Amazing Grace

- Read John 7:53-8:11

Years ago, a large religious conference was held, where folks began discussing what it was that set Christianity apart from all other religions. One person suggested one thing, and someone else something else. The discussion went round and round until C. S. Lewis entered the meeting. When he asked what all the hubbub was about, they told him they were trying to decide what it was that set Christianity apart from all other religions. He said, “Oh that’s easy. It’s grace.”

So very true. Grace sets Christianity apart from every other religion.

So, we come this morning to celebrate communion, the memorial meal established by Jesus. Through this meal we are reminded by the bread of the broken body of our Savior. He took the punishment for our sins. With the cup, we are reminded of His shed blood which cleanses us from our sins.

Grace.

Communion

In this account found in John 8, Jesus confronts a band of cold, self-righteous pigs and a woman who was guilty of open sexual sin, and handles both with such wisdom and grace that the story has become a favorite of many.

If you have an early edition of the Revised Standard Version you will find this account in a footnote. In the CSB, you will find it in brackets. This is because most scholars feel that it has been inserted into the Gospel of John at this point. In many ancient manuscripts it is found in different places. Some place it at the end of the Gospel of John; some place it after the 21st chapter of Luke; and some omit it entirely. Thus it is quite evident that there is some question as to whether this account really occurred at the time we find it in John's gospel. Most of the scholars agree, however, that this event did actually occur, and that it was part of our Lord's ministry. I think it is placed here in this section in John because it illustrates so well the statement of Jesus in Chapter 7, "Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment," (John 7:24 RSV).

The account actually begins with the fifty-third verse of the seventh chapter.

Three remarkable contrasts in this story make it a striking event. The first contrast is that of the great popular Teacher who has no home but is living in the open evidently on the sides of the Mount of Olives. Following the dialogue which we saw in the last chapter everybody "went to their own homes but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives." This passage and others confirm that he spent many a night alone on the mountainside. Even his disciples had homes they could stay in, but Jesus was often left entirely alone on the Mount of Olives.

If this event is properly placed in John, it occurred in early October. In Jerusalem at that time of the year, the nights can be very chilly at that altitude. Remember the account of the young man who told Jesus he would follow him wherever he went, and Jesus said, "Foxes have holes, birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head," (Matthew 8:20, Luke 9:58). It is moving to think of the Savior of the world huddled in his robe under an olive tree, sleeping alone at night on the Mount of Olives!

The second contrast is that of the judges, who found themselves guilty.

- John 8:3-5

It is clear they feel they have Jesus trapped by this; they have an airtight case, this "get-Jesus" committee!

You cannot read this, however, without asking yourself, "Where is the man in this adulterous union?" They had been caught "in the very act," and yet only the woman is brought before Jesus. Some of the commentators suggest that perhaps they knew the man -- he may have been one of their very own -- and they let him go. We do not know. But this indicates that a double standard was very much in effect in those times just as it is today.

These scribes and Pharisees referred to the law in the book of Leviticus in which God, speaking through Moses, had said that adultery was to be punished by stoning. They knew that Jesus was "The Friend of Sinners," that he was always on the side of the unfortunate and that he spent his time, not with the righteous, the wealthy or the respected, but with publicans and sinners. They obviously expected him to turn this woman loose. If he said that, he would be contradicting the Law of Moses and they would have him. They thought surely they had him trapped.

Not one of them could have remotely anticipated how Jesus would solve this. What he did was to stoop down and begin to write with his finger on the ground. How much would you give to know what he wrote? This has intrigued scholars and students through the ages. How we wish we knew what he wrote! Many have guessed at it.