This morning’s post is designed to give a little love back to those Pharisees we all like to knock so much when we’re talking about Jesus and his public ministry 2,000 years ago.

The background is our Friday men’s study group here at Wake Forest Presbyterian Church. This morning 21 or us met at 6:15 AM for coffee, prayer, and a lesson from Max Lucado’s book, He Still Moves Stones. The Bible passage was John’s account of the woman who was dragged in front of Jesus and accused of adultery (John 8:1-11).

So far the Pharisees are matching their usual billing as legalistic, petty, manipulative, and scheming. To be fair, that’s pretty much par for the course in all four narrative accounts of the life of Jesus.

But listen to the way the story is told in verses 7-9. Read it thoughtfully, then I’ll pick up my thoughts.

When they kept on questioning [Jesus], he straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.

JOB ONE: Historically, “Job One” for Pharisees involved keeping the law in the front of everyone’s mind. And why did they do that? Well, the short answer is that they loved the law. The rest of that short answer concerns the purpose of the law; the law was established to help the Children of Israel enter into a right relationship with God.

So, Pharisees love the law because they love God. So far so good. The Pharisees were sticklers for the law because they loved the people, and wanted to see people enjoy the benefits of a relationship with God. That’s good too.

• However, it’s obvious from the text that the focus had shifted from God to the law itself. Consequently, the Pharisees in the story had the same problem many Christians do today; they used the law – selectively – to advance their own politics, prejudices, and preferences.

We, too, are guilty of selectively quoting the Bible to underline our personal preferences, politics, and prejudices. That’s why we will self-righteously leave the church over issues that touch a personal nerve whilst quite happily going through life without stoning our children for talking back, or getting bent out of shape that the person sitting next to us is divorced, ate pork last night, or is wearing fabric made from two different clothes (Lev 9:19)…

THE TEXT: So back to the text. It said the elders were the first to walk away. Here’s what I’m thinking. Maybe those elder leaders were touched by Jesus to the extent that they remembered why it was they loved the law so much in the first place… maybe they remembered that, at the heart of things, it’s all about a restored relationship with God. Maybe.

Because that is what Jesus does; Jesus turns our attention away from things articulated by people (like law, and doctrine, and regulations) and back to the very reason he came, back to a restored relationship with God.

Jesus invites us back into fellowship with the Father. It’s as simple as that. I believe the Pharisees knew it. I believe today’s Pharisees, in their heart of hearts, know it too.

Peace and blessings – DEREK