A Study of the Book of John
“That You May Believe”
Sermon # 24
“How To Hate Sin and Love Sinners”
John 8:1-11
Our story begins early one morning when a crowd had gathered in the temple courts to hear Jesus teach (8:2). “Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.”
The Feast of the Tabernacles had just ended which means there would still have been great crowds in Jerusalem. As Jesus teaches, he is suddenly interrupted by a crowd of men who drag a woman into his presence.
Let’s see if we can picture the scene. A group of men insistently push and shove their way through the crowd until they (and the woman) stand before Jesus. The woman is red faced with embarrassment, and her hair and clothing are in disarray. And it is hard to discern whether she is more scared or angry.
First, The Accusation of the Accusers (10:4-7)
In verses four and five they present their case, “they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. (5) Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?”
Christians in today’s sexually permissive society often face the challenge of how to deal with those accused of a sexual sin. It feels as if we are given the choice of either being too hard on sinners or too soft on sin.
It might surprise you to find out that some of the earliest of the New Testament manuscripts do not include this story. And even some modern Bible scholars are not quite sure what to do with it. In the Revised Standard it’s in a footnote to John 8. The New English Bible puts it as an addendum at the end of John. But the King James Version does include it and personally I believe that John wrote it and that it is in its correct place in his Gospel. I believe that the story has not been accepted by some because they thought, incorrectly, that it made Jesus looks easy on sin. Apparently some early Christians were embarrassed by this phenomenal display of God’s grace
So what’s the problem? The problem is how to respond to those who have sinned. The great Bible scholar F.B. Meyers said, “It is a terrible thing for a sinner to fall into the hands of his fellow sinners.” How do we respond when faced with the blatant sinfulness of people today? What do we do and how are we to respond? Americans by the thousands are enthralled by the details of other people’s shame and seem to greedily consume every gruesome tidbit. Why is that? Why are we so enthralled with the details of other people’s sins? Why are we drawn like spectators to a awful car wreck? – it is simple – to feel better about ourselves. We can watch the likes of the “Jerry Springer Show” and feel good about who we are because those creeps are so awful. For the same reason we can also be drawn to preaching that “names sin and bashes sinners”, as long as it is not “our” sin. Now I am all for Biblical preaching and I have no problem calling what the Bible calls sin, sin! Yet I sometimes wonder if what appeals to us about preaching about the sin that is rampant in this world, is because it deals with sin, or because it makes us feel better in the process!
Philip Yancey in his book “What’s So Amazing About Grace” comments that this incident from the book of John illustrates that the world is not divided into righteous and unrighteous people but into sinners who admit that they are sinners and sinners who deny that they are sinners. Some sins are secret and hidden, some sins are confessed.
There are several interesting aspects to what this woman’s accusers say. First, we need to recognize that the religious leaders who brought this woman were really neither concerned about this woman or her sin. Verse six reveals that the real truth was that they were looking for a way to trap Jesus into condemning himself. “This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him.” When the rulers of the Jewish nation failed in their attempt to have Jesus arrested by the temple guards (Jn 7:45) they immediately devise a new plot to trap Jesus. They thought they really had Jesus trapped. If He says, “No” he loses; if he says, “Yes” he loses. If he says, “No” he violates the law of Moses. If he says, “Yes” he violates Romans law which forbade the Jews from putting anyone to death.
The question they asked in verse five was really in order to have a basis for accusing him, so they asked. “Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” Is that really what the law of Moses said? Well the answer is both yes and no.
Another puzzling aspects to this case is that the last time I checked it takes two to commit adultery; where is the man? And since verse four says, she was caught “in the very act” of adultery, it become even more mysterious. Because the man is nowhere to be seen, this whole thing smacks of entrap-ment. At the very least the leaders are guilty of allowing the man to escape and at the worst he had been promised immunity beforehand. But it is interesting to note that in Judaism at the time adultery meant sexual relations outside of marriage on the part of a married woman. Her husband was not regarded as committing adultery unless his sexual partner was married. Talk about a double standard. But, the absence of the other party in this sin does nothing to alter this woman’s guilt. She deserved to be punished with or without the man.
That this woman was guilty, there is absolutely no question about that! The problem was, What should be done? At least three things are at stake here, (1) the life of the woman, (2) the reputation of Jesus for compassion, (3) the position of the God given law of Moses.
Although they are quoting the penalty of Deut 22:22 they are not quoting it accurately. The law of Moses says that the guilty “couple” should be “put to death” it does not specifically call for stoning.
The scene reminds one of the story of King Arthur and his queen Guinevere. King Arthur’s most trusted knight Lancelot, had an affair with the queen. Mordred, who caught Guinevere and Lancelot in their unfaithful-ness, taunted the king. Much like our biblical story Lancelot escaped, but Guinevere was captured and sentenced to death by the court. In the climatic scene King Arthur is called upon to give the signal to carry out the execution, Mordred mocks him with wicked joy. He says, “Arthur what a magnificent dilemma! Let her die, your life is over; let her live and your life’s a fraud. Which will it be, Arthur? Do you kill the Queen or kill the law.”
They were quite certain that they had Jesus in an unbreakable steel trap. If he said they should stone her, they could turn and accuse him of contradicting his own gospel. If he said, they should not stone her, he could be accused of undermining the Old Testa-ment Law and no self-respecting Rabbi could afford to do that. If Jesus simply let the woman go, then he would have been seen as easy on sin and could have been arrested for being in violation of the law. If, however, he gave permission for the woman to be killed, He could be accused before Rome as a breaker of the law and it would have destroyed his reputation as a “friend of sinners.”
Jesus could have taken the path of rigid holiness but that would have ended tragically with the woman’s death. He could have taken the path of indulgent love but that would have brought disaster. Instead he choose the path of grace.
Not only the Accusation of the Accusers but ….
Secondly, The Response of Jesus (8:6-8)
But instead of immediately answering them, the second part of verse six says, “… But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.” At first it appears that Jesus just ignored them as he stooped down and began to write on the ground. Some have suggested that Jesus did this merely as a means of gaining some time. Others argue that He did so to force her accusers to think long and hard about what they are demanding. But that fact that Jesus was writing on the ground seems to have no effect on these men for verse seven reveals that they continue to press for an answer.
“So when they continued asking Him..” They just would not let go, they kept stressing their point. They keep the pressure on Jesus. “Come on! Tell us teacher, what should we do.” Finally he responds in the second part of verse seven, “… He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”
The result is almost humorous. They are so stunned, that they are literally speechless.
Jesus did not deny the guilt of this woman. He upholds the Law. Adultery is a sin. But that is not all he does, Jesus sees into the hearts of these men. What he says is, “But before you pick up a stone, make sure you are morally qualified to put this woman to death.”
And then according to verse eight, “…again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.” What Jesus wrote in the sand has tantalized the imagination of mankind for over 2,000 years. Today, I am going to give you a definitive theological answer, “I don’t know!” and neither does anyone else! However, I will give you a little food for thought. Many have suggested that he may have written The Ten Commandments.
Some have said they thought he wrote the men’s names and beside each name - their sin. More than one commentator suggested that he could have written the names of their girl friends, which does have the advantage of explaining why they cleared the area so quickly.
So what did he write when he twice stooped down to write on the ground? After all the speculation is over we simply do not know the answer. But whatever is was it got these men’s attention, for with the combination of what he said and what he wrote they began to quietly slip away.
Not only the Response of Jesus but .
Third, The Reaction Of the Accusers (10:9)
In verse nine we read, “Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.”
We have to give them the credit for the fact that when they saw themselves as hey really were they stopped calling for the death of the woman. The only one who was left was, Jesus and He alone in the world was qualified to take up the first stone. She reached a point in life where it was just her and Jesus. It eventually comes down to that for everyone.
Eventually, someday, you are going to have to face Jesus, either here in this life as your Savior or in the life to come, as your judge. Either you will face Jesus in one of life’s encounter and accept Him as Savior or you will face Him on the Judgment Day!
Not only the Reaction Of the Accusers but …
Fourth, The Responsibility of the Woman
(8:10-11a)
As her accusers release their hold on her, she doesn’t take the opportunity to slip into the crowd. Why? Although we are not actually told that she was repentant, her actions, staying when she could have run, imply that she was.
Notice three things.
•He Confronted Her (vv. 10-11a)
Jesus now turns and addresses the woman in verse ten, “When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” Jesus addresses her as “woman” and in our modern ears that sounds unkind and uncaring, but I want to give you a little insight into that term. In reality it is a term of respect. This is the same word that Jesus uses twice in the book of John, both times in addressing his mother (John 2:4, 19:26). It’s interesting to understand that the term was the equivalent of “Lady” and was term of honor given to a woman worthy of honor. That was certainly not what she was, but it was as the Lord saw her becoming!
•He Forgave Her (v. 11b)
“And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you”
The only one qualified to throw a stone refused to. Some suggest that Jesus takes advantage of the requirements of the law. Since according to the law it was necessary to have two or three witnesses present, Jesus was freed from having to condemn her. Perhaps, but I believe it was more than that. I believe that Jesus forgave her based on what he knew he would be doing for her and for the rest of mankind in just a very short time. He forgave her on the basis of the full and complete payment he would make on the cross for the penalty of all mankind.
This is the Gospel. Salvation is free, but is free only because as the Son God, Jesus paid the price for us!
But the story does not end yet, because Jesus made one more statement to this woman.
•He Challenged Her (v. 11c)
“ … go and sin no more.”
This statement brings us to the end of this wonderful story this morning. Jesus’ warning implied a choice – either go back to the life she had been leading or reach out to the new life offered through Him. When the Lord forgave this woman, he set her free to be a different kind of person that she was before. Jesus does not pardon sinners to leave them as He found them. Therefore we need to understand that when our sins are forgiven it is in order that we might be free to live differently. It is not in order that we can go back to way things were, to the life we left behind.
Jesus specializes in taking wasted, ruined lives and saving them by his grace and restoring them to usefulness. What Jesus did for this woman He can and will do for you.
A guy wrote a song a few years ago titled “In Heaven’s Eyes.” Some of the words are, “In Heaven’s eyes there are no losers. In Heaven’s eyes there are no hopeless causes. There are only people like you with feelings like me amazed by the grace we find in Heaven’s eyes.”
Application
Each of us can be found somewhere in the story. Some are like the crowd, they stood and watched this miracle of forgive-ness, but they did not become a part of it. They saw what happened but it did not happen to them.
Others are like the rulers. They too were sinners but because they failed to deal with their own need they went away without hearing the words of forgiveness. In my own life’s journey I want to strive for this goal - to be less tolerant of sin in my own life and more tolerant of imperfection of others. I’m going to drop the rocks!
Or finally you may be like the woman who not only heard but also received the good news of forgiveness!
“How To Hate Sin and Love Sinners”
John 8:1-11
First, The __________ of the Accusers (10:4-7)
Secondly, The _____________ of Jesus (8:6-8)
Third, The ___________ Of the Accusers (10:9)
Fourth, The ________________ of the Woman
(8:10-11a)
•He ___________ Her (vv. 10-11a)
“Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”
•He ___________ Her (v. 11b)
“Neither do I condemn you”
•He ___________ Her (v. 11c)
“ … go and sin no more.”
