Max Lucado, in his book Facing Your Giants, talks about Rogers Cadenhead, who upon the death of Pope John Paul II, registered www.BenedictXVI.com as a new internet domain name before the new Pope's name was even announced.
Now, the right domain name can prove pretty lucrative. For example, another name, PopeBenedictXVI.com, surpassed $16,000 on eBay. Cadenhead, however, didn't want money. A Catholic himself, he was happy for the church to own the name. He would give it to them without asking for any money in return. He quipped, “I'm going to try and avoid angering 1.1 billion Catholics and my grandmother.”
He did want something else in return, though. In exchange for the name, Cadenhead sought:
1. One of those hats;
2. A free stay at the Vatican hotel;
3. Complete absolution, no questions asked, for the third week of March 1987.
Makes you wonder what happened that week, doesn't it? It may even remind you of a week in your own life (Max Lucado, Facing Your Giants, W Publishing Group, 2006, p.131-132; www.PreachingToday.com).
Is there something of which you are ashamed? If there is, what do you do with that shame? What do you do with your regrets? What do you do with the embarrassment of your past? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to John 8, John 8, where Jesus deals with a woman and her accusers, who publicly humiliated her in the temple courts.
John 8:1-2 They went each to his own house, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them (ESV).
The Feast of Tabernacles had just ended, so Jesus takes advantage of the crowds still lingering around. John 8:20 says Jesus was teaching in the treasury of the temple, which was on one side or other of the court of the women. The law prevented women from getting any closer to the sanctuary than this court. So it was a very public place, a place where men and women could gather together.
John 8:3-4 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery (ESV).
Must have been quite a show, watching a woman having sex with a man she’s not married to. The scribes and Pharisees don’t realize it yet, but they just incriminated themselves. Even so, they go on to condemn the woman.
John 8:5-6a Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him (ESV).
If Jesus said, “Yes, go ahead and stone her,” He would have discredited Himself with the crowd, who loved His message of grace and forgiveness. The very people He came to reach, the sinners, would turn away from Him. On the other hand, if Jesus said, “No, refrain from stoning her,” He would be violating the Law of Moses and could be subject to arrest.
The religious leaders set a trap for Jesus with this dilemma, because no matter how He answered, either the crowd or the authorities would condemn Him. They thought they had Jesus trapped, but Jesus springs the trap on them.
John 8:6b-8 Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground (ESV).
There is a lot of speculation as to what Jesus wrote on the ground. Some say He was writing His sentence as judges did in His day before pronouncing judgment. Others say He was sketching out the scene as they described it, which incriminated them. Still others say Jesus was just doodling in the sand to give the woman’s accusers time to think about their self-incriminating accusation.
Whatever it was, Jesus trapped the woman’s accusers when He said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7).
You see, the Law required that the eyewitness to the capital offense cast the first stone (Deuteronomy 17:7). So the one who picked up the first stone incriminated himself as a participant in the adultery. Either he was in bed with the woman, or he gawked in lust as it took place. After all, they had already admitted that they caught her in the very act (John 8:4).
So to pick up the first stone was an admission of guilt, and the Law required that the man also be stoned along with the woman (Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22). When the religious leaders set a trap for Jesus, He sprung the trap on them. What could they do but walk away.
John 8:9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him (ESV).
There were no more accusers, because they were all just as guilty as the woman, if not more so. So when you stand condemned and shamed by your accusers…
REJECT THEIR CONDEMNATION.
Refuse to let their accusations define you. Deny them any power over you to put you down, because your accusers also stand condemned often by their very own words.
In 2008, Paul Herbert, a municipal court judge from Ohio, was using Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life to disciple his teenage daughters. One night, one of his daughters asked him, “Daddy, what's your purpose in life?”
Herbert gave a vague answer about being “a light on the bench,” but that night, he prayed candidly to God: “I realize that being a judge is a very unique position. Not many people get this opportunity. Can you show me some way that I could be significant for you in my work?”
About nine months later, after seeing a typical procession of domestic violence victims, the sheriff brought a prostitute into Herbert's courtroom. Herbert realized that she looked exactly like one of the domestic violence victims he'd been seeing. It shook up his categories.
Herbert began researching the criminology of prostitution and what he learned stunned him. Around 87 percent of prostitutes are sexually abused, typically starting at around age 8. They often start using drugs to deal with that trauma around age 12. The girls run away from home or foster care and are dragged by predatory pimps into the commercial sex trade.
Herbert decided to apply his faith to his work. He launched a new program called CATCH Court, which stands for “Changing Attitudes to Change Habits.” Prior to this program, prostitutes simply cycled in and out of jail. But through Herbert's two-year program, women convicted of prostitution receive drug treatment and counseling. Their movements are monitored electronically, they offer support to each other, and they appear before Judge Herbert weekly in the courtroom to report on their progress.
Herbert describes a couple of the women who have completed the program. He says, “One [woman] was sold when she was a little girl by her mother to older men for crack cocaine. Today she is in Phi Theta Kappa at Columbus State Community College.” Another was kidnapped by a motorcycle gang and raped, then transported to other gangs and sold for sex. Now, she is two years sober from heroin.
But Herbert also emphasizes the spiritual transformation that has occurred in his life. He said:
The Holy Spirit continues to reveal how much I've been forgiven, and how similar I am to the individuals that come before me. That's really hard to say! [My] job is to judge. But the farther I go along [in my faith], the more I realize that I'm just like most of them—and that makes me more understanding, more kind, more merciful (Adapted from Amy Sherman, “Oldest Profession, or Oldest Oppression? Ohio Judge Creates Court for Abused Prostitutes,” Christianity Today, 6-1-12; www.PreachingToday. com).
The judge and the accused both stand condemned before God. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). So, if you want to get rid of the shame of your past, reject the condemnation of your accusers, and…
RECEIVE THE COMMENDATION OF CHRIST.
Accept His grace and forgiveness. Welcome the honor Jesus gives to sinners, who turn to Him.
John 8:10-11 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more” (ESV).
The only one who had the right to condemn her refused to do it. Instead, He set her free and encouraged her to change.
Wow! What grace, especially when you see what Jesus called her. Did you notice it in verse 10? Jesus addresses the adulteress as “Woman.” It’s the same way He addressed His own mother before His first miracle (John 2:4). And it’s the same way He will address His mother from the cross (John 19:26). In Jesus’ day, to address a female as “woman” was to pay her the highest respect. It was a way to honor her above all others.
The religious leaders condemned her. Jesus commends her. He took away her shame.
Please, let Jesus do it for you. Turn from your sin to Him today, and let Him take away your shame. Let Him honor you.
On Twitter (now X), the St. John Fisher Catholic High School of Peterborough, England, recently posted a picture of a book that was returned to its library. An anonymous student had checked the book out 32 years previously. Now, he or she was returning it with this note: “Sorry, just 32 years overdue. Call it Catholic guilt.”
Chief of administration Rosie Roe had opened the package with the long-lost book and was disappointed that the guilty party remained anonymous. She said, “It was a real surprise when I opened it and saw what was inside. I thought it's a real shame they didn't leave a name because I was at the school at that time and wonder if I know them.”
It’s not clear whether the anonymous former student was motivated more by guilt or by the book’s subject matter. It’s title: Manners Make a Difference. The school will keep the book out of the library, since its content is quite outdated. Also, after calculating that the fine would be nearly $1100 dollars, the school announced, “all is forgiven” (Ben Hooper, “Overdue library book returned to high school after 32 years,” UPI Odd News, 4-19-21; www.PreachingToday.com).
No matter how long you have been holding on to the guilt and shame of your past, it is never too late to bring that shame to Jesus. He will not condemn you. Instead, He will forgive you. He will release the stigma of your sin from you and set you free. Please, turn to Him and let Him take away your shame.
More than that, turn to Him and let Him take the blame. Let Him stand condemned in your place. Let Him bear the punishment for your sin.
You see, “for Jesus to forgive this woman meant that He had to one day die for her sins” (Wiersbe). And it’s the only way God can justly forgive you and me of our sins. Forgiveness is free, but it is not cheap. Somebody has to pay the high price for our sins, and that’s what Jesus did on the cross.
The Bible says, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). That is to say Christ paid the price for our sins on the cross. He died in our place, so we could escape the condemnation and shame of our own sin.
When Daverius Peters arrived for his high school graduation from Hahnville High School, he was excited. His excitement, however, quickly turned to shame and embarrassment when a school representative turned him away for wearing the wrong shoes.
According to the school’s dress code, male students were required to wear dark-colored dress shoes. Peters said, “I thought I could wear them because they’re black.” He had on a white shirt, tie, and dress pants, which abided by the rest of the code.
Nevertheless, the school representative at the door disagreed, and turned Peters away. Peters recalled, “I was in shock. I felt humiliated. I just wanted to walk across the stage and get my diploma.”
Fortunately, John Butler was on the scene. He was a paraeducator at the school and was in attendance to see his own daughter graduate. Peters spotted Butler and explained the situation. Butler said, “Of course, that sounded crazy to me. There was nothing eccentric about his shoes.”
So, after a brief back-and-forth with the woman at the door, Butler decided the quickest way to resolve the situation was to give Peters the shoes off his own feet. And that’s exactly what he did. Peters eventually walked—actually “slid” is the more accurate term—across the stage with Butler’s size 11’s on his size-9 feet. And Butler attended the graduation in his stocking feet with no regrets.
Butler said, “This was the most important moment in his life up to that point, and I wasn’t going to let him miss it for anything. I was just happy to see him receive his diploma” (Sydney Page, “A student was barred from graduation for wearing the wrong shoes,” The Washington Post. 6-1-21; www.PreachingToday.com).
Now, that’s what Jesus did for every believer on the cross. He bore their shame on the cross and gave them His righteousness. Please, let Him do it for you. If you want to get rid of the shame of your past, turn to Him. Trust Him with your life and let Him take away your shame, let Him bear the blame.
So that you are never the same again. Let His mercy and grace transform you from the inside out. Let His forgiveness make a difference for you for all eternity.
You see, God’s forgiveness is not a license to sin. It’s motivation to live for Him! After Jesus took away the woman’s shame, He said to her in verse 11, “Go, and from now on sin no more.” Her life would never be the same again, motivated by the mercy and grace of Jesus.
Author and speaker Barbara Johnson writes about speaking at one of the last Women of Faith (WOF) conferences in 1998. She had challenged the audience to really think, “What would Jesus do” in their everyday situations. At the conference, she distributed buttons, which said, “SOMEONE JESUS LOVES HAS AIDS.”
After speaking, she ran to grab a bite to eat before heading to her book table. At that moment, the Women of Faith director, Christie Barnes, headed Barbara off. Christie’s eyes were big, and she was talking fast. A prostitute, hiding from her pimp, was upstairs threatening suicide. She insisted on talking to Barbara Johnson.
For a moment, Barbara thought, “Why me?” But she quickly gathered five women to come with her to the locker room where the prostitute had been taken. A suicide unit, emergency personnel, and police were on their way. Christie filled Barbara in as they walked, concluding with the fact that the prostitute had full-blown AIDS.
She was about 35 years old, dirty, and smelly from sleeping in a dumpster. Her pimp was trying to kill her because she wanted to stop turning tricks. The jagged scar on her face and the bullet hole in her leg were evidence.
The first thing Barbara did was give her the button. As she held it tightly, they talked about how Jesus could give her a new heart and life. Within minutes, the prostitue was praying to accept Christ as Savior.
One woman scrambled to get soap, shampoo, and towels; another ran upstairs to grab a Women of Faith T-shirt and sweatshirt from the booth. As everyone disappeared, Barbara sat the prostitute on a stool in the shower to start cleaning her up. Then Barbara saw a fresh gaping wound down her chest.
“We need to get you a doctor,” Barbara said.
“No,” the woman insisted. "I just need to get out of town."
By the time they were done with the shower, enough money had been scraped together for a bus ticket out of town.
Barbara’s helpers gathered around them and prayed. Barbara says, “Their genuine love for this woman from the street brought tears to my eyes. The prostitute was in a win-win situation. If the pimp caught her and killed her, she would be safe in the arms of Jesus. If she made it to her family in Chicago, God was giving her a brand-new start. Either way she was a winner!
Someone called a taxi.
“Wait!” the woman said. “The button!
Pulling her filthy shirt out of the trash, she removed the button and proudly pinned it on her clean sweatshirt.
They ran outside to catch the cab, and before the woman rolled up the window, Barbara gave her one last hug. “If you get to heaven before you get to Chicago,” Barbara told her, “You can polish the pearly gates for me” (Barbara Johnson, Christian Reader, March/April 1999; www.PreachingToday.com).
You see, no matter how dark your past, your future can be bright if you turn to Jesus and trust Him with your life. Even if you die, you can polish the pearly gates. But if you live, Jesus will give you a brand-new start. Please, let Him do it for you.
If you want to get rid of the shame of your past, reject the condemnation of your accusers and receive the commendation of Christ. Trust Jesus with your life and let Him take away your shame, let Him take the blame, so you are never the same again.
Melvin Hugen put it this way: “Bless the Lord for ‘all his benefits,” which include not only the forgiveness of sins, but also the lifting of shame… God attaches to the lowly and the unclean, raising them from their slime and crud. Where shame is concerned, God may be trusted to lift and to cleanse and to cloak us with love (Melvin D. Hugen and Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., Books & Culture, Vol. 2, no. 2; www.PreachingToday.com).
Please, trust Jesus to do that for you. Trust Him to cleanse and to cloak you with His love.
