The Pharisees were a prominent ‘sect’ of the Jews. They were very concerned about keeping the minute areas of the law (Matthew 23:23). The problem with the Pharisees was in their preoccupation with the minute, they had forgotten the “weightier matters of the law’. Jesus said, “…these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” The Pharisees said, but they often did not do (Matthew 23:3). They loved attention and religious titles. (Matthew 23:6-9)

        The Pharisees were often more concerned about keeping their own traditions than God’s law, Jesus said, “Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.” (Mark 7:7, 13)

        Jesus had many severe confrontations with the Pharisees. On one occasion Jesus said, let them alone, they be blind leaders of the blind…” (Matthew 15:14) The motives of the Pharisees were wrong (Luke 12:1). Therefore, the Pharisees were not really interested in keeping the law.

        In John 8 we see that the Pharisees wanted to catch Jesus in a lie. They were holding true to what was written in Leviticus 20:10, “The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death.” The death was typically by being stoned.

         A woman was caught in the act of adultery and brought to Jesus to humiliate her and test Him. In verse 6, we see that Jesus didn’t fall into their trap…”But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.” The Pharisees continued to taunt Jesus until He stooped down again and wrote in the sand (vs. 8)….only this time they ALL left.

        We see a picture of true forgiveness here when Jesus asked the woman where her accusers were. According to the law, the woman could have died that day. Jesus spared her life, but did not condone her actions…He told her to ‘sin no more.’ (vs. 11)

• Do you struggle with forgiving others? Do you struggle with accepting that God has completely forgiven you and do you continue to try to earn His acceptance?
• Do you struggle to forgive those who have hurt you because you still want repayment from them? How is this attitude affecting you emotionally and spiritually?
• From whom have you been withholding forgiveness? When will you free yourself from that bondage to him or her and extend forgiveness?

        Lastly, how many stones do you pick up? Every time you can’t let go of a hurt someone has caused you… it’s another stone added. When you can’t forgive someone…you also keep that person locked in a prison of sorts (holding them hostage) and you have the key to freedom for yourself and the guilty party. So what will you do? Will you drop the stone and use the key? Or will you keep gathering stones until they are so heavy that you can’t carry the burden anymore?

                                Leave your stones at the feet of Jesus and don’t hold any hostages.


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