Chapter eight begins with one of my favorite accounts of Jesus interacting with the religious leaders of his day. Jesus has come early in the morning to the temple and he is teaching the crowd that has gathered there. as he sits teaching the scribes and Pharisees arrive, dragging a woman who had been caught in adultery and they made her stand before Jesus. As they bring their accusation my first question comes to mind. They say, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery." Without being too vulgar I have to ask, "where is the man she was committing adultery with?" Wouldn't it seem there should be a man involved here somewhere?
The reaction they get from Jesus is wonderful in its simplicity and depth. When they press him for his judgment upon this woman Jesus squats down and begins to write with his finger in the sand. Imagine how frustrating that must have been! It gets worse for the Pharisees and scribes. Jesus stands up and looks them in the eye and says, "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." And then he squatted back down and continued writing in the dirt. The text says, "When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders;". They started to wander away one by one beginning with the elders? How odd. I wonder what it was that Jesus was drawing in the dirt? Perhaps he was writing down the sins of the accusers, or perhaps the names of mistresses? whatever he was writing he was soon left standing alone with the accused woman. Jesus turns to her and asks, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" and she replies no one. Then Jesus sends her on her way with these important words, "Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again."
How often do we see the sin of others yet overlook our own sin? Why can we often be so patient with ourselves and so harsh with others? Jesus is the only one that has a right to condemn sin and sinners, and he contents himself to send us on our way with the call to sin no more. it's not that sinful behavior is OK, it's not OK. It is all about grace and mercy and a savior who lives and dies and lives again for us.
About Me
- Pastor Bill
- I am a committed follower of Jesus Christ, a happy husband, father and grandfather!
4 comments:
Praise the Lord, this is one of my favorites as well.
I always feel refreshed after reading this passage. Jesus' forgiveness in this situation truly sums up who He is.
But it also sums up who I should be. I pray for the will to forgive as quickly as I should. I know that sounds weird - praying for the "will" to forgive, but it's the truth. Sometimes I just don't want to forgive - and that of course leads to guilt once the anger subsides.
It would make more sense to just forgive immediately and save myself the agony of guilt later...eh?
I have heard several interesting takes on the drawing in the sand. I love all the possible answers.
What was the significance of the oldest leaving first?
I love that Jesus forgives, yet still charges us to sin no more.
I find comfort and strength in that verse when I pray for forgiveness.
Jesus does His part - I need to remember to do mine.
Thank you Jesus.
Perhaps the oldest left first because they were more aware of their sin and lack. I know as I grow older I realize how much I don't know and my failties are more clear. When I was young it wasn't pretty - I knew pretty much everything and could do anything. maybe age mellows us or introduces us to our need for grace.
Bill
"Jesus said to them, 'Why do I even speak to you at all?'"
Ah, I can hear the total exasperation in Jesus' voice with the religious leader who just don't get it. No wonder Jesus has to wonder if he's wasting his breath. Thankfully for us, Jesus continues at it - I hope O don't but fear I sometimes would cause the same response from God!!
It really is crazy that the man is not mentioned in this story. That's for mentioning that, Bill - I've often thought about that as I've pondered this passage.
This woman is shown incredible forgiveness, that which Jesus provides. We have that offered to us in our lives too. We are such a hard judge of others, that we often forget to realize that Jesus would not have done that. The only people we should be harsh judges of are ourselves. How about that...
Marsh
Post a Comment