John 7:58-8:1

Jesus Forgives a Woman

I have a scenario I am going to share (I read this somewhere, I didn’t come up with it).

Imagine you walk into a bank (how many of you actually still go into bank ever? Anyways your inside waiting in line for a teller to become available so you can deposit your Christmas cash. You see a man walk in with a visible firearm and he starts giving people directions. You see a second man walk right past you and opens the half door swinging thing (what does that do anyway) and goes and opens up the safe. A third man walks in with empty bags and goes behind the counter and starts to fill them up and once they are full he walks out the back door.

What is happening? Does everyone agree? Any other thoughts?

Well what if I give you more details. The man with the empty bags—he is the custodian taking trash bags and collecting the trash and taking it out the back door to the dumpster. The man that walked past everyone and opened the safe—he’s the bank manager. The man with the firearm, he is the security guard helping direct people.

With additional details you see the picture much more clear. This story serves two purposes for us. First, its important to have all the details before casting judgement. If you don’t have the whole picture you can’t understand everything going on. I have you a decent amount of details, detailed what each person was doing, I could have even added descriptions (wearing all black, had tattoos, wearing a jumpsuit) but that still wouldn’t provide a proper understanding.

But this story also shows us about authority. What is the problem with a random person just going and opening the safe? What would happen if you just went and tried to open the safe? Why would they arrest you?

You don’t belong there—you don’t have authority. The bank manager has authority to do so. And while many people wish they could go and open the safe or the vault, only one has been authorized to do so.

Turn with me to John 8.

While your turning there, what has been going on in our story?

Jesus was in Galilee avoiding Judea because they were trying to kill him. Then he decides to go in under cover but soon he is in the temple teaching during the festival of booths. He interrupts there great festival pinnacle moment to declare he is the one who can satisfy, those that are thirsty can come to him and find rivers of living water.

Officers are sent to arrest Jesus and they don’t because no man has ever spoke with such authority. There is divisions amongst the people about what this means, who Jesus is and what he can do, which brings us to todays story

I will also add here, some of your bibles may say something about this not being in the earliest manuscripts, some of you may not have it at all. There is question about what the role of this text is—is it included in the bible or not, we don’t know for sure. What does that mean? Well A it means I can’t get the passage wrong since we don’t know its place (just kidding). Seriously it means we can’t be dogmatic but we do believe it has a role and place and the principles here are true and certainly match the trajectory of Jesus ministry.

Someone read

John 7:53–8:11 ESV

They went each to his own house, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he 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. 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 makes it clear here he has the authority here.

The pharisees bring forth a women and they think they are going to trap Jesus. Jesus has been known for his compassion and mercy and so they are going to bring forth this women and Jesus is going to have no choice but put her to death and go against that compassion, or forgive her and go against Jewish law.

The law was clear, this woman was dead to rights. She had been caught in adultery and the punishment was death.

What do you say? What is your response. They want him to mess up, slip up, say the wrong thing so they can use it against him.

Sometimes the scripture doesn’t give us everything we want to know. There are questions you have that just never get answered. I have a couple questions here:

In order to bring a charge against someone in Jewish law and it be punishable, there has to be two or three witnesses. Given the nature of this offense (Adultery) I find it hard to believe thats the case.

Where is the man? If there was two or three witnesses and they were caught, the man is also guilty and worthy of the same punishment? He just isn’t present?

What is Jesus writing in the sand? Is he writing out his response? Is he writing out lyrics to a song? What is he doing?

Anyway, back to the story.

They try and trap Jesus. However, what does he do?

You know what, your right—she be stoned. Not a problem. There is some stones right there. Just one condition—you who is without sin can throw the first stone. Wow

Talk about a punch in the gut. I can see the pharisees in my mind, all giddy, they finally have him. What can Jesus do about this—no amount of mercy or compassion can get you off the hook for this offense. It is clearly written in the law, no supreme court ruling here—if you do this, this must happen. I can see them telling there friends, watch this, I am going to get him.

Chest out, voice proud, “Jesus, Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Moses commands us to stone this women, what do you say?” What say you Jesus.

Jesus agrees just as along as the one without sin throws the first stone.

Face flush, jaw dropped, eyes big. But, but, but, Jesus....

The Pharisees were full of themselves. They thought some silly things, but even they weren’t going to stand before anyone, and certainly not Jesus and say there was no sin in them. Its interesting Jesus doesn’t even say that you can’t stone her without sin, only that the first stone must be thrown by the one without sin. Silence. Crickets chirping.

One by one they walk away starting with the older ones. Those that came proud and pompous, walk away dejected and defeated.

What is the embarrassing sin here in this story? What is the gut wrenching part? Not the women, but the pharisees.

Soon its just Jesus and the women.

Think about this from the women's perspective. (Use a student as an example). This person has been caught in adultery. They are brought before everyone, there sin told for everyone to hear.

How are they feeling? Embarrassed, ashamed, bring on the stones? Maybe stoning would be better than the humility and the shame of everyone knowing. You fail a big test and everyone knows about it, its humbly, its humiliating. This is so much more than that—this is you messed with God’s sacred covenant of marriage, you messed with someones family, you screwed up big time. You don’t deserve to live.

But what does Jesus do?

John 8:9–10 ESV

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?”

Where did they all go? No one is going to condemn you? Jesus knew the answer to this, but talk about an ice breaker.

No....no....no one.

Jesus, the one who can condemn her, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on sin no more.”

Jesus not only spares her life, he forgives her, he doesn’t condemn her, he offers grace. Leave your life of sin. She has been disgraced and outcast, but Jesus offers hope, he covers that disgrace with his grace. they put her up in the pedestal, look at her, imagine what she has done. Jesus snap the legs off the platform and brought them all to the same level by exposing there sin.

Not only does Jesus forgives, he transforms her future. He gives her a reason to stop sinning.

Your sin doesn’t surpise Jesus. And he took didn’t condemn you, he took your sin and bore it on his shoulders on the cross.

Let’s pray