that when Jesus taught at the temple during the Feast of Tabernacles the Jews marveled, saying, “How does this Man know so much, given that He’s never been formally trained or educated?” (John 7:15)
The question on the minds of those who heard Jesus was simply, “Where does He come up with this stuff?”

Isn’t that the question of the ages? And Jesus’ answer is simple, “My teaching is not mine, but His who sent me” (John 7:16 ESV).

Jesus spoke not as a man, but as the Son of Man . . . the promised Messiah . . . the One of whom Isaiah would prophesy, “The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.” (Isa. 11:2). He didn’t need to “make it up as went”, the teaching was sourced from heaven itself . . . from the Father . . . through the Spirit . . . spoken by the Son . . . marveled at by the people.

The complexities of the Trinity . . . the interwoven dynamics of Immanuel, God in flesh . . . both come into play here . . . not sure that my mind can really wrap itself around it. But, what I do know is that Jesus spoke the way He spoke . . . taught the way He taught . . . impacted people the way He impacted people . . . because of divine plagiarism. The material didn’t originate with the man Jesus, but had been drafted from before the foundations of the earth by the Three-in-One God of eternity. His words weren’t original to Him, in a sense . . . but they were the very words of God Himself. Jesus didn’t speak on His own, but spoke the words taught to Him by the Father (John 8:28) . . . the Father directed the Son on what to say and how to say it (John 12:49). No wonder it blew people away . . . His was the voice of God itself . . . speaking a word that was, quite literally, from out of this world.

Oh, what would it have been like to hear Him teach? Talk about your powerful sermon! When Jesus spoke no one was falling asleep in the back row . . . when Jesus taught the impact was tangible, even if their understanding was yet clouded. His was always a powerful message . . . the delivery always a Spirit empowered delivery . . . when Jesus opened the Scriptures it ignited the hearts of those who had ears to hear (Luke 24:32) . . . “No man every spoke like this Man.” (John 7:46)

But, there is a dynamic by which I can hear Him. No, there isn’t a podcast I can download . . . and I can’t go pull a video off of His website . . . but I have the God-breathed Scriptures before me . . . and the God-placed Spirit inside me . . . and with that combo, His words . . . those divinely penned and placed words of the Father . . . can be as fresh and powerful as when they were first delivered. They can set my heart to burning . . . they can stir my inner man . . . they can evoke within me the same awe and wonder. And Jesus’ promise to the crowd that day in temple is a promise to me too, “Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own.” (John 7:17 NLT).

Speak Lord, for your servant is listening . . . (my own plagiarism . . . 1Samuel 3:9)