Paying no attention to the holders of stones

John 8:2-6       Early in the morning [Jesus] 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.

 Sometimes God shows that He is truly God by doing the opposite of what we think He should do.  The main way this impacts our lives is when God says, “No,” to our prayers.  Well, here Jesus shows that He is truly God by appearing to pay no attention whatsoever.  The scribes and Pharisees, however, do not deserve to be heard.

Jesus came back to the temple to teach, and the scribes and Pharisees were obviously waiting for Him.  They were not waiting, hoping to get a good place right next to Him, so they would not miss one word from His lips.  They were waiting so they could try, once again, to trip Him up, to catch Him in a slip of the lip, to set Him up in a religious and political trap.  So, they do not deserve to be heard because their motive for being in Jesus’ presence was one of deceit and anger.

Plus, they already had with them this poor woman.  Oh, you can be sure that they were correct in their accusation.  She had been found in the act of adultery, but there are problems with how they are treating her.  (We will just pass over the fact they don’t have her partner in crime also.  One doesn’t commit adultery alone.)  This happened in the morning, so did they have this woman in custody from the day before, so that she has been in fear and dread all night, or did they capture her at the very break of day, bringing her along disheveled and bedraggled?  Either way, they cared nothing for this woman, her condition, sin, or spiritual life, therefore they don’t deserve to be heard?

 They were lucky Jesus was just doodling in the sand, because their callous and nasty disposition deserved just as much punishment, according to Moses, as the stoning they called for.

 John 8:7-11  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.”

 Jesus, as true God, does however decide to hear and act.  Their persistence, even in working ill, is enough for God to pay attention to.  This should be a true lesson for us, God always answers our prayers, even in the negative, and our persistence will always be rewarded.  Jesus, though, does not take the bait.  An answer of “stone her” would have brought problems with the Romans, because only they could condemn and execute wrongdoers.  An answer of “free her” would have been spread far and wide as a direct denunciation of Moses and the Law.  Certainly no prophet or Messiah would deny the Law of Moses.  

to grace and mercy. Along with the mercy comes a judgment on the scribes and Pharisees, and all people in general.  In a true working of the rule about looking at the speck in your neighbor’s eye, Jesus disarms all those who believed they were socially and morally superior.  You can see the pure working of conscience in the wandering away of the oldest first, who could yet see their own weaknesses, down to the youngest.

 Finally, when Jesus pardons the woman, He does not condone her actions.  She is free.  She has no prosecutors but Jesus, and she knows that she is a sinner.  Hopefully, Jesus’ act of forgiveness and grace is powerful enough to change her heart and renovate her soul, just as His continual mercy and redemption does for our hearts, minds, and souls.

 Sometimes, it does appear that Jesus is just not paying any attention to us.  He is just somewhere playing in the dirt, but He is always awaiting the right time, with the right word, to bring us nothing more than His pure grace.

 In His peace,   Pastor Red