Nicodemus - the one who came to him previously and who was one of them - said to them,

"Our law doesn't judge a man before it hears from him and knows what he's doing, does it?"

"You aren't from Galilee too, are you?" they replied. 

"Investigate and you will see that no prophet arises from Galilee."

Then each one went to his house.

John 7:50-53 CSB

Half the crowd, their own staff, and now one of their own are saying maybe Jesus is who he says he is.

And the Pharisees continue to double down,   not even interested in engaging, but name calling and labelling those who don't agree with them.

And now it's Jesus. 

He's from the wrong place. 

He's one of "them". 

From "there".

That for them was the end of the argument. He's not one of "us", so we've all got homes to go to, just go home.

How often have I missed a gem from someone because they're from "there"?

How often have I overlooked, or made an assessment about someone because of how they look, or I've bundled them into some group and stuck a label on them?

And how much do I dislike that happening to me?

Labels can be helpful, but when it comes to people they can be unhelpful. 

How different would the Pharisees life had been if they'd just asked Jesus to "tell us more about who you are, where you're from, what you're about".

If only their power, & their desire to hold onto it, was softened by curiosity...

#gospelofjohn

#nolabels

#becurious