An Illustration of Blindness and Salvation
He stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more." John 8:7-11, ESV.
Caught in the "very act" of adultery.
That is Technicolor phrase. It is difficult not to see the picture. And it is not a nice one. This woman was obviously problematic.
Of course, there is a missing part to the story. Even holy perfectionists such as the Pharisees had to know that adultery is not a solitary pastime. Where is the man? Did they free him because he was a friend? Or was the whole thing arranged to trap Jesus? After all, if He lets the woman loose they can accuse Him of not accepting the law of Moses. But if He follows the law and advocates stoning according to the law, they can then report Him to the Romans, since He would have broken the law in issuing a death sentence. It looked like a no-lose situation to the Pharisees. No matter which way Jesus went on this case, they had Him.
It is at that point that the Jesus who "knew what was in man" (John 2:25) stood up. His invitation was exquisite and insightful: the one without sin should throw the first stone. That unexpected move caught the scribes off guard because they knew that their Bible told them repeatedly that all had sinned.
But in case they didn't get the point, Jesus "bent down and wrote on the ground." Many have wondered what He wrote, but the woman's accusers had no questions as they saw Him writing. To their shame, He briefly "traced before them...the guilty secrets of their own lives" (The Desire of Ages, p. 461), "beginning with the older men."
One by one they slinked away, leaving Jesus alone with the obviously problematic woman. Unlike her "churchly" accusers, He did not tell her about her sins. She knew her faults too well. So to this woman caught in the "very act" Jesus gave the gospel in two parts:
(1) He did not condemn her, and
(2) He instructed the forgiven woman to go out to a new way of life.
That is His message to me this day.
He stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more." John 8:7-11, ESV.
Caught in the "very act" of adultery.
That is Technicolor phrase. It is difficult not to see the picture. And it is not a nice one. This woman was obviously problematic.
Of course, there is a missing part to the story. Even holy perfectionists such as the Pharisees had to know that adultery is not a solitary pastime. Where is the man? Did they free him because he was a friend? Or was the whole thing arranged to trap Jesus? After all, if He lets the woman loose they can accuse Him of not accepting the law of Moses. But if He follows the law and advocates stoning according to the law, they can then report Him to the Romans, since He would have broken the law in issuing a death sentence. It looked like a no-lose situation to the Pharisees. No matter which way Jesus went on this case, they had Him.
It is at that point that the Jesus who "knew what was in man" (John 2:25) stood up. His invitation was exquisite and insightful: the one without sin should throw the first stone. That unexpected move caught the scribes off guard because they knew that their Bible told them repeatedly that all had sinned.
But in case they didn't get the point, Jesus "bent down and wrote on the ground." Many have wondered what He wrote, but the woman's accusers had no questions as they saw Him writing. To their shame, He briefly "traced before them...the guilty secrets of their own lives" (The Desire of Ages, p. 461), "beginning with the older men."
One by one they slinked away, leaving Jesus alone with the obviously problematic woman. Unlike her "churchly" accusers, He did not tell her about her sins. She knew her faults too well. So to this woman caught in the "very act" Jesus gave the gospel in two parts:
(1) He did not condemn her, and
(2) He instructed the forgiven woman to go out to a new way of life.
That is His message to me this day.
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