All wondered at His knowledge of the law and the prophecies; and the question passed from one to another, "How knoweth this Man letters, having never learned?" No one was regarded as qualified to be a religious teacher unless he had studied in the rabbinical schools, and both Jesus and John the Baptist had been represented as ignorant because they had not received this training. Those who heard them were astonished at their knowledge of the Scriptures, "having never learned." Of men they had not, truly; but the God of heaven was their teacher, and from Him they had received the highest kind of wisdom. As Jesus spoke in the temple court, the people were held spellbound. The very men who were the most violent against Him felt themselves powerless to do Him harm. For the time, all other interests were forgotten.

Alle undrede sig over hans kendskab til loven og profeterne, og fra den ene til den anden lød dette spørgsmål: "Hvordan har han fået den skriftkundskab, da han ikke er lærd?" Ingen blev anset for at have adkomst til at være religiøs lærer, hvis han ikke havde studeret ved rabbinernes skoler, og både Jesus og Johannes Døber var blevet omtalt som uvidende, fordi de ikke havde gennemgået denne oplæring. De, som hørte dem, var forundrede over deres skriftkundskab, da de "ikke var lærde". Af mennesker havde de i sandhed ikke lært; men Himmelens Gud var selv deres lærer, og fra ham havde de modtaget den højeste form for visdom. Medens Jesus talte i templet, var folket som tryllebundet. De samme mænd, som hørte til hans mest lidenskabelige modstandere, følte sig ude af stand til at gøre ham fortræd. Lige i øjeblikket var alt andet glemt.