Written in the Sands
Notes
Transcript
Let’s start today in prayer!
But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
At dawn he went to the temple again, and all the people were coming to him. He sat down and began to teach them.
Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, making her stand in the center. “Teacher,” they said to him, “this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery. In the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” They asked this to trap him, in order that they might have evidence to accuse him.
Jesus stooped down and started writing on the ground with his finger. When they persisted in questioning him, he stood up and said to them, “The one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her.” Then he stooped down again and continued writing on the ground. When they heard this, they left one by one, starting with the older men. Only he was left, with the woman in the center. When Jesus stood up, he said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, Lord,” she answered.
“Neither do I condemn you,” said Jesus. “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”]
I was stuck on the title of this message for today. I was going to call it Rocks, Religion, and Revelation, but as I studied this message this week, I was intrigued by what scholars were guessing on the message Christ wrote in the sand.
So I would like to look into some of their guesses, as doing so we can dig deeper into the meaning behind this story with Christ and the account of the woman caught in adultery.
The first one that some think Christ wrote was
Jeremiah 17:13
Lord, the hope of Israel,
all who abandon you
will be put to shame.
All who turn away from me
will be written in the dirt,
for they have abandoned
the Lord, the fountain of living water.
Like many of us, she was caught in the act. No excuses, no lies, caught red-handed.
We need to take a look at the background of this account. First of all Jesus was teaching. His passion was the lives of people. The Pharisees were looking to back Him into a corner. Jewish law called for the death of both parties caught in adultery (where was the man that she was caught with); however, only the Roman government could sentence someone to death. The trap was set...“destroy the law, or kill her?”
Christ did not put his focus on the trap, he did not even focus on the young lady in front of him. He focused on the hearts of the religious leaders and how they truly turned away from God’s heart. From they very laws that were to bring them closer through the worship of God.
I like this way of thinking the scholars have...it brings us back to a teaching he did earlier with another woman...the woman at the well.
Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again. But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again. In fact, the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up in him for eternal life.”
These scribes and Pharisees would have heard by this time of the teaching he did in Samaria. Honestly, these guys were all up in the gossip of the time.
If Christ wrote Jeremiah 17:13, it was a huge slap across their faces, cause He was showing them a mirror that it was really them that were the sinful bunch and He was the living water.
The second thing I think He may have written was:
A List of Their Sins
Jesus response did not excuse her sin, nor did it negate the law. He did not prevent anyone from throwing a stone. Jesus instead gave us a glimpse into the nature of God.
Jesus is a merciful Savior. She was guilty, caught in the act....had a bad reputation. There was no hiding her failure....too many witnesses. There was no defense and she knew there was a penalty. You see all sin has a price, but you don’t want to know what it costs, because "the wages of sin is DEATH..." But Jesus knew that none of us is righteous. Nobody but Him. No one else can stand up to the measure of His perfection. But Jesus is merciful. He didn’t cast a stone. Sure He was justified, but He wanted something else. He sought transformation.
I want you to notice something. All of the accusers disappeared...it was just Jesus and the woman.
Your life is no different. You have been caught red handed in sin and now it is just Jesus and you. When Jesus calls to your heart it’s just you and Him. No one else is involved. The thoughts and opinions of no one else matter.
The last thing that people think was written in the sand, and the romantic in me would really want it to be is
Forgiven
There’s beauty in this account, because Jesus sets us free. The woman was free to go. She was no longer detained, no longer in jeopardy. Her situation was 180 degrees different than when she first met Jesus. Your life can be 180 degrees different than when you and Jesus first met also.
There is something about writing something in sand it disappears.
The old toy etch a sketch.
Just as with the woman, Jesus leaves us simple instructions. Go and sin no more. Your sins are forgiven. Each day, all you have to do is write out your sins on His etch a sketch...and He shakes it away.
Jesus did not require the woman to clean up her act and then He would forgive her. He meets us right where we are. I’ve always liked this saying. "Jesus loves you in spite of who you are, but He doesn’t intend for you to stay that way."
Why not let Jesus set you free today, He’s your only hope, because you too have been caught red handed.
