This They Said to Test Him

John 8:2-11 ESV

“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.’”

So, Jesus Christ came to the temple again, and again he was able to teach the people the Word of God. But the Scribes and the Pharisees did not like Jesus. They did not like what he was teaching the people. They didn’t like the miracles that he performed and the fact that he healed people on the Jewish Sabbath. And so they plotted a way that they believed they could trip Jesus up with his words so that they would have cause to accuse him.

So, they brought before him a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. Now, if she was caught in the act, then there was someone who was committing adultery with her. Where was he? Why was he not mentioned? Why didn’t they bring both of them before Jesus if they were legitimately concerned about the law being upheld? Because this wasn’t about the law. This was about them trying to make Jesus look bad.

Now I happen to love what happened next. Jesus has so much wisdom in how to handle these types of situations, but then he is God. So it says here that he bent down and he wrote with his finger on the ground. It doesn’t say what he wrote, and many have speculated, but none of us knows. But I believe if we consider who these people were who were trying to trip Jesus up with his words, we might have an idea of what Jesus wrote in the dirt.

For this is how Jesus described them in Matthew 23 (paraphrased): They do not practice what they preach. They do their deeds to be seen by others. They love places of honor. They love attention. They lead people to hell on the promise of heaven. They profess one thing but live the opposite. They adhere to religious rituals but not to God’s righteousness. They appear clean (righteous) outwardly, but inwardly are full of evil. They are full of wicked deeds, greed, hypocrisy, and self-indulgence. And they persecute those who are truly righteous in the sight of God, even killing some of them.

So, these were not the type of people who were going to be moved at all by Jesus saying, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” These were wicked, evil men, without conscience, without remorse for the evil that they did. These were people who were full of pride and lust and envy and hate and bitterness and jealousy and spite. They didn’t care who they hurt in the process. It was all about bringing Jesus down so that they could raise themselves up.

So, what would move men like this to put down their stones and to walk away? Jesus could see inside the hearts of these men. He knew the evil that they were doing in secret, because he chided them about it, not all of it in specifics, but enough to let us know how utterly evil they were. So, think with me about what Jesus said. Think about the words and what they mean. He chose those specific words for a reason, “Let him who is without sin…” 

So, I believe Jesus was naming names in that dirt that let those men know that he knew the evil they were doing in secret, and that he knew enough to expose them for the phonies that they were. And they didn’t want their secret sins exposed, and that is why they walked away. For these were just not the kind of people who would be moved by Jesus’ words alone. Just this situation alone revealed their true character, plus all that Jesus said about them and who they were in their hearts. But that is my assessment.

But I cannot agree with people who think that Jesus’ words alone were enough to convince these men to put down their stones and to walk away, because their consciences were stricken. From how Jesus described them, and from what we read of them in the Scriptures, and of how they felt about Jesus, these would not be people who would have changed course just because of what Jesus said. And there are many people like them that no matter how many times they have been told the truth, they will not change.

Now Jesus’ treatment of the woman was not condoning her sin. He was not putting a “Band-Aid” over a serious sin issue by forgiving her of her sin. Jesus had compassion on the woman because he knew she had been used to get at him. And he could see inside her heart. And I believe that she was sorrowful over her sin and that she was extremely grateful that Jesus didn’t allow her accusers to stone her to death and that Jesus gave her another chance at life. But pay close attention to what Jesus said next. He told her, “And from now on, sin no more.” That is the gospel!

For Jesus’ purpose in saving us from our sins and in giving us the hope of eternal life in him is not so that we can go on sinning without feeling guilty, and without conscience, and without remorse. He died for us on that cross that we might be crucified with him in death to sin and raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. For Jesus said if we want to come after him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. For if we keep our old way of living, we will lose our lives.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

My Sheep  

An Original Work / June 24, 2012  

Based off John 10:1-18 NIV

My sheep hear me. They know me.

They listen to my voice and obey.

I call them and lead them.

They know my voice, so they follow me.

They will never follow strangers.

They will run away from them.

The voice of a stranger they know not;

They do not follow him.

So, I tell you the truth that

I am the gate, so you enter in.

Whoever does enter

Will find forgiveness and will be saved.

Nonetheless whoever enters

Not by the gate; other way,

He is the thief and a robber.

Listen not, the sheep to him.

Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,

Who laid his own life down for the sheep.

I know them. They know me.

They will live with me eternally.

The thief only comes to steal and

Kill and to destroy the church.

I have come to give you life that

You may have it to the full… 

They know my voice, so they follow me.

https://vimeo.com/114938263