John 7:16 – Whose Doctrine?

John 7:16 reads,

Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.

The Jews were surprised that Jesus was teaching because he “never learned.” They were referring to formal education that the Jews had. They couldn’t understand how any man could have teaching authority without first having learned in their institutions.

However, Christ had divine doctrine directly from God. He didn’t require multiple generations of men to pass down their understanding of God’s divine word, and distill it into teaching for him. Obviously, this type of teaching can be fraught with error. In fact, it was full of error as Jesus repeatedly showed.

I do not interpret that Jesus is saying all of man’s teaching is bad. However, I do interpret it as meaning that Jesus’ direct teaching is more pure, having come directly from God. I should always be looking to the bible as the primary source of wisdom, rather than relying upon secondary interpretations. When I do hear interpretation of scripture, it is also my responsibility to refer back to the original scripture to ensure I’m receiving right doctrine, not one polluted by man.