“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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.’”
J
esus endeavoured to maintain a routine that gave Him time both to pray and to teach; at least that is my considered opinion after reading the scriptural accounts. However, the routine He sought to maintain was frequently interrupted by those who hated Him and who were intent on destroying Him. Those who were opposed to Jesus knew His schedule, and they often tried to disrupt what He might be doing. That is certainly the case in the incident described in our text today.
The Master had gone to the Mount of Olives, where He often resorted for prayer. It was quiet there, away from the presence of others, allowing Him time alone in the presence of the Father. Then, as seems to have been His custom whenever He was in or near Jerusalem, He went to the Temple, where the people would eagerly gather to hear Him as He taught. As they surrounded Him, He would instruct them in the things of God. And those who heard Him speak were delighted. Peter, speaking through Mark, declares, “The great throng heard Him gladly” [MARK 12:37b].
There is no great surprise in the characterisation of the Master as a teacher and as a preacher. To be sure, Jesus was a preacher, though I doubt that He could be characterised as a foot-stompin’, shoutin’, Bible-thumper. I don’t mean that Jesus wasn’t capable of flashes of anger accompanied by stern words. He had no trouble driving from the Temple those who were desecrating God’s House. Who could forget John’s description of Jesus’ anger, writing, “In the temple [Jesus] found people selling oxen, sheep, and doves, and he also found the money changers sitting there. After making a whip out of cords, he drove everyone out of the temple with the sheep and oxen. He also poured out the money changers’ coins and overturned the tables. He told those who were selling the doves, ‘Get these things out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace’” [JOHN 2:14-16 CSB]. Describing the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, you recall that Mark opens the Gospel that bears his name by stating, “Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God” [MARK 1:14b]. From the first opening act of His service that is provided in the Gospel accounts, Jesus was engaged in proclaiming the Gospel.
His stance opposing any action that would detract from God’s glory put Him in conflict with the religious leaders. Those to whom the populace looked for guidance in religious matters were extremely pragmatic. If an action promoted Judaism without compelling the leaders to grapple with the messy business of dealing directly with the hoi polloi, the religious leaders gave their approval, if only tacitly. Jesus was laser focused on honouring God which ensured a clash with the religious elite.
You and I have a challenging time maintaining focus in the press of religious life. We go to the services of the congregation, and far more often than we would ever care to admit, we carry the distractions of the day-to-day world into the assembly of the righteous. “Where shall we eat following the service today?” “Why is she dressed like that in church?” “Will my client pay what is owed, or will I have to get rough with him?”
How I wish that I could be like the woman who was asked by her pastor what she did! She responded to the question, “I am a follower of Jesus Christ cleverly disguised as a machine operator.” How I long to be focused on first things, which is serving Jesus, the Master. How I long for each of you who hear me to focus on first things at all times. Instead, our pleasure, our desires, our wants take precedence over honouring Him as God. In our own congregation we witnessed a man who wanted to be a pastor deliver a rousing message on commitment one Sunday morning and fail to show up Sunday evening because he chose to go hunting. Some commitment! We heard that man lecture the congregation about serving Christ and then failing to be in the service the following Sunday morning because his donkey had escaped the pen. Either Christ is King, or He is just an excuse for us to pretend to be holy. The message this day is designed to confront each of us with the question of whether we are serving Christ, or merely being religious.
CAUGHT IN THE ACT — “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. 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. 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. 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. 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” [JOHN 8:1-9].
I confess that as I read this account, a number of questions rise up in my mind. Where was the man? If the woman was caught, how is it that the man was not also seized? Didn’t these Pharisees know the Scriptures? Had they never read Moses who wrote, “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death” [LEVITICUS 20:10]. These scholars had been very precise in stating, “This woman has been caught in the act of adultery [JOHN 8:4]. They were not claiming that she was guilty of sexual immorality, which was a different situation with a different penalty. In the latter, the man would have to marry the woman, whereas in the former, death was mandated. Were these religious arbiters waiting to bring the man forward after they received a pronouncement, hoping to catch the Master on the horns of a dilemma? Was this woman a mere pawn in a great game of “gotcha?”
I note that Jesus did not challenge the false narrative these pious frauds concocted, there was no need to do so as responding directly to their duplicity would lend credence to the lie they were perpetuating. It would have been an easy task to expose their duplicity. But had He done so, Jesus would have simply played into their game, leading to an exchange of the losing game of “But you said…” “No, you said…” Jesus neither needed to defend Himself nor permit these wicked men to seize the initiative.
Jesus will indeed judge the world! But we often forget that the judgement Christ will render lies in the future. During the days of His flesh, Jesus was adamant in stating, “I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak” [JOHN 12:46-49].
Elsewhere, we witness the Apostle to the Gentiles testifying, “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead” [ACTS 17:30-31]. Indeed, Jesus shall judge all mankind, but that particular judgement lies in the future after He has returned.
At the return of Christ before the Millennium begins, He will judge the nations. Matthew presents this truth when he records the words the Master delivered before His Passion. Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” [MATTHEW 25:31-46]. Well, that is certainly a sobering thought, is it not! The Son of Man, the Christ Who was crucified and Who rose again, will judge the nations when He returns.
And what is described in this passage is not the final judgement! That awful assize is described as John writes of what he witnessed when the Risen Lord revealed what lies ahead for fallen mankind. The Revelator has written of that final judgement of the lost: “I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” [REVELATION 20:11-15].
Like others who refused to receive Jesus as God’s Messiah during the days of His flesh, these Pharisees sought to make Jesus appear to be uncaring and thus fraudulent in the eyes of the people who followed Him forcing Jesus into making a judgement. Maybe you will recall an incident that occurred on one occasion and the manner in which Jesus responded when a man attempted to get Jesus to adjudicate a financial matter. “Someone in the crowd said to [Jesus], ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.’ But he said to him, ‘Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you’” [LUKE 12:13-14].
I’m aware that this pericope is not primarily intended to teach whether Jesus would function as a judge during the days of His flesh; however, without that statement that He would not serve as a judge at that time, the teaching that is provided loses much of the power it possesses. The example Jesus provided is a powerful anticipation of what is stated when the Apostle Paul teaches, “It is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God” [1 CORINTHIANS 4:3-5].
This is what we do know concerning the event that resulted in this poor woman being dragged into the presence of the Son of God. She committed adultery, whether because she was unfaithful to her husband or because she was lying with a married man, and those guilty of adultery were to be executed. The Law was quite clear: “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death” [LEVITICUS 20:10]. No exception was permitted! And yet, the man was not hauled before Jesus in this instance! These are the facts we are given.
JUSTICE DEMANDED — Recall that the text sets the scene, informing us, “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. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say’” [JOHN 8:4-5]. The text continues by noting, “This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him” [JOHN 8:6a]. Jesus ignored His interlocutors, writing with His finger in the dust. His lack of response led these religious leaders to grow insistent, as the Word of God notes that, “They continued to ask Him” [JOHN 8:7a]. They were on a mission, and they thought they had found the way to destroy Jesus.
If Jesus responded by agreeing that the Law needed to be carried out, He would appear austere, even callous. Then, the common people would not want to follow such a man. There are people who imagine that it is better to be feared than it is to be loved, but such is certainly unseemly in a religious leader. Adherents to the Islamic religion certainly fear their leaders. No one doubts that the Revolutionary Guard in Iran instills fear in the populace; and though the people outwardly toe the line, holding to the particular religious tenets demanded by the mullahs, it is unlikely that people love the leaders or that any love the terrible version of the desert demon they call “Allah.”
On the other hand, if Jesus spoke to insist that the woman should be spared, then He would be guilty of disregarding the Law. If this was the case, then the people would not want to associate with someone who spoke against Moses and undermined the very foundation of the nation which God had brought into existence by delivering them from bondage and entrusting His divine Law to them. Thus, in the minds of these religious leaders, Jesus would be destroyed in the eyes of His followers no matter how He responded. And His destruction was the intent of this exercise.
However, there was a flaw in the logic of the religious leaders. They hadn’t thought through what they were doing. As is true of many plans, it was brilliant in theory, but the execution left much to be desired. It seems folly-wide-the-mark to imagine that this woman and her paramour were engaged in sex in the middle of the street, in view of everyone. It is reasonable to conclude that they were secreted in a bedroom in a private home or at least in one of the rooms and thus not in plain view to any who happened to pass by while walking in the street. Thus, it means that the Pharisees who were so enraged had invaded the sanctity of a home at the precise moment a couple were engaged in adultery in order to catch this woman “in the act of adultery.” No one doubts that they caught the sinning couple in flagrante delicto.
We have already established that under the Law, both the adulterer and the adulteress were to be put to death [see LEVITICUS 20:10]. Thus, it is appropriate to ask where the man who was supposedly committing adultery with this woman was in all this attention from these religious leaders? How did these religious leaders manage to seize her while allowing him to escape their grasp? You don’t suppose that this was a setup, do you? Surely these religious leaders wouldn’t distort the application of the Mosaic injunction just to harm someone whom they despised! Surely the sole concern of these religious leaders was not to trip up the Master by somehow showing Him to either be a fraud or perhaps demonstrate that He was lacking in compassion! Religious people would never do that, would they?
It is a truism that whenever an individual exalts religious practise above obedience to the Risen Saviour, that person is susceptible to revealing the depth of wickedness that has seized his life; and the revealing will be sooner rather than later. Religious people with a heart that is unredeemed are yet wicked, because they are deceived by their own heart. Thus, they are capable of the most heinous sins imaginable. We each need to learn the truth of the words Jeremiah wrote so many years ago.
“The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?”
[JEREMIAH 17:9]
And we need to hear the fact that there is One Who knows what is in the heart.
“I the LORD search the heart
and test the mind,
to give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds.”
[JEREMIAH 17:10]
In this context, it will be beneficial for you to recall how the Apostle teaches those who follow the Master, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
“What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness” [ROMANS 6:12-18].
Hold on! Don’t we respond just as did the Pharisees on far too many occasions? Perhaps there is more than a bit of Pharisaism in contemporary Christianity. We who follow the Risen Saviour still harbour in our hearts much that dishonours Him. We know that God searches the heart, that He knows us and accepts us despite the wickedness that contaminates our lives. And yet we hold to account those who offend us in our own private court where we will mete out our own justice, ensuring that they receive the contempt, the rejection, the punishment we have already decided they deserve!
When we do this, we attempt to take the place of our gracious Lord jut so we can make our enemies pay the price we demand. Doing this, we reveal that we are just like those Pharisees. We are at that moment attempting to recreate God in our image—and we are destined to fail. For this reason the Apostle has cautioned us who follow the Saviour, “Do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God” [1 CORINTHIANS 4:5].
We will do well to recall the instruction we have received from our Master, Who said, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you: A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be poured into your lap. For the measure you use will be the measure you receive” [LUKE 6:37-38 NET BIBLE].
That certainly gives each one who says she or he follows the Master something to think about! This is a stunning reminder of something Jesus said on yet another occasion. You will remember that He taught His disciples, “If you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” [MATTHEW 6:14-15].
Elsewhere, we are reminded of a parable Jesus told to emphasise the need to have a forgiving heart. Jesus said, “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart” [MATTHEW 18:23-35].
Finding that balance between law and grace is not easy, and we undoubtedly get it wrong on more than a few occasions, but finding that balance is assuredly necessary if we will honour our Master and our God. None of us are batting a thousand in this situation; we are struggling to reveal the grace of God without jettisoning the justice of the Lord. It is inevitable that because of our fallen condition that we drift to one extreme or the other and need to be reminded of who we are and Who it is that we serve. What is required to find that necessary balance is a good dose of humility. We are not omniscient, and we can’t know the reasoning that lies behind a given act. Our job is to seek the Lord and His wisdom in every situation requiring us to make a decision.
And that is a truth that is still required—we must make decisions concerning our response to sin when it is discovered among us! We are not judges, but we are to hold one another accountable before the Master for how we conduct ourselves. To be certain, we are cautioned, “Judge not, that you be not judged” [MATTHEW 7:1]. The same Master also cautioned, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment” [JOHN 7:24]. It has been accurately noted that we are not judges, we are fruit inspectors. Hasn’t our Lord taught us, “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” [LUKE 6:43-45].
We who follow the Master are to exercise discernment, though we cannot judge motives. We are to reveal grace when confronting one who has been caught in a sin. If that one who is caught seeks forgiveness, then we are obligated before our God to forgive. We cannot excuse our failure to bat a thousand by protesting that we are only human; rather, we must seek divine wisdom by approaching each demand with prayer as we seek the Master’s direction. This requires humility on our part as we seek above all else His glory and permit His Spirit to work in us.
GRACE REVEALED — “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’” [JOHN 8:10-11]. I suspect that the poor woman was stunned. One moment she was seized roughly and shoved into the blustering crowd of men. The fauxrage of these pious souls seemed to ensure that she would shortly be dragged outside the city walls and stoned. Whether she lived or whether she was stoned was of no great concern to these men; she was a useful tool intended only to condemn the Master. But the danger she faced was no less real than if they actually hated her. Then, as suddenly as the frenzy of the mob boiled over, the rage was replaced by shame. The transformation was so sudden that she couldn’t fathom what had happened.
What I find fascinating about this incident is that the only One qualified to throw a stone did not throw a stone. That One refused to condemn her, and He sent her away with an admonition to cease her sinning. Only God can forgive sin. You and I are commanded to forgive those who offend us, but we know that every sin is an offense against God. Therefore, though others may forgive us, we must seek forgiveness from God if we will be free of guilt and condemnation. You and I must—and I emphasise must—come before the Lord God to receive forgiveness. And He will forgive all who come to Him for forgiveness. Are we not taught, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” [1 JOHN 1:9].
I’m not suggesting that we should harbour a cavalier attitude about needing or seeking forgiveness; we should never imagine that our sins are a trivial matter. Don’t ever forget that it was our sin that compelled the Son of God to sacrifice His life. Make the issue personal if you will honour the Saviour. I often think of the description of the sacrifice provided by God’s own Son that Isaiah has provided. The Prophet has written,
“All of us had wandered off like sheep;
each of us had strayed off on his own path,
but the LORD caused the sin of all of us to attack Him.”
[ISAIAH 53:6 NET BIBLE 2ND]
The words speak of the helpless nature of the divine sacrifice as all the perversity, all the evil, all the wickedness, all the vileness that characterises us being poured out onto the head of God’s perfect sacrifice. This One is taking our sin upon Himself; and if my sin is placed on Him, I am now without sin in the sight of God. This is what the LORD has done for me. And that One Who would shortly be revealed to be the sacrifice that God sent was the One Who dared forgive this sinful woman. In fact, He alone was able to forgive her sin, for He alone would soon take all her sin—together with all my sin, and together with all your sin—upon Himself to receive the punishment we so richly deserve.
I don’t want anyone to imagine that I condone sin or that I sanction sinful behaviour—I do not. Neither should anyone think that I am prepared to excuse sin as a mere foible—it is not. As taught by the Apostle to the Gentiles, I realise that my sin, the sin that any one of us may harbour, is “sinful beyond measure” [see ROMANS 7:13] in the sight of the True and Living God. Nevertheless, I want you to know that the follower of Christ must be cautious about judging others, because we ourselves are sinful people. Isn’t that the thrust of what we read as Jesus taught His disciples on one occasion?
Here is the account in question. “Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table?’ Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink?’ Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty’” [LUKE 17:7-10]. The most effective evangelist, the most powerful preacher, the most dedicated deacon, the most conscientious Christian, ultimately is compelled to confess, “I have only done what was my duty.”
When I have witnessed to my neighbour, inviting him to life in the Saviour I have only done what was my duty. When I have united in worship with my church, praying for the advance of the Faith, I have only done what was my duty. When I have grieved with a wayward young woman, consoling her in the depths of her sorrow and pointing her once again to the path leading to life and to light, I have only done what was my duty. When I have been present with a weeping family following the death of a beloved family member, I have only done what was my duty. When I have testified to the goodness of God, encouraging some who were growing discouraged, I have only done what was my duty. When God has graciously permitted me to intercede for a lost friend, I have only done what was my duty. When the Master has used my witness to turn a lost someone to life in the Risen Saviour, I have only done what was my duty. I have done nothing except what I was appointed to do, and thus it is Christ who receives the glory.
That doesn’t mean that as those who follow the Master we can ignore sin, but it does mean that we leave the ultimate judgement to our Master. As much as lies within us, here in the assembly of the redeemed we must hold one another accountable, but we must never presume to judge motives for the Lord alone knows the heart. The thing is, we must not imagine that the church is just another social organisation like one of the multiplied service clubs that mark modern life. The congregation of the righteous is not a club that we join at our discretion and leave whenever we decide it no longer suits our expectations. It was the prevalence of just such an attitude that saw youth throughout our contemporary society drop out of Sunday School while embracing the empty husks of the disgusting swill on which the world feeds. Ultimately, the failure of the churches of this generation to penetrate our world with the light of the Gospel is not because the message is deficient—it is because we who claim to follow the Christ are disobedient. The message of life in the Risen Son of God has not been tried and found wanting! It was never tried.
Yet, despite this record of disobedience and abject failure, the Master Who redeemed us yearns for His redeemed people to know His blessings. We need to know that He will not forever bless us while we continue to defy Him, revealing our disobedience. No doubt some among God’s professed people will be exposed as mere pretenders. That is an obvious conclusion to many already, but it will be apparent to all shortly. Other some claiming to be followers of the Risen Lord will simply be removed from influence among the professed people of God. How many will be called home because of their disobedience? Perhaps this is the basis for the question the Master posed after speaking of why Christians must persist in prayer. Jesus promised that He would ensure that His suffering people will receive justice at His return, but He then asked, “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth” [LUKE 18:8b]?
We read the words that Jesus spoke concerning His return, and we are aware that He was providing a warning to the lost. However, I cannot help but wonder how many professed Christians will be included among those whom Jesus described when He says, “On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left” [LUKE 17:31-35].
It is that brief statement, “Remember Lot’s wife” that grabs my attention. She lived in the presence of a man who knew the Living God, though he had grown casual about obeying the LORD. She had witnessed Abraham as he walked with God, having lived in the same camp. She had heard the warnings of the angels. And yet, she couldn’t just turn away from what she truly valued. Despite her love of this dying world, the LORD graciously offered an escape from judgement.
And the Lord God extends grace to each one now, calling us to obedience. Though He must judge wickedness, the Master graciously calls each of us to obedience now. He seeks what is good for us, pleading with us to walk with Him, turning from our love of this present dying world. As we are set free from the sentence of death, our Master says, “Go, and from now on sin no more” [JOHN 8:11b].
Perhaps the message this day has spoken to you. You have not served the Master as you once pledged, but you know that He will receive you again and send you to fulfil His plan for your life. Though you are not all that you know you should be, your Saviour will restore you, blessing you with His power again. Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
