Matthew 7:28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
Mark 1:22 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.
Mark 6:2 And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands?
Luke 4:22 And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”
Luke 4:32 and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority.
John 7:46 The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!”
His audience could not but notice that Jesus taught with an authority lacking in the other teachers in His day, who often only quoted other rabbis. Jesus spoke with inherent authority, and the authority of God’s revealed Word. “Two things surprised them: the substance of his teaching, and the manner of it. They had never heard such doctrine before; the precepts which he had given were quite new to their thoughts. But their main astonishment was at his manner: there was a certainty, a power, a weight about it, such as they had never seen.” (Spurgeon)
We often hear people quote other people to make a point supporting their point. These are published people who we may know by name or they come from a peer-reviewed published paper. We give these people some sort of higher position because of their understanding and knowledge in their field of expertise. I don’t think there is anything inherently wrong with this if it is understood that these people, though they may have very high IQ or wealth, they are just people who speak from a worldly, temporary position. Jesus spoke of the heavenly and Godly. He spoke with authority, wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. And yet, we read His words and give them little thought. We read it without meditating on it. We read it like we are reading a newspaper or magazine. There is deep wisdom, knowledge, and understanding in His Word. If we were to study it for a thousand lifetimes we would just begin to scratch the surface of its holiness. Blessed is the one who takes to heart God’s Word both in thought and practice.