2024-11-30A
SCRIPTURE
Joh 8:1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 And early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him. And He sat down and taught them.
3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman taken in adultery. And standing her in the midst, 4 they said to Him, Teacher, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now Moses in the Law commanded us that such should be stoned. You, then, what do you say? 6 They said this, tempting Him so that they might have reason to accuse Him.
But bending down, Jesus wrote on the ground with His finger, not appearing to hear. 7 But as they continued to ask Him, He lifted Himself up and said to them, He who is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone at her. 8 And again bending down, He wrote on the ground. 9 And hearing, and being convicted by conscience, they went out one by one, beginning at the oldest, until the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
10 And bending back up, and seeing no one but the woman, Jesus said to her, Woman, where are the ones who accused you? Did not one give judgment against you? 11 And she said, No one, Lord. And Jesus said to her, Neither do I give judgment. Go, and sin no more.
A. JESUS, A TARGET FOR HATRED.
The Lord Jesus was constantly under the attack of the devil who tried to trap Him into doing or saying something by which He would violate God’s or Roman law, so that they could bring Him to trial and, if possible, get him sentenced to death. Consequently, he had to be very careful in what He did and said. Had He been an ordinary person, He might have lived in costant fear of his life. He however went about his ministry calmly, taking every opportunity to advance the Kingdom of His Father.
The people mostly used by the devil for this evil were not the unbelieving Romans, but the Jewish religious leaders motivated by consuming bitterness and jealousy.
B. A SINNER WITHOUT HOPE.
On this particular day, Jesus went to the temple early morning, probably with the intention of spending much of the day teaching the principles of the spiritual Kingdom of God to those who came there to offer sacrifices or to worship.
While He was so occupied, there suddenly was a commotion amongst the crowd and a number of sweating Pharisees and Scribes dragged a winded, wildly struggling, crying woman to Him where He sat and made her stand before Him. The leader of the group did not keep him waiting either, but, looking around this way and that triumphantly, cried out in a loud defiant voice, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. In the Law that Moses gave us, it is ordered that such a woman be stoned, but you, what do you say?”
C. A SAVIOUR MUST SUDDENLY SIT AS JUDGE.
Jesus immediately saw through their evil plot. The Law God gave through Moses was actually very strict regarding adultery because God wanted his people to be happy and holy people. Sin brings pain and sorrow, especially sexual sins that lead to fatherless children, suspicion between husband and wife and even murder, and therefore the Law stipulated that not only the guilty wife, but the husband too, had to be put to death (See Lev 20:10, Deut 22:22, Num. 5:11-31, etc.).
However, Roman law forbade the death penalty to be imposed by any instance other than a Roman court. What is more, Jesus had explained on more than one occasion that He had not come to condemn people, but to offer them mercy so they could repent and be pardoned. The new covenant that Jesus ushered in, based on his sacrificing of himself, also made a distinction between man and man’s sin. Sin had to be punished but man, when he would repent, had to be excused. What is more, such repentant sinners would be accepted as citizens of the Kingdom of God.
D. A JUDGE IN A CORNER.
So, Jesus was called upon, either to exact the Law of Moses, or offer God’s grace to the accused woman. He realized that whichever option He took, He would be the loser. If He agreed with the woman’s accusers that she be stoned, the people to whom He preached that God wanted to show them mercy, would, in future, reject His message and accuse Him of being just as unapproachable in practice as the Jewish leaders. Should He take the opposite stand and pardon the woman, these hard-hearted leaders would immediately report his action to the Jewish Religious Council so that He could be persecuted as a transgressor of the Law. This would also have thwarted his further ministry.
E. A THIRD OPTION.
However, God always has a way out. What Jesus did was not to answer them immediately. Instead He did something strange. He bent down and wrote something in the soil with his finger. We, on now reading this story, may wonder what words He wrote. Maybe He didn’t even write words at all but just letters as He prayed to His Father to use the situation to His honor to bless the crowd of onlookers who held their breath to hear His answer.
The Pharisees and Scribes who accused the woman, however, became more and more worked up. They interpreted Jesus’ silence as an effort of trying to evade their question. Consequently they insisted even more strongly on an answer. So, He stood erect, looked the persecutors in the eye and replied: “Let the one of you who is without sin, cast the first stone at her.” (In this English translation, the answer comprises only 14 words.)
F. THE ACCUSERS BECOME THE ACCUSED AND WERE CONDEMNED.
The oldest of them, who had probably acquired a little more wisdom, was not as hot-headed as the rest and was first to realize that they, the accusers, were in the wrong for, “He that approaches court must not have blood on his hands”. Being sinners themselves they had no, “locus standi in iudicio”, standing before Heaven’s Seat of Judgment and therefore had no right to prosecute this woman. Possibly, or probably, he was thinking of occasions in his life when he had also been unfaithful to his wife, acts for which he should actually have been stoned. This inner recognition of guilt, freed him from his spirit of judgment of a fellow human being. Therefore he decided it would be best to just quietly slip away from this embarrassing situation.
Someone else followed on his heels; then another and another and suddenly the rest dispersed, each in his own direction, struggling with his own conscience. They dared not even look one another in the eye. Notice also the wisdom and love of the Lord Jesus, bending down and writing in the soil again to afford the accusers an opportunity of escaping without further embarrassment.
G. GRACE, THE DOOR TO A PURE LIFE.
When the last feet except those of the accused woman disappeared from His sight, Jesus stood erect again and asked her: “Woman where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you; cast a stone at you?” “No one, Lord,” she replied. “Neither do I condemn you.” Jesus declared, “Go and sin no more.”
Can you imagine her surprise and the tears of relief that flowed down her cheeks. Moments before she was facing scores of condemning eyes and certain death; now she looked into the loving eyes of the Lord Jesus? Mercy and forgiveness are powerful means of turning dark hearts to repentance.
H. A LESSON TO JUDGES.
Let’s take a closer look at how the Lord Jesus handled this thorny matter. He did not say that the Law of Moses should not be applied, nor did He condone the woman’s adultery. What He did was to demonstrate that in the application of justice, the prosecutor and judge are to take into account the weakness of human nature and not apply the law too harshly.
I. GRACE FIRST, THEN JUDGMENT.
Secondly, He revealed the gracious heart of God the Father that desires sinners to be afforded every opportunity to repent. One day, the great White Throne will be placed in position and judgment will be pronounced. Then the Law of God will be applied and just sentences will be imposed for all sin ever committed. In the meantime, grace must be applied liberally to endeavour to persuade man that there is a more fulfilling way of life for him, a life that also pleases God and is a blessing to those around him.
Jesus came to seek and save those who are lost and not to condemn them.
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