I live a life of embarrassing moments. Whenever we share stories, mine usually
win. I live awkward. That may be why I relate to the awkward situation we find in
John 8 where a woman is held up to shame by a crowd but Jesus restores and
transforms her.
John 8:2
2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered
around him, and he sat down to teach them.
Imagine a huge crowd of people. Most likely the tallest person in the group is
standing right in front of you blocking your view. (At least, that seems to be what
always happens to me.) Some of the group is able to hear and see clearly. Others
are straining to see and hear Jesus. Suddenly, people break through the crowd.
John 8:3
3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in
adultery. They made her stand before the group
Think about the humiliation, the embarrassment. We do not know if she was
dressed or how well she was dressed. She may have had just a blanket draped
around her. She had been ripped out of a personal situation. In front of the
crowd, in front of Jesus, she is forced to stand before them in her sin, in her guilt.
Before all these people, she is exposed physically, relationally, and emotionally.
Here this woman stands before them guilty and probably angry for she stood
alone. Where was the man she had been with moments before? By Jewish law,
he was guilty as well. Had he betrayed her? Was this a set-up, a plot using her in
an attempt to trap Jesus? We do not know. All we know is that she stood alone,
in front of a crowd in her shame. Moments later she finds out why.
John 8:4-6a
4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the
Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They
were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
These men were not concerned about the law. They just wanted to trap Jesus.
She knew now that she was being used. Her life to them was meaningless, she
was only a pawn in their game.
How often do we use others? We may try to justify it and say, “I’ve never had
anyone’s life threatened like these Pharisees are doing to this woman.” But have
you used anyone for your own personal gain? Have you had secret motives
behind your actions or words? At times, we have all been deceptive. Who do we
hurt in the process? The innocent, maybe even the guilty. This woman was guilty
but that did not justify the Pharisees actions. There have been people in our lives
that have been guilty but we are still accountable to what we do to them. God
never called us to revenge. He will handle judgment. He called us to love and
forgive others.
The author of love is faced with a question. “Should we stone this woman or
not?”
John 8:6b
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.
If my life was in someone’s hands, I sure would want him to say something! This
would not be the lawyer I would be asking for in my defense. Jesus stays silent.
The crowd stares. His finger marks on the stony ground.
We do not know why Jesus did this. We are not told what He wrote. Some in the
crowd probably thought it was a strange reaction. But I like to imagine that Jesus
did this to lessen the embarrassment of the woman. He took the focus off of her
and put it on Himself. Is this not what He did for us on the cross? He took the
sins off of us and took them upon Himself. He took the shame and
embarrassment that we deserved. Jesus shows compassion to us even though we
are guilty and deserve punishment.
John 8:7a
7 When they kept on questioning him…
The Pharisees kept pestering Him. No one else said a word. There was a huge
crowd around. I am sure others saw how wrong this was. They knew this woman
was being used, yet no one said anything.
How often do we stand by while injustice takes place? We never raise our voices
in defense, while people around us are being hurt.
As a counselor I have seen and heard many upsetting things. The one that breaks
my heart more than others is when I hear about children who have been abused
and you hear about neighbors who knew but did nothing. I have heard the
phrase “I didn’t think it was my place to get involved.” How often do we
Christians say that? We sit back and do not get involved and then we wonder
why our nation is falling apart. We are called to be the salt and light of this earth.
The unsaved will act unsaved. That is all they can do. We have to be different.
We are not part of the crowd. We should be leading them. We are the only ones
who know the Way. Who is the Way? Jesus. We have to lead people to Him. We
cannot look like the world. If people do not recognize us as being a Christian,
then what good are we in advancing Christ’s kingdom?
I heard about a minister in Haiti. He asked the congregation who had been
witnessing to the lost about Christ. He finally said if you are not witnessing to
people then you might as well leave the church because you are taking up space.
Ouch. Harsh words. Real truth. Christians, we need to speak up.
That day only one Person spoke up. Jesus was the One who came to this
woman’s rescues. The crowd was silent; all eyes were on Jesus.
John 8:7b-9
…he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be
the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the
ground.
9 At 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.
Everyone left, the Pharisees and the crowd had gone. All that remained was Jesus,
the woman, and the stones. The stones, which were the evidence of her judgment, were lying on the ground in the sand. The punishment she deserved
never transpired because of Christ’s intervention. The punishment you and I
deserve did not transpire because of Christ’s intervention on the cross. He came
between this woman, and our lives, and the sentence of capital punishment
looming over us.
John 8:10-11a
10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one
condemned you?”
11 “No one, sir,” she said.
Jesus came not to condemn, but to save. That was His purpose. He still does that
for us today. We can be saved from our sin by believing in Him.
Once we come to know Him as Lord and Savior, should we stay the way we were
before we knew Him?
John 8:11b
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of
sin.”
He tells us to go and leave the sin. He saves us first and the He transforms us into
His beautiful image. Too often people believe the lie that they have to get their
lives right before coming to God. That is not how it works. We are all sinners.
We cannot come to God any other way. Come as you are. Experience His love
and mercy. He wants to give to you. You will never be the same. He has saved
you from so much, all you will want to do is live for Him. He saved your life. Now,
He will help you live it.
Where do you see yourself in this story? Are you like the:
- The Pharisee: judging others even though we are all sinners.
-
The Crowd: Staying silent and allowing the world to rule instead of standing up for
what is right, no matter the cost. - The Woman: Facing the sins you have committed; your life feels exposed. Jesus does
not want to condemn you; He wants to change you.
There were a lot of people there that day, yet only one remained with Jesus. The
person judged as the “worst” sinner, was the only one saved. Everyone else left
Him. Stones marked their departure. Only she had her life changed. Others
threw shame at her but Jesus restored her dignity. They left stones behind, but
she left her old life behind. She was transformed. Jesus willingly does that for
each of us. May we be changed even today.