My teaching is not mine but his who sent me.

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About the middle of the festival Jesus went up into the temple and began to teach. The Jews were astonished at it, saying, “How does this man have such learning, when he has never been taught?” Then Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine but his who sent me. Anyone who resolves to do the will of God will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own. Those who speak on their own seek their own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and there is nothing false in him. -John 7:14-18 NRSV

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Some think that the Jesus' teachings were those he learned on a trip to another land. Some think that he was a disciple of John the Baptist. From a human perspective it is difficult to accept that his teachings were original and not copied. He always seemed to go right to the heart of an issue. He had the ability to transcend his religious teaching and heritage.

The folks of his day, and of ours too, struggled not because they could not understand his teaching but because they would not. To understand the scriptures one must, as Jesus puts it here, resolve to do the will of God and seek to glorify Him. To do this we must also be willing to transcend the limitations of our religious teachings and heritage.

Give us open hearts and hearing ears Lord that we may transcend our human limitations.

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... this devotion is part of an ongoing series on the Gospel of John.