Subject: Elitism - John 7-9

John 7:15 (ESV Strong's)
The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?”

Subject:  Intellectual Elite

During the Festival Jesus comes onto the scene, not in public array, but privately.   In this account of John we read that He enters the Temple and begins to teach them.  As He begins to teach the "Jews" (the Spiritual Elite of the day ... to them, they were the "enlightened Ones").  We have other accounts from the other Gospel writers that speak of the response of the others in the crowd. Mark 1:22 states that the people were astonished at His teaching because He taught them as one "having authority and not as a scribe."   In Luke 4:22 we read that they "marveled at the gracious words coming from His mouth."  They were amazed because they knew He was "Joseph's son."  For someone to speak (especially in the Temple) of spiritual things, with no "formal" training, it was unheard of.  Note the following commentary thoughts:

(Word Biblical Commentary)  Authority and graciousness were the marks of his speech, but both in Nazareth and in Jerusalem it caused anger (for "amazement" in a pejorative sense cf. v 21). That he taught "not as the scribes," i.e. without appeal to rabbinic authorities ("Rabbi A. B. said in the name of Rabbi CD.…"), and that he had not served as a disciple of an acknowledged rabbinic master are one. If this fresh mode of teaching delighted the crowds, it scandalized the Jerusalem elite ("the Jews," v 15). Soṭa 22a Bar has the statement, "Who is one of the people of the land (ʿam haʾares)? The others (= the school of Rabbi Meir) said: ‘If anyone has learned the Scripture and the Mishna but has not served as a student of the Learned he is one of the people of the land. If he has learned the Scripture but not the Mishna he is an uneducated man. If he has learned neither the Scripture nor the Mishna the Scripture says of him: "I sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with seed of men and seed of cattle" ' " (i.e., he is reckoned as an animal!).

The issue we have here is that the "establishment" placed high priority on their "systematic" training of those who would be the "learned" in their society.   The same is true today.   Poor Amos of the OT would not work in our world because he was just a shepherd.  So, too, David.   Peter, James and John were lowly fishermen.  Paul was of the "taught" but he counted that "dung."   In our circles today our churches want seminary grads to fill our pulpits.  God wants those who have a heart for Him.   We can soon, like the world, get into elitism with our learning.   Someone who graduated from this "school" is better than someone who graduated from this "school," is often on our own lips.  Declaring God's Word out not to be about what school you attended but if you are properly explaining the Scripture.  School helps, but is not the criteria.   Jesus is about to declare Himself the Son of God in this passage.  That is teaching NONE of them were ready for!!