7 But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." 8 And again He stooped down, and wrote on the ground. 9 And when they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the midst. 10 And straightening up, Jesus said to her, "Woman, where are the? Did no one condemn you?" 11 And she said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you, go your way. From now on sin no more."
Message: Showing Mercy and Upholding the Law
Time: John most likely wrote between A.D. 85 and 90. John's purpose in writing was, "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31)."
What the Lord is Saying: As mentioned last lesson, these verses are most likely inserted here in this text as the best place to put them as many of the original manuscripts don't have these verses, but it is believed (throughout history) that these words still belong to Christ. In verse 6 and 8, Jesus stoops down to write on the ground - both times I had a note that Jesus perhaps did this to place him in the advantage and to prevent others from speaking. Or he just took a pause. I notice this often from preachers and teachers that I listen to. Some speak hurriedly while others take a moment to pause and think about the words that are spoken.
Jesus in verse 7 in reply to the Jewish officials (scribes and Pharisees bringing a woman caught in adultery to him to trap him) turns it back to the accuser and voices, "He who is without sin among you, let him first throw a stone at her." In other words, "All have sinned. (Romans 3:23)." It even has a similar meaning to Matthew 7:1, "Judge not, lest you be judged." First stone.
In voicing what He did Jesus still uphold the law. He wasn't saying it was not so for he did even say a thrown could be thrown at her, but He said that if you want to enforce the Law, so be it, but start with yourself. The Bible actually prescribes this in Deuteronomy 19:15-21. "if the witness is a false witness and he has accused his brother falsely, then you shall do to him just as he had intended to do to his brother." One must be sure of their accusation.
Here, Jesus is saying that is not that simple to accuse someone. The fact that his accusers had only brought the woman was a problem as they had simply pulled the woman from where she was at in order to trap Jesus. Thus, they were not without sin and Jesus knew this, but it wasn't because He had special powers at this moment, but he saw the obvious, only one was brought - the woman. And so what resulted was the accusers left for they knew their mistake.
And Jesus responds to the lady. He knows, meaning He does have special powers in that moment and He know that she has sinned when saying, "Go and sin no more." It seems Jesus did not do anything because the charges brought against her were improper and he also no longer had any witnesses. Either way, both with the accuser and the accused he addresses the issue at hand: sin. People sin, but we should have the goal of not sinning.
On a side note, for many years it seemed the mantra in our country was, "Innocent until proven guilty" but in recent years we seem to have shifted to "Guilty until proven innocent." In an effort it seems to protect the accuser we seem to have moved to this sort of case. Unfortunately, it also inflicts the greatest damage on people and we are a people more and more that do not seem to have a problem labeling people and also blotting the record of the rich and famous. I've seen this most recently in an incident involving a football coach.
Summary: In response to the accusation brought by officials of a woman in adultery, Jesus tells them to examine themselves first before throwing stones.
Promise: In our pursuit of justice, we also must be sensitive to mercy, when it is appropriate to do so.
Prayer: Lord, I have not modeled this well. I am still haunted at the accusations I have made towards those that I love the most - my children and my wife. I have been a person that is too quick to find guilt in them rather than the investigations that I do now in my job when these things arise. Forgive me Lord. I feel such shame and remorse over my accusation towards my children. The regrets abound. Heal me from this and help me to move on and show them mercy and love continually. And help me in going forward to exercise mercy.
Note: If you are interested in other studies/devotions, check out my index of Bible Study's.
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