What's So Special About Jesus?

What’s So Special About Jesus?

Scripture: John 8:1-11

Text: John 8:11

There was once a boy named Willie. He was a red-headed, freckle-faced 15 year-old boy. Willie was the kind of high school student who was always in trouble - always winding up in the principal’s office. He was the kind of boy that, if he was absent, the day went by smoothly. But if Willie was there, it was a long, hard day. There wasn’t much good ever said about Willie. Willie was the product of a broken home - several times over. He had been abused and often neglected as a young child. And Willie felt like no one cared too much for him.

One day Willie went to one of his teachers whom he knew was soon going to change his life and go off to seminary to become a preacher. Willie said, “I want to ask you something. Some people say that what I need to do to solve my problems is to go to church and to believe in Jesus. I don’t see why. I know those people and believing in Jesus doesn’t seem to do too much for them. Maybe you can tell me, what’s so special about Jesus?”

What would you tell Willie? What IS so special about Jesus? Maybe you’re sitting there wondering the same thing.

You’ve heard about him a lot.

You’ve gone to church.

You’ve read about him in the Bible.

You’ve done all the things you think you’re supposed to do.

You believe in Jesus - but you’re not really sure why.

This morning I want to tell you why Jesus is so special to me. The answer is in the scripture lesson we read.

Most Bibles label this story as “The Woman Taken in Adultery.” I want to suggest to you that that’s not what this story is about. Look at verse six. It says:

They (the Pharisees - the legalists of the day) - they were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him - for accusing Jesus.

You see this story isn’t really about a WOMAN, or the act of ADULTERY.

It’s a story about JESUS and his RESPONSE to the Pharisees.

Not to the world, but to the religious leaders of that day. And, it’s about Jesus’ response to a sinner - to a woman that these religious leaders were trying to use as a pawn in their tricks and their schemes.

There’s a huge lesson here for us and how we are to live our lives. And it’s the very heart of why Jesus is so special.

Jesus is special because:

1. He LOVES us when it seems like no-one else does.

There’s a song I sing sometimes - I was going to sing it today, but decided not to - it’s called “You gave me love” and the main line in it says, “You gave me love, when no-body gave me a prayer.” That’s Jesus!

You see, these religious leaders, they got hold of this woman. And by the way, according to Mosaic law, both the man and woman were to be stoned. The man was conveniently missing. That has lead some scholars to believe that this whole thing was a set up that the man was in on.

Whatever the case, the Pharisees - these wonderful religious leaders - they were ready to carry out their duty - do what must be done - I imagine they might have had a stone already in their hand.

They brought this woman, and they planted her before the whole crowd. It says, “They *made* her stand before the group.” Now note: they had no compassion for this woman. They did not care why she did what she did. They didn’t care about understanding her heart. All they wanted to do was to TRICK Jesus into going against the law so they could get him. They were simply using her as a pawn in their scheme.

But now look what Jesus does. Here’s a response. The last part of verse six, Jesus bent down and started writing in the ground with his finger. What kind of implicit message do you suppose Jesus was sending through his actions. Here are these very important religious leaders who come to Jesus with a very important question. And in response to their question, he bends down and starts writing in the ground with his finger. (When I get to heaven I’m going to ask Jesus what he wrote!) I think he might have just been doodling - the kind of doodling you do when you are just tired of someone and you really just want them to go away. I think Jesus just wanted them to go away. You know, we ask that question “What Would Jesus Do?” WWJD. Here’s one of the answers to what Jesus did!