How to "Dis" a Pharisee!

Jesus knew how to handle the naysayers and accusers, and He often did it with irony and unconventional methods. The Pharisees discourse with Jesus in John 8 is a perfect example of this. Here was Jesus, teaching and bringing life to the crowds at the temple, and the Pharisees drag in a woman whom they’d caught in adultery. “Well Jesus, since you know the law, tell us, what are we supposed to do with her?” What they were trying to do was test Him to see if He would follow the letter of the law. They saw the crowds following Jesus day after day and wanted to discredit Him for fear of losing their power over the people, so they tested Him with the very thing they represented: legalism!

This is what Pharisees do. They see the Bible as a set of rules, a cause and effect answer book. A Pharisee looks for what should be done to stay within the bounds of the Bible’s ‘rules’ instead of seeking God’s answer for each individual circumstance through His Spirit. In this way Pharisees remove the grace of God and the creativity of His solutions.

Jesus means of dealing with both the Pharisees and this woman were straight from the heart of God. God knew the motives of the Pharisees and the heart of this woman, and because Jesus listened to the Father’s wisdom, He brought the perfect solution. With a crowd of people behind Him and the Pharisees in front of Him, Jesus stooped down and drew in the sand, continuing to illustrate His lessons to the crowd as though the Pharisees weren’t there. Some things just don’t deserve our immediate attention! The Pharisees became more indignant and demanded an answer. Jesus stood up and looked at the crowd, saying “everyone who is without sin, pick up a stone and get in line to throw it at her.”

This statement hit the hearts of the crowd! Jesus could see into them! He knew their sins! But more importantly, He exuded the love and forgiveness of God. He brought the grace of God not only to this woman, but to everyone in the crowd, including the Pharisees. But they wouldn’t receive it!

The plan of the Pharisees backfired, just as it had with Daniel in the case of the lion’s den. It was the same ploy of the enemy to discredit the servant of God with manipulation - based on fear of losing status. The Pharisees saw Jesus as a threat when He was actually the answer to their fears. He was the freedom they longed for and the grace God desired to give them. But they refused it. They stuck with the letter of the law and discarded the grace of God, and once again walked away frustrated.

Pharisees are ‘anti-grace’ representatives. They misunderstand the New Testament to be a continuation of the Old Testament Law. But God’s answer to this shortcoming is GRACE! This is what He gave to each Pharisee, the woman caught in adultery and each person in the crowd that day. The irony of God’s answer to the Pharisee's sin of legalism is to cover him with grace, the very thing he lacks. The sin of a Pharisee is no different than your sin or my sin – it can be washed away by the blood of Jesus and the grace of God. Give it and receive it today!