A Courageous Grace

30 September 2005

A COURAGEOUS GRACE

John 8:1-8:11

INTRODUCTION:

A man was in an accident, and his shoulder was slightly injured, but he decided he could "stick" the insurance company for a nice bit of money.

He hired a lawyer who would go along with the plan, and they ended up in court.

The insurance company’s lawyer asked, "Mr. Smith, please show us how much your shoulder was injured by the accident by extending that arm upward as far as the shoulder will allow it to go." The man obliged by raising his arm to a horizontal position and stopped.

"That’s it." Then the lawyer said, "Mr. Smith, will you now please show us how far you were able to raise that arm before the accident." Again the man obliged and quickly raised his arm to the vertical so it was pointing directly toward the ceiling. Ooops! Have you ever been caught red-handed? You were guilty and everyone knew it.

Like you’re humming along on the highway, and a policeman gets behind you and puts on his lights.

I mean, isn’t that a wonderful feeling?

And you really have nothing to say, because you know that you were going way too fast.

You know that when we do something wrong, its effects are often far reaching. Simply, sin makes an impact. In today’s story, a specific sin comes to the forefront. It is adultery.

Adultery is a sin because it mocks what God has designed.

God intended for marriage to be between a man and a woman for life.

God did not intend for that to ever be broken, except by death.

Adultery is a betrayal.

It is the breaking of an exclusive promise of loyalty and love for one specific person. And its effects are devastating.

Adultery wounds the spouse; it violates marriage and destroys society.

It wrecks homes, injures innocent children and breaks up friendships.

But most importantly, it attacks what God holds dear. Adultery is a very hurtful sin.

It is very hard to forgive.

So when a woman who is caught in adultery is brought to Jesus, it is a difficult challenge.

What will He do to a person that has violated and flaunted the design of God? So here, we will find four actions in the event described in John 8:1-11 that demonstrate how Jesus handles conflict, and there is also a demonstration of COURAGEOUS GRACE. Jesus was in Jerusalem, because the Law stated that all male Jews had to go there three times a year on certain feast days.

But the celebration was over and they went each to his own house.

However, Jesus went to the Mount of Olives, since no one invited Him to go home with them.

Early in the morning he came again to the temple.

All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them.

The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery.

There are 3 things I want you to see about this situation. First, we observe the…Setting: Jesus is teaching in the temple. The temple is the place of spiritual life.

It is God’s place, His residence.

So, for those that are concerned with living according to God’s ways, this is the place to be. The text tells us that Jesus came to the temple, and it was a long day.

People kept coming, and He kept teaching. But His time of teaching was interrupted.

That’s the second thing I want you to see: A private passion became a public spectacle. The scribes and Pharisees have someone they want Jesus to meet.

It is a woman who has been caught.

The doors had been flung open, and there she was, caught in the act.

She was found in the arms of someone that was not her husband.

So, what had been a private act is now known by all who will listen to the tale.

Everyone stares at her as the posse pushes her through the streets.

She is one that has brought shame upon herself. But what we must also note here is that…A shameful act was outdone by a despicable one.

That’s the third thing I want you to see. You see, it was all a scheme.

According to the law, there had to be two eyewitnesses.

So it makes one wonder, how long did they peer through the window before they barged in?

How long did they wait before they flung that door open?

Did they think to warn her ahead of time, so that she wouldn’t sin?

Or perhaps they set it all up themselves so that they would have someone to take to Jesus… …and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?”