John 8:6 This
they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped
down, and with his finger wrote
on the ground, as though he heard them
not. 7 So when they continued
asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin
among you, let him first cast a stone at her. 8
And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. 9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their
own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was
left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw
none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers?
hath no man condemned thee? 11 She said,
No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin
no more.
We have here an
amazing and cherished story from which a number of lessons can be garnered.
1. Jesus Stopped - the Rabbi had
been seated, probably on the steps of the temple where crowds gathered to hear
Him teach. Now, He is confronted with this situation, a woman caught in the
very act of adultery brought to Him to be accused by His detractors. Question:
Why didn't they bring the guilty man? Because the Pharisees were bullies! No
doubt the man would have stood up to them and fought. But this poor little gal
was someone they could push around and intimidate. Apparently they all knew
exactly what she was, so they had the goods on her and there would be no
opposition to them finally taking her off the streets. So, they went all
righteous on her, kind of like we do when we watch the news and see what latest
arrests of low-lifes have been made. We shake our heads in pity and
condemnation of these stupid and sinful individuals. But Jesus had the remedy
for self-righteousness, and therefore...
2. Jesus Stooped. Imagine this, the
Creator of the universe goes down to the ground before the hoard of
people, before the harlot and before the hypocrites. What is
this? The disciples must have been somewhat taken aback by this move. Christ
was always acting and reacting in ways they had not expected. By the way, I am
always amazed to think that the God of glory would lay aside His glorious robes
to inhabit a restricted body of flesh so that I could relate to the
unfathomable. He came down to my level and was tempted in every point, like I
am, and yet, He sinned not. But then...
3. Jesus Scrawled. Right there on
the ground God wrote. God had been known to write on tables of stone in the
wilderness of Sinai and on a Babylonian palace wall. Now that same hand and
those same fingers are writing again. All had better pay attention. I am
convinced that this first writing was a reiteration of the 10 Commandments from
Sinai, which we all have broken. The woman's sin was listed, "Thou shalt
not commit adultery." But so were the sins of the Pharisees, "Thou
shalt not kill and thou shalt not bear false witness." Which they were
conniving against the Lord at that moment. Oh, and your sins and mine were also
listed; Honour your parents, keep the Sabbath holy, don't covet, don't take the
Lord's name in vain, etc. In other words, there is none righteous, no, not one.
And then...
4. Jesus Stood. Slowly He rose to
His feet, allowing time for the condemnation of the commandments to sink in to
every soul. He spoke, convicting the Pharisees, and every Pharisee that would
ever live after that day, including those of us who look down our pharisaical
noses at the low-lifes which surround us, "He that is without sin among
you, let him first cast a stone at her." Next...
5. Jesus Scrawled again. Perhaps He
plagiarized Himself from His Babylonian missive, "Mene, mene, tekel,
upharsin." “You all have been weighed in the balances and have come up
short. Your position is taken from you." Indeed, within the week, no more
sacrifices will be made in Judaism for the next two millennia. The system of
priests is about to be abolished by Christ's death on the cross. In disgust,
not only with Jesus' rebuke, but with their own short comings, they left, one
by one, from the eldest hard-bitten Pharisee to the youngest zealot of their
number. Their stones fell harmlessly to the ground and they stomped off. But
then...
6. Jesus Spoke, "Where are
your accusers? Is there anyone else here to accuse you? I am not going to
condemn you either, go and live a righteous life." The others left off
condemning this lady of the night because they were shown for what they really
were, fellow offenders. But Jesus withheld condemnation because His was the
power and prerogative to forgive all manner of sins. He exercised this
prerogative and she exorcised her past.
Oh glory! Don't
you see yourself somewhere in that ancient scene even now? Do you relate to the
woman in need of forgiveness and reform? Or do you relate to the religious
crowd, constantly scoffing and accusing others who are unlike you? But, viewing
the handwriting on the ground, you come to the realization that you are no
better than they are. It is just that
you haven't been exposed. Go and read the Decalogue (10 Commandments) and you
will realize that you already have been found out, your sins are uncovered.
Those too proud
to admit their guilt will be ignored by heaven and reserved for a future
reckoning. But God forgives and uses the repentant.
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