Fall is in the air, football is on the horizon and it won’t be long before we’ll be hearing, Clay County verses Bowden, Clay County verses Lineville and this year even Clay County verses Dadeville. As you read the local newspaper that’s what you’ll be seeing on the back page.
As I read this passage of Scripture from John 8 this week I kept hearing Law verses Grace. That’s the way the Holy Spirit was speaking to me through this passage. And He brought to mind the words of Rom 6:14 which says, “For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.” Paul was saying, “you no longer live under a legalistic system of religion trying to measure up, trying to qualify, equaling to a standard, striving, working, trying to live up to the Law. Rather you live under grace, in a relationship with God whereby Jesus Christ has declared you right with God, forgiven all of your sin, fulfilled the Law in you, made you righteous, qualifies you, makes you to measure up, re-created your spirit equal to God’s standard and works through you as you abide and rest in Him to accomplish His will through you each and every day.”
That’s exactly what this woman caught in the act of adultery experienced. She experienced the grace of Jesus not the condemnation of the Law. Let’s walk through this experience with her this morning with the hope of experiencing the victory of grace in our own hearts and lives today.
The context of the story seems to assume that Jesus had been teaching in the temple on several occasions. Having done so the preceding day Jesus dismissed them to their own homes as John 7:53 indicates. However, Jesus chose to stay overnight on the Mount of Olives. Perhaps he dropped in on Lazarus and his sisters in Bethany. Or He may have spent the night in Gethsemane praying; Or even spent the night under the stars, looking across the Kidron Valley at the slumbering city, preparing Himself for the encounter the coming day.
Early at daybreak Jesus was back in the Temple. If you wanted to find Jesus when he was in Jerusalem, that was the most likely place to look. That’s where Mary and Joseph found him many years before. And no doubt many pilgrims from Galilee and various other parts of the world, preparing to go home now that the feast was over, would come for one last look before leaving. Some would be sure to linger to hear this remarkable prophet one more time. So as John says, “all the people gathered around Him, and He sat down to teach them.”
As Jesus began to teach those who were coming to Him, the Scribes and Pharisees led in a woman caught in the act of adultery and put her in front of the crowd. Now the Scribes were a professional group in Judaism who copied the law of Moses and interpreted it. They were religious scholars, teachers of the religious law and supposedly knew the letter of the law. They copied it, taught it and explained it. They were a specially trained body of laymen who were custodians of the traditions of the elders, those added rules and regulations which made up the ever growing oral law. Along with them, were the Pharisees who were another religious group in Judaism who followed the whole written law and the oral law as interpreted by the Scribes. They not only knew the letter of the law, but they lived by the letter of the law and followed those oral traditions. And when behavior didn’t match up to the letter or the traditions, you were judged by these people as not measuring up, unfit for the Kingdom, unacceptable, you fall short of their expectations and in their eyes condemned! These religious people are said to have brought her before Jesus to determine how He would judge her.
“Teacher,” they called out, getting Jesus attention – “this woman was caught red-handed, in the very act of committing adultery.” Then came the set up of Law verses Grace. “Moses, In the Law commanded us to stone such women,” they continued. Then they climaxed their set up by asking, “So what do You say we should do?” Not only did they put her on the spot, but they also put Jesus on the spot. But where was the partner caught with her? Why wasn’t he also brought in? It should have been easy enough to identify and apprehend her companion. However, they weren’t interested in justice, the real intent of these religious folk was to set a trap for this upstart teacher. And a subtle trap it was! These legalists were undoubtedly seeking to test Jesus skill in decision making as well as His conformity to orthodox interpretation of the Law.
However, instead of falling into the trap of answering the accusers, Jesus stooped down and started writing on the ground, with his finger, in the dirt. I wonder, “What did He write or draw? Was he merely doodling? Many theories have been suggested, but whatever it was they didn’t pay much attention it nor did it have the desired effect because the text says, “they persisted in questioning Him about the lady caught in sin.” And in Jesus silence, these scribal interpreters could’ve taken it to get on with the show – start throwing stones. After all, isn’t that what we like to do? Start the gossip about the failing of others, discredit reputations, talk the talk that’s going around town. Don’t we even as Christians sometimes seem to stomp on those who are down, beat them into the ground by our idle gossip and judgmental attitudes. Even in our SS classes we carry on gossip, murmur and complain when we ought to be spending that time praying for leaders and members out of love and care, in addition to studying the Bible to hear the Holy Spirit speak about God’s will and what He would have us do to serve Him.
Well, as they continued their casuistic questioning, Jesus arose a second time and firmly announced His verdict: “The one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her.” It was hardly what they expected, but it was potent! No more outburst now. Jesus simply stooped down a second time and continued writing in the dirt. I still wonder what He was writing on the ground. I’m not alone either. We can be sure that the accused and the accusers alike looked over Jesus shoulder to see what it was as well. My best guess is He began with the oldest of the accusers and one by one, wrote the sin that each one of them struggled with the most. I don’t know dogmatically if that’s what He did, but I do know one at a time, from the oldest to the youngest they left the temple scene until only Jesus was left with the woman, so publicly accused, as the center of attention.
Jesus stood up one final time and said to the woman accused: “Where are thine accusers?” By the way, who is it that’s known as the Accuser of the brethren in Scripture? Is it not Satan? So you be the judge of whose servants these religious lay people were. “Where are they?” Jesus asked. “Has no one condemned you?” “No one Lord,” she answered. “Neither do I condemn you,” said Jesus. Go and from now on do not sin any more.” What a statement of grace! Law verses Grace – and grace gets the victory.
There’s so much truth in this story that applies to us, so let me mention a couple of things in concluding:
1. Grace not condemnation comes by Jesus Christ
When Jesus asked, “Has no one condemned you? And then concurred, “Neither do I condemn you,” He was extending the grace of God to this needy woman. In fact, Jesus said in John 3:17, after he said, “For God so loved the world . . . For God did not send . . . “ And Paul said in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are you saved . . .” Again Jesus said in John 3:18, “Whoever believes in Him is not . . . “ So as the apostle John put it plainly when he wrote in John 1:17, “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
I don’t know what your need for grace is. It may be for salvation, for patience, for dealing with difficult people, for forgiving others, for living godly. John Blanchard noted, “For daily need there is daily grace; for sudden need, sudden grace, and for overwhelming need, overwhelming grace.” Whatever your need for grace, it comes by Jesus Christ. In a small cemetery of a parish churchyard in Olney, England stands a granite tombstone with this inscription: “John Newton, clerk (pastor), once an infidel and libertine, a servant of slavers in Africa, was, by the rich mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the Faith he had long labored to destroy.” You may not remember his name, but all of us know the song he wrote as a testimony of his life: “Amazing Grace.” Grace, not condemnation comes by Jesus Christ.
2. Not one of us is without sin
At verse 7 when they persisted in questioning Jesus, He stood up and said to them, “The one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her.” His point was well taken. None of us is without sin. As Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned. . . And Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift . . . “ God forgives our sin and gives us His eternal life. The liberating work of Jesus means the forgiveness of sin. He lifts it up and sends it away, never to remember it anymore. He doesn’t excuse it, nor remove all the consequences of it, but He does forgive it never to remember it or bring it up again.
In his book, A Forgiving God in an Unforgiving World, Ron Lee Davis tells the true story of a priest in the Phillippines, a much loved man of God who carried the burden of a secret sin he had committed many years before. He had repented, but still had no peace about it. In his parish was a woman who deeply loved God and claimed to have visions in which she spoke with Christ. The priest, however, was skeptical about that. So, to test her he said, “The next time you speak with Christ, ask him what sin I committed while I was in seminary.” The woman agreed. A few days later the priest asked, “Well, did Christ visit you in your dreams?” “Yes, he did, “ she replied. “And did you ask him what sin I committed back in seminary?” “Yes.” “And what did He say?” She smiled and answered, “Christ said, ‘I don’t remember.”’ None of us is without sin, but Jesus has forgiven us of all our sins. When He forgives, He forgets. And He helps us to forgive ourselves. Just do as Jesus told the woman caught in the act of adultery. “Go, and from now on, do not sin any more.” (This illustration came from esermons.com) You have the power of grace, the victory of grace not to sin if you choose.
