John 7:14

John 7:14 says, Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught.  Jesus went up to the Temple to teach.  This is not the action of someone who is hiding in fear.  Even if the whole world were to be against Him, God will never hide in fear.  That is what we as His followers often do, though.  We often surrender without a fight because we fear those who are in power more than we trust God.  Verse fifteen adds, And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?  The people marveled, wondering how Jesus could know so much when He was unlearned.   People may marvel at the teachings of the Bible today and still not accept it as the truth of God.  Verse sixteen continues, Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.  Jesus told them that His doctrine was not His own, but that of He Who sent Him.  There are many highly educated people today who do not know God and they look down on poorly or less educated people who proclaim Christ as Savior.  We must realize that education, though important, is not the determining factor in knowing Jesus and understanding God's will.  The only way to understand the will of God is through a personal relationship with Him, and then we must listen to and proclaim His doctrine.  We can almost come to worship formal education more than a calling from God.  Jesus did not call His disciples based on their education, but instead on their willingness to follow Him.  If we are to be effective witnesses today, we must be grounded in the doctrine of God.  We will understand His doctrine as we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us, and His doctrine will always be consistent with His written word, the Bible.  Jesus did not cite His credentials or His degrees, but simply said He was teaching the doctrine of God.  That is our challenge today, no matter what the opposition might be.