Wednesday, March 11, 2020
Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?” They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” John 8:1-11
Stoning was not frequently practiced in Jesus’ day. Even though the law of Moses said it was a just
punishment, it was hard to enforce because adultery was common. It’s like church discipline in our day. Lifestyles which would have caused weeping
and gnashing of teeth just a decade or two ago are now openly practiced by
leaders in public life…and even some church people. All with little or no consequences, or even a
show of accountability.
The crowd anticipated a real circus. Jesus had been saying some pretty radical
things, and now the Pharisees were jumping on his case. This was like two NFL teams trash-talking
their way through Super Bowl week. When the
day for the big game (the stoning in this case) arrives before the crowd, the
highly anticipated and exciting spectacle of stoning, hangs in the
balance. Hold onto your seats, grab your
popcorn and hot dogs, folks – we are in for a great show today!
Imagine now the disappointment of the crowd, as the quarterback of
the Pharisee Legal Eagles simply lets the game ball drop to the ground, turns
away from the field, and forfeits the game.
He slinks away, head down, and red-faced. It’s like seeing the Heavyweight boxing
champion cower in fear when Granny Clampett enters the ring; what a
disappointment. The crowd wanted blood;
they got nothing!
However, the real disappointment had to be Yahweh’s, the Father in
Heaven. God above sees the blood lust of
His people, His chosen people, and can only shake His head
in sadness. This is why judging is not
in our hands; we do not have sufficient wisdom to understand what judgment is
supposed to accomplish. So, when you are
part of the crowd, and judgment is being passed around, think twice about
whether you want to participate. The
Pharisees had a perfectly legal case; they just didn’t have the moral resume’
to be the prosecutors.
For
You Today
You chew on
that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!
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