Interacting with Sinners
John 8:1-11
11-9-03
Intro
This morning we are going to minister from the first 11 verses of John 8.
How many of you have a New International Version?
If you do, you will find a comment inserted by the translators concerning this passage that says, “The earlier manuscripts and many other ancient witnesses do not have John 7:53-8:11). Some translations put the verses in brackets and at least one even puts it at the end of the gospel of John. Some have placed it at Luke 21:38.[1]
I want to address that comment because I don’t want anyone to interpret it to mean that the authenticity of this story is in question. This is a true story in the life of Jesus and inspired by the Holy Spirit. However, it was probably not written by John. The way it is written, the style, the choice of Greek words, strongly suggest that someone other than John wrote it.[2]
That understanding is the result of an area of Biblical studies called
“Textual Criticism.” In textual criticism scholars examine the many hundreds of manuscripts of scripture and compare them with one another to determine what the original said. You probably know that we don’t have any of the original works of the Biblical writers. Then how do we know that the Bible is true? The short answer to that is the hundreds upon hundreds of independent copies made by scribes preserving the work.
There is very little inconsistency in what was copied. And the inconsistencies are usually rather inconsequential like this one. When I first realized some of the issues of textual criticism I was a little uneasy. But once you understand what is going on your confidence in the Bible is actually stronger rather than weaker. The preservation of the scriptures is an amazing, supernatural work of God.[3]
These translators are not questioning whether this actually happened in the life of Jesus or whether it should be in the Bible. The only question is where it goes in the Bible. Since the conflict between Jesus and the religious rulers found in this story is consistent with this season in Jesus’ ministry we will treat the text as it is placed in John 8.[4]
Follow with me as we read John 8:1-11[5]
This woman’s experience with the religious right of Jesus’ day was every sinner’s worst nightmare. Why do unbelievers avoid the church? Some avoid the church because they are afraid that this is the way they will be treated. And they have some justification for those fears because some have been treated this way.
You would be surprised if I told you the many times when people have wanted me to publicly expose someone’s sin before the congregation. The idea was that if we would do that other people would be afraid to continue in their sin. In reality they would just be afraid to continue in church. There is teaching in the Bible for public confrontation of bold, defiant sin. 1 Tim 5:19-20 “Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses. Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may take warning.” (NIV) But that kind of action is only warranted when the offender is openly defying the church’s authority with their sin.[6] Like the woman in our story, most people are ashamed of their sin and know its wrong. They are not defiant but humiliated by their failure.[7]
This woman worst nightmare became her dream come true when she encountered Jesus.
His treatment of this sinner stands in total contrast to the way the Pharisees were treating her. That contrast is full of instruction for you and me as to how we are to treat sinners.
I. First, consider with me the Pharisee’s interaction with this woman.
They really don’t care about her at all. They are not trying to help her overcome her sin.
They are simply using her for their own purposes. Perhaps this woman has been used and abused by men all her life—used for their own lustful purposes. But in some ways this abuse is worse. These are supposed to be the shepherds of God’s flock. These men are supposed to be laying down their lives for the sheep. But instead they are trying to take her life. They have no sensitivity whatsoever as to how this is all impacting her. She is just a means to an end.[8]
Lev 20:10 commanded the death penalty for adultery, “If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife--with the wife of his neighbor--both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.” NIV
However, it was only to be administered at the testimony of at least two eyewitnesses and both the man and the woman were to be executed.
Two questions arise. First, where is the man? It is impossible for a person to commit adultery alone. So why are they only bringing the woman to him?
Second, how did two witnesses catch this woman in the very act of adultery? There were not many cases of stoning for this offense because it is the kind of sin that is usually done in private without much possibility of witness. All of this smacks of conspiracy—a conspiracy to trap this woman and use her to trap Jesus.[9]
In John 7 the Pharisees had sent the Temple officers to arrest Jesus. Instead of arresting Jesus they were overwhelmed with the majesty of his words. The plan had failed.
It is probable that these leaders spent the night digging up dirt and devising a plan to get Jesus before he left Jerusalem.
The man who committed adultery with this woman may have been working for them. Or they may have known that this was her life-style and sent some people to catch her in the act. In any case, the Biblical narrator of the story is very clear about the motives of these Pharisees. John 8:6 “They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.”
Can you imagine how this woman must have felt as she was paraded before the crowd?
Can you imagine what it would feel like to be brought up before this congregation and have your most shameful sin exposed?
There she stands looking at the ground as the Pharisees push her before Jesus. She knows she’s been set up. She knows these Pharisees are just using her. And why would she think Jesus would be any different? Why would this teacher of the Torah treat her any different than the Pharisees are treating her? At this point, she has not read the end of the story like you and I have. What will come next, stoning? I’m not sure that is much worse than the character assassination she is experiencing.
This is the morning after the last day of the great Feast of Tabernacles. Jesus has come back into town after spending the night just outside the city at the Mount of Olives.
When he entered the temple court he sat down and began to teach the word. As he did, the people gathered around to hear him. John 8:2 says, “all the people gathered around him”—all those at the temple court who had stayed over after the feast ended. It was probably a large crowd.
II. That’s when the Pharisee’s interaction with Jesus began.
As they pushed this woman before Jesus they told him (verse 4) “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.” They wanted to make it abundantly clear that she was guilty. “In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women.”
There is much that we could say about their double standard. For, as I have mentioned, the Law also commands the man to be stoned, which seemed to have been conveniently forgotten by these men. When people get legalistic it is amazing how creative they can be in covering their own sin while exposing the sins of others. Adultery is just as unacceptable in the eyes of God for a man as it is for a woman. It is a terribly destructive sin leaving a stain of shame that only the blood of Jesus can remove. Don’t believe Hollywood’s romantic portrayal of affairs. I have sat in many counseling sessions trying to help couples find healing from the devastation of the sin of adultery. Everyone suffers. The spouse suffers. The kids suffer. And the adulterer suffers as well. There is healing in the name of Jesus. There is deliverance and restoration. But a lot of pain can be avoided by living in boundaries of God’s word.
Why did they publicly remind Jesus of what the Law commanded? They knew that Jesus knew what the Law said. They were saying it for the benefit of the crowd. They wanted to make sure the crowd knew what the Mosaic Law required. They were setting Jesus up for a no win situation.
If he dismissed her without stoning her, then they could accuse him of violating the Law of Moses. This would not only cause him to lose credibility with the crowd but would also give them a case against him. If he said she was to be stoned, then they could accuse him of insurrection against Rome because according to Roman law the Jews did not have the authority to execute the death penalty. Remember what the Jews said to Pilate when he was telling them to try Jesus’ case in their own courts rather than in the Roman court. John 18:31 “Therefore the Jews said to him, "It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death," NKJV
Verse 5, Moses commanded this. “Now what do you say?” The "you" is emphatic.[10]
They think they have Jesus cornered. However, he answers their question he will lose much of the crowd’s support and they will have an accusation to bring against him.
Jesus calmly bent over and started writing on the ground with his finger. This is the only place in scripture we are told that Jesus wrote. We do not know what he wrote.
Some have suggested he wrote the names of the accusers and their sins.[11] Probably not.
What he wrote was not so much the issue as to the message he was sending the religious leaders. He was ignoring them. His silent stoop was a show of disregard toward their status.
It was totally inappropriate for them to bring this woman to Jesus in the first place. If they were simply upholding the Law of Moses the proper place to go was to the Sanhedrim in the Temple right next to where Jesus was teaching.[12]
They interpret his silence as a confirmation that the trap is working. “He can’t come up with an answer.” So they press the issue. They insist that he answer them. Notice his wisdom as he deals with this situation.[13] You would expect him to either take a public stand against the woman’s sin or speak out against these accusers. But he does not accuse the accusers. He allows their own conscience to accuse them. There he sits calmly writing in the dirt, as these men demand an answer.
Then, his posture changes. He rises up. We could feel the moment more if we were not so familiar with the story. Imagine the hush as he rises. Will he authorize the stoning or let the woman go free? The crowd’s eyes widen and the woman draws back as Jesus looks at these Pharisees. His answer stings with conviction in the hearts of the accusers, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Words fitly spoken, not a lot of words, not a lot of intensity-but the right words at the right time anointed by the Holy Spirit to pierce the self righteous hearts of these men.
Then we see his reliance on the Holy Spirit. He bends back toward the ground and starts writing again. Here is something we must understand in our dealings with sinners. Sometimes silence is golden. What does Jesus do? He gives space for the Holy Spirit to speak personally into their conscience.
This woman was not the only sinner standing before Jesus that day. The Pharisees were also sinners. What a wonderful blessing conviction of sin is! May it never, never be removed from our lives. For in it is the capacity for repentance. This day is not just an opportunity for this adulteress to repent. It is also an opportunity for these religious snobs to repent. If only they had humbled themselves and fallen at the feet of Jesus. He would have met them with grace just like he does this woman.
But conviction is not coercion but opportunity--opportunity to repent. In our story conviction brings a change of heart in the woman. But it simply causes these Pharisees to walk away one by one.[14] Verse 9 says that the oldest left first. Perhaps it was because they were the first to realize how right Jesus was. For one to see clearly enough to take the mote out of another’s eye he must first remove the beam from his own eye.
After these accusers leave, we come to
III. Jesus’ interaction with the woman who stands condemned before him.
Verse 10 “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned your?”
He addresses here in a surprisingly respectful manner. “Woman”, it is the same word he used when addressing Mary at the Wedding in Cana and when he spoke to her from the cross.[15]
How should we deal with sinner? With respect not contempt.
This week as I met with Foursquare missionaries in Los Angeles I copied down a powerful quote from Thomas Morton’s book entitled, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander,
“It is both dangerous and easy to hate man as he is because he is not “what he ought to be.’ If we do not first respect what he ‘is’ we will never suffer him to become what he ought to be…”[16]
These Pharisees had left this woman feeling utterly worthless. She is broken because she knows their accusations are true. She does deserve to be stoned. She makes no defense of her actions. It was wrong and she stands guilty as charged.
Jesus is the one person who has the right by his own standard to cast the first stone. He is without sin. He sees clearly in all his judgments. But instead of stoning her he says to her, “Then neither do I condemn you…” (“There is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.”)[17]
Do you need to hear those words from him this morning, “Then neither do I condemn you” Have you heard him say that to you, yet the enemy of our souls, the accuser, has come with his belittling words of condemnation and robbed you of the joy you once had. There is no joy in sin—momentary pleasure, yes. But ultimately sin robs us of joy rather than giving us joy. But joy comes to the soul that hears those blessed words from the Savior “Then neither do I condemn you.” Have you forgotten that he spoke that to you? Do you live with a sense of shame that is contrary to his words of forgiveness? Hear him affirm today, hear him say it to you again, “Neither do I condemn you.” He has the last word. And, if he who alone is worthy to pass judgment, has forgiven and does not condemn—then we are free from condemnation.
Some have stopped the story here and declared Jesus neutral on the issue of sin. No, he finishes his instruction to her by say, “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
That is the full answer to our need—yes, forgiveness of the past—but also empowerment for a different future. “Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid.”[18]
Jesus has come—not to save us in our sin—but to save us from our sin. Sin is no friend of mankind. Sin always works death and destruction. Sin always diminishes the quality of life. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” The decision to walk in the light is ours alone. We must decide to leave our life of sin. No one can make that decision for us. But when we do, the Lord stands ready to hold our hand and lead us in paths of righteousness. “Sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under the law but grace.”[19]
How should we deal with sinner? Micah 6:8
“ He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” NIV
Jesus was a friend to sinners—so much so that he received a lot of criticism for his association with them. Never did he sin. Never did he condone sin. But he always loves the sinner.
Matt 9:10-13
10 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ’sinners’?"
12 On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ’I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." NIV
Are sinners safe in this house? Not safe to continue in sin but safe to be embraced and loved and supported while they contend with sin. Jesus was not afraid to associate with people who might tarnish his reputation.
In a 1998 edition of Christianity Today, Jim Bakker shared his experience immediately after his release from prison:
When I was transferred to my last prison, Franklin [Graham] said he wanted to help me out when I got out-with a job, a house to live in, and a car. It was my fifth Christmas in prison. I thought it over and said, "Franklin, you can’t do this. It will hurt you. The Grahams don’t need my baggage." He looked at me and he said, "Jim, you were my friend in the past and you are my friend now. If anyone doesn’t like it, I’m looking for a fight."
So when I got out of prison the Grahams sponsored me and paid for a house for me to live in and gave me a car to drive. The first Sunday out, Ruth Graham called the halfway house I was living in at the Salvation Army and asked permission for me to go to the Montreat Presbyterian Church with her that Sunday morning. When I got there, the pastor welcomed me and sat me with the Graham family. There were like two whole rows of them-I think every Graham aunt and uncle and cousin was there. The organ began playing and the place was full except for a seat next to me. Then the doors opened and in walked Ruth Graham. She walked down that aisle and sat next to inmate 07407-058. I had only been out of prison 48 hours, but she told the world that morning that Jim Bakker was her friend.
Afterwards, she had me up to their cabin for dinner. When she asked me for my addresses, I pulled this envelope out of my pocket to look for them. In prison you’re not allowed to have a wallet, so you just carry an envelope. She asked, "Don’t you have a wallet?" And I said, "Well, yeah, this is my wallet." After five years of brainwashing in prison you think an envelope is a wallet. She walked into the other room and came back and said, "Here’s one of Billy’s wallets. He doesn’t need it. You can have it."[20]
Are you a friend of sinners? Jesus was and is. Are you a sinner in need of a friend? Jesus extends his hand of mercy to you this very morning. If you will come to him this morning, he will receive you. Your sins will be forgiven. Your life will change forever. “Today is the day of salvation. Now is the acceptable time.” Open your heart to him and discover freedom you never knew was possible.
Text: John 8:1-11
8:1But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" 6They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." 8Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"
11"No one, sir," she said.
"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."
NIV
Richard Tow
Grace Chapel Foursquare Church
Springfield, MO
www.gracechapelchurch.org
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[1] Leon Morris, Reflections on the Gospel of John,(Peabody, MA: Henrickson Press, 2000) p. 291
[2] John 8:11 (from Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997 by Biblesoft).
[3] For a brief discussion of textual criticism see chapter by Michael Holmes on page 101-134 of New Testament Criticism & Interpretation edited by David Black and David Dockery, published by Zondervan.
Haley’s Handbook has a simple explanation on How We Got the Bible on pages 741-756.
[4] Arthur Pink and G. Campbell Morgan amongst others also accept the story’s chronology as it is placed here in John’s gospel.
[5] Text is provided at end of this message for reference.
[6] An example of defiant sin was dealt with by Paul in I Corinthians 5
[7] Galatians 6:1
[8] For a stinging condemnation of such abuse by spiritual leaders see Ezekiel 34
[9] Leon Morris, p. 293. Morris expounds upon the details of the law that made it extremely difficult to have these eyewitnesses. Also see Deut. 19:15.
[10] Note the use of the Greek pronoun “su”
[11] Herbert Lockyer, All the Women of the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1967) p.241. Lockyer is quoting from an ancient translation which said, “Wrote on the ground the sin of each of them.”
[12] G. Campbell Morgan, The Gospel According to John,(Los Angeles: Fleming Revell) p. 147
[13] His calm demeanor in contrast to his driving the moneychangers out of the temple in Chapter 2 demonstrates the importance of God’s wisdom for each situation (Eccl. 3:7)
[14] Ivor Powell, John’s Wonderful Gospel, (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1983) p. 180
[15] G. Campbell Morgan, p.149
[16] Frank Greer lecture at International Church of the Foursquare Gospel World Base in Los Angeles on November 6, 2003. Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander is currently available at www.christianbook.com
[17] Romans 8:1
[18] Romans 6:1-2
[19] Romans 6:14
[20] Citation: "The Re-education of Jim Bakker," Christianity Today (12-7-98) From sermon by Joe Harding entitled, Drop Your Rock, preached July 2002 at Catawba Heights Wesleyan Church in Belmont, North Carolina.
