John 8: 6 - 11
6-8 Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger in the dirt. They kept at him, badgering him. He straightened up and said, "The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone." Bending down again, he wrote some more in the dirt. 9-10 Hearing that, they walked away, one after another, beginning with the oldest. The woman was left alone. Jesus stood up and spoke to her. "Woman, where are they? Does no one condemn you?" 11"No one, Master." Neither do I," said Jesus. "Go on your way. From now on, don't sin."
Application: Christianity is simple to understand, but it is very difficult to live out! As you live out your faith you will see an interesting phenomenon occur over and over again, which can be crippling to your growth if you let it. For example, when you gain victory over sin in one area of your life, you will soon find a new area of sin uncovered that you need God’s help to overcome. Do you want to hear something weird? As soon as you overcome this next area; you find another spot of sin uncovered that also needs cleansing as well. Now, if we lived alone on an island, it might be ok—frustrating, but ok. However, because Christians do not live on islands, this routine can become disheartening. Honestly, it can be down right discouraging. Why? Because of the fall of Adam, humans often times want to take God’s place in judging and condemning others for their sins. Tragically, this can result in some people giving up in their walk because they figure they will never be good enough to be righteous in God’s sight. Yet, I want you to think about this, if we all struggle with sin on some level, who can judge you? Fortunately, this scenario is played out between Jesus, the Pharisees, and a woman who was caught in adultery, which was the most heinous sin in the Jewish culture and requires that individual to be stoned to death. The Pharisees are tricky! In bringing a woman who was caught in adultery to Jesus, they think they have Him trapped. How so? If Jesus stones her for her crime, He will break Roman law. For, the Roman government is the only entity in Jesus’ time that had the civil authority to execute a criminal. If Jesus doesn’t stone her, He looks like he is opposed to Moses’ Law and he would lose all his supporters who are beginning to put their trust in Him. So what does Jesus do? “Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger in the dirt. They kept at him, badgering him. He straightened up and said, "The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone." Bending down again, he wrote some more in the dirt. Hearing that, they walked away, one after another, beginning with the oldest. The woman was left alone. Jesus stood up and spoke to her. "Woman, where are they? Does no one condemn you?" "No one, Master." Neither do I," said Jesus. "Go on your way. From now on, don't sin." Let’s look at two points (1) What on earth was Jesus writing with his finger? Now, this is my understanding about this text. I believe Jesus was writing down a list of the very sins the Pharisees, who were trying to trap Jesus, were committing. Why do I say that? Well, God, who is the Judge of all men, also wrote with His finger when He wrote the Ten Commandments, which no one has kept and is very convicting when looked at! Exodus 31:18 says, “when [GOD] he finished speaking with [Moses] him on Mount Sinai, he gave Moses two tablets of Testimony, slabs of stone, written with the finger of God.” The underlying conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees was who had a right to Judge. Well, the one who has the right to judge is the one who is the author of the law. And, in this case it was God. Therefore, Jesus, who is God, is challenging the Pharisees’ assessment! What assessment? The Pharisees wanted to be recognized as the supreme authority because they knew Moses’ law better than anyone. However, they made a fatal flaw. The law was not Moses’ law, it was God’s. The Law was written by God’s finger not Moses’. (2) Why were the Pharisees convicted? Jesus’ statement "The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone," forced the Pharisees to see their own sin. All of them had committed a sin and were still sinning. Therefore, Jesus did not have to fall into the trap and stone her, or worry about losing his support. Why? There was no one who could judge her, but Jesus. The bible says Christ, who is our Savior and our Judge (John 5:26 – 27), is the only one who has the right to judge because the Father ordained Him for those functions. Yet, the beauty of it all is that God does not want to Judge you; he wants to save you. He wants you to trust Him so that you can avoid judgment. The only person who condemns you is Satan, but Glory to God, the one who died for you is the very one who wants you to live! Who wants to live on an Island anyway?
Three action steps:
Take the time to memorize John 8: 6 - 11
Write down how do you respond to others when they sin?
Think about some ways you can help someone who is struggling with committing sins?
2 comments:
Everyone who keeps living in sin also practices disobedience. In fact sin is disobedience to Yah. 1John 3:4
How do you respond to others when they sin?
I can't see myself becoming part of a mob ready to stone someone. But, I do know how (some) women go about responding to others sin. Women will gossip about it. Men will physically fight others to destroy. Women fight each other on a spiritual level *usually. We will use our mouths to destroy that person's spirit. I read this in a book about female bullying last year. It made since to me. Scripture says that satan works through women because we are the weaker vessel. This is why satan went after Eve (Hawayah) first. This is the reason why Yah wants women to be silent in assembly (church) 1Cornth. 14:34-35. Our mouths can destroy. Women can be prophets but are not suppose to teach in assembly. Deborah was a prophetess and a knowledgeable one at that Judges 4:1-5. She sat under a tree (not church) and judged.
When women would come to me with gossip I would listen. Sometimes judging the person in my mind. I know that wasn't right. There's always two sides to a story. I know that now.
Ways you can help someone who is struggling with committing sins?
It depends on the person. For example, my niece *12 years old is a open minded kind of person. I can open the bible and show her scripture about a law or what law is being broken. And, she will say thank you, Auntie. :) But, with some people, I try to be subtle, so I don't overwhelm or scare them. I will give them spiritual food a little at a time.
Shonta
HalleluYah for mercy, for when we are not perfect! Shon
Post a Comment