My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me

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?" Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. 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. 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. Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill Me?" The people answered and said, "You have a demon. Who is seeking to kill You?" Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel. Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath? Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."

Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill? But look! He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ? However, we know where this Man is from, but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from." Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me." Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come. And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?"

The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him. Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me. You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come." Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him? Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?"

- John 7:14-36

In yesterday's reading, Jesus was in Galilee. He is avoiding Judea, because now the leadership seeks to kill Him. It is the time of the Feast of Tabernacles. His brothers, extended family, also do not believe, and they taunt Him, telling Him to go up to the festival. They said, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing. For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things show yourself to the world." But Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that its works are evil. You go up to this feast. I am not yet going up to this feast, for My time has not yet fully come." When He had said these things to them, He remained in Galilee. But after His brothers had gone, Jesus went to the festival, not openly, but in secret. There the authorities sought Him. The people debate about Him. Some say, "He is good." Others said, "No, on the contrary, He deceives the people." But none of them spoke in the hearing of the leadership, for fear of them.

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?" Where does Jesus' doctrine come from? How can He know what He knows? These questions at once suggest a kind of resentment, an envy, and a questioning that comes from regarding only the "authority of men." But what about what He is actually saying? Once again, this is the leadership speaking about Him, those who do have titles and authority and credentials.

Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. 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. 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." Here Jesus gives us a picture of faith in action, in Him and His ministry. What does it mean to do the will of God, and to love the Father? He teaches us about true humility and service. Jesus doesn't seek His own authority - that is, the glory of His own name, but the glory of the Father. Thereby, through Him, the Father and the Father's name is glorified. He is sent, and His loyalty is to the One who sent Him. St. John Chrysostom comments on this passage that it is their envy, anger and hatred which blinds them to what Christ is saying, and for Whom He speaks. My study bible says, "Jesus identifies the source of spiritual blindness: unwillingness to do the will of God."

"Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill Me?" The people answered and said, "You have a demon. Who is seeking to kill You?" Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one work, and you all marvel. Moses therefore gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath? Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment." Jesus refers again to the healing of the paralytic on the Sabbath, which took place at the previous festival reported in John's Gospel. At that time, He called it His Father's work. Here He compares the work they do through the things Moses taught (circumcision on the Sabbath) with the work He did, to make a man whole. Which one is a greater work of God? Or a greater obedience to God's will? To judge with righteous or truly just judgment means one has to go beyond appearances and the mere letter of the law, but find something deeper, more true. This statement alone could be the whole theme of John's Gospel, in which truth unfolds to us through time and through the road of our faith.

Now some of them from Jerusalem said, "Is this not He whom they seek to kill? But look! He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to Him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is truly the Christ? However, we know where this Man is from, but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from." My study bible calls this an ignorant claim, filled with irony: they know Jesus' human origin but not His divine origin. Again, John's Gospel illustrates for us the things we allow to get in the way of truly seeing and hearing.

Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, "You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me." Therefore they sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come. And many of the people believed in Him, and said, "When the Christ comes, will He do more signs than these which this Man has done?" What is the real root of just judgment, of truly being able to see? It is the love of God, the welcoming in the heart of God who is love and who teaches us truth. Christ claims He is sent from God, and if they knew the one Who sent Him, the One who is true, they would understand and know Christ.

The Pharisees heard the crowd murmuring these things concerning Him, and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him. Then Jesus said to them, "I shall be with you a little while longer, and then I go to Him who sent Me. You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come." Then the Jews said among themselves, "Where does He intend to go that we shall not find Him? Does He intend to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks and teach the Greeks? What is this thing that He said, 'You will seek Me and not find Me, and where I am you cannot come'?" Jesus begins to speak again of His hour, His time, when He will be crucified. He speaks of His death, Resurrection and Ascension. Of course, they have no idea what He is talking about. My study bible points out that He shows Himself to be Lord of time, "a prerogative possessed by God alone. He comes to the Cross of His own free will and in His time, not as a result of the political machinations of the Sadducees, Pharisees, and Romans." To go among the Greeks means they are wondering if He will go to the communities of Jews in the Gentile, Greek-speaking world. (At the time, Greek was the lingua franca or international language of communication, and therefore the language of the Gospels.) My study bible notes, "In those days, there were communities of Jews scattered throughout the Mediterranean world, especially in Syria, Asia Minor, Greece and Egypt. Their question bears a tinge of irony. By the time this gospel was written, the Christian faith had spread throughout much of the Gentile world."

What is it to know the truth, and to judge righteous judgment? John's Gospel constantly seeks to unfold to us what is truth, how truth works, how we know and understand with righteous judgment. It begins with the love of God in the heart. That means a kind of trust in God who is love, a basic sense that we are drawn to this love. It doesn't mean we know everything from the get-go. It doesn't mean we understand everything, and have all knowledge, and know all mystery. It means that we start from that place of love, and that from there we grow in it. Even Jesus is not a lettered man, not one with certificates and diplomas. He hasn't been taught by a famous rabbi. But He has been sent by the Father. John's Gospel will constantly unfold spiritual truth to us, wave after wave of a kind of revelation, teaching what it is for us to learn and to grow in this love and trust. In this way, the Gospel unfolds for us just what this spiritual path or Way of Christ is, and what it is like. The more deeply our faith unfolds, the more deeply into the life of faith we go. And that means that along the way, we discard the things in us that block us from righteous judgment or from seeing. (Things illustrated for us in the Gospel, like envy, anger, resentment, greed. And Jesus tells us so Himself, about those who seek merely their own glory.) We can't know truth from surface appearance alone, not this kind of truth. How do you really come to know someone? Where does love start in you? Where does righteousness come from, and righteous judgment? These are the powerful questions this Gospel asks us to answer, and in the drama and Passion of Jesus' life, we see it all unfolding. We are still compelled to come to that decision within ourselves. We still come to that place where we have to ask ourselves what do we love, and how do we know?