Jesus In The Pharisee School

The Pharisees therefore said to Him,"You bear witness of yourself; your witness is not true."  Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going.  You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one.  And yet, if I do judge, My judgement is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent me.  It is written in your law that the testimony of two men is true.  I am one who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me."  Then they said to him, "Where is your Father?"  Jesus answered, "You know neither Me nor My Father.  If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also."  These words Jesus spoke in the treasury,as He taught in the temple; and no one laid hands on Him, for His hour had not yet come.
John 8: 13-20 NKJV

My good friend Dennis, himself a sound pastor, has at times heard the comment we toss his way refering to his seminary training.  For it is the seminary which another good friend of ours had dubbed "The Pharisee school," an obvious dig at the institutional nature of todays church congregations.  Now, I have obviously never been enrolled in one of these institutions of higher religious learning, but Dennis has shared more than a few stories of his time there with us.  It is here, in one of the original Pharisee schools, that Jesus finds Himself in the John the eighth chapter.  Here, the well learned scholars of Jewish society decided to take one of their many stands against this man they knew as Jesus.  Obviously a heretic, Jesus had made the outlandish claim that he was the Son of God!  This rankled many a Pharisee, and even more in this Pharisee school I'm sure.  Now, as these high and mighty of Jewish society stood and questioned the proclaimed messiah, the savior of Gods chosen people, Jesus responded.  As the Pharisees claim, the testimony of Jesus, who bore witness that He was infact decended from almighty God, was a falsehood and not true.  I'm not sure if Jesus had ever had any legal training, but His response to these Pharisees was golden.  As Jesus responds, "Even if I bear witness to Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going."  Now, I'm just going to take a stab in the dark here that there were not too many people among Jewish society who would enter the Pharisee school and challange these Pharisees as Christ has done.  As we are told, Jesus was teaching in the temple treasury at the time.  After all, as He had claimed as He drove out the money changers, this was His Fathers house {Matthew 21:13}.  Therefore, being His Fathers house, what better place for Christ to teach?

Jesus said to Him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.  If you had known Me, you would have known My father also; and from now on you known HIm and have seen Him."  Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."  Jesus said to Him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?  He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'show us the Father'?  Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me?  The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.  Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves."
John 14:6-11 NKJV

It is interesting that the very words which Jesus spoke as to His very identity were not believed by those who heard Him.  But should He do some great miracle through the Father who was in Him, THAT would turn some heads of the people of His day.  Jesus made the claim many a time that He was indeed the Son of the living God.  Usually, His claims were met with the skepticism of a unbeleiving populace.  However, Jesus did indeed have His share of followers.  It is also true that He was able to lead many of His Fathers flock in their return to Him.  What I find interesting as Jesus taught in this Pharisee school is that He was deconstructing the walls of the Jewish law which these men has built around Gods people.

And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us.  And He has taken it out the way, having nailed it to the cross.  Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
Colossions 2: 13-15 NKJV

We do well to remember that it is Christ Jesus who has not only removed the requirements of the law which were blocking us, thereby setting us free from it.  We have now been made alive together with Christ Jesus, who has wiped away those trespasses which were once against us.  Much to the disdain of the Pharisees.

~Scott~