JESUS: THE COMPASSIONATE SAVIOUR

John 8:1-11         JESUS: THE COMPASSIONATE SAVIOR

Intro:  "He painted a sign advertising the pups and set about nailing it to a post on the edge of his yard. As he was driving the last nail into the post, he felt a tug on his overalls.  He looked down into the eyes of a little boy.

    "'Mister,' he said.  'I want to buy one of your puppies.'

    "'Well,' said the farmer, as he wiped the sweat off the back of his neck, 'these puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of money.'

    "The boy dropped his head for a moment.  Then reaching deep into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer. 'I've got thirty-nine cents.  Is that enough to take a look?'

    "'Sure,' said the farmer.  And with that he let out a whistle.  'Here, Dolly!' he called.  Out from the doghouse ran Dolly followed by four little balls of fur.  The little boy pressed his face against the chain-link fence.  His eyes danced with delight.

    "As the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else stirring in the doghouse.  Slowly another little ball appeared; this one noticeably smaller.  In a somewhat awkward manner the little puppy began hobbling toward the others, doing its best to catch up. This was clearly the runt of the litter.

    "'I want that one,' said the boy pointing to the runt.

    "The farmer knelt down at the boy's side and said, 'Son, you don't want that puppy.  He will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs would.'

    "With that the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down, and began rolling up the leg of his trousers.  In doing so, he revealed a steel brace running down both sides of his leg and attaching itself to a specially made shoe. Looking back up at the farmer, he said, 'You see, sir, I don't run too well myself, and he will need someone who understands.'"

     Sinners need that same sort of understanding!  I praise the Lord this morning that there is a Savior who loves sinners and understands us like we are.  Now, please do not misunderstand me, God never condones your sins or mine.  He is holy and He hates our sin with His entire being. 

However, He knows what we are made of and He knows what we face in our lives day by day, Psa. 103:14. 

Psalm 103:14 KJV 1900

14 For he knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust.

How does He have this kind of information about humans?  He lived as one for 33 years, Phil. 2:5-8!

Philippians 2:5–8 KJV 1900

5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

This event shows us a Saviour that demonstrates compassion.

 It doesn’t tell us of One who is soft on sin, but of One who loves sinners and reaches out to them in grace, forgiveness and love. 

That is the Savior I would like to bring before you this morning. 

I. THE CAUGHT WOMAN-VS. 3

A.  Her Sin

According to the narrative, she was caught in the very act of adultery. 

She was guilty before the face of the Lord and before the world.  Now, adultery is a vile sin, but it is no worse than any other.

James 2:10 “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”

In fact, even if we never committed a sin with our bodies or our minds, we would still be guilty before the Lord!

Romans 3:10 “10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:”

Romans 3:23 “23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”

Galatians 3:22 KJV 1900

22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

B.  Her Shame-vs. 3

        In their haste to bring this woman to Jesus, her accusers probably didn’t give her sufficient time to get properly dressed before they brought her into public.  However that may have been, she was certainly humiliated by the public accusation and disclosure of her sin.

Sin is a shameful thing! 

 C.  Her Sentence-vs. 4-5

Her accusers were absolutely correct!  According to the Law, she deserved to die -

Leviticus 20:10 “10 And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.”

Deuteronomy 22:22 “22 If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away evil from Israel.”

There was one small problem here: Where was her partner?  Both were supposed to die for this sin!  The man may have been part of this scheme to attack Jesus.  He may have been allowed to slip away.  Nevertheless, this woman was guilty and she deserved to die.

(Ill. Nobody gets away with sin!  The penalty of it will always come due -

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

The only hope any sinner has is to run to Jesus.  He offers the only hope anyone has in this world or the one to come.  He is the only way -

John 14:6 “6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

(Ill. In their effort to humiliate this woman and to discredit the Lord, they brought her to the best possible place. 

They brought her to the very man who could deal with her past and her problems and who could make it all right.)

  I.  The CAUGHT Woman

II. THE CONNIVING CRITICS-VS. 3-9

A. Their Plan

These men had it in their heads to pin Jesus on the horns of a dilemma. 

If Jesus simply let the woman go, then He would be seen as being easy on sin and could have been arrested for being in violation of the Law. 

If, however, He gave permission for the woman to be killed, He could then be accused before Rome as an upstart and a seditionist, and He would have destroyed His reputation as being the “friend of publicans and sinners”.

They felt that no matter what Jesus said, He had no wiggle room.

These religious men are just like legalists in our day.  They couldn’t have cared less about this woman, her sin, her soul, or her eternal destiny.  All they cared about was pressing their agenda, and their brand of righteousness.  Thing haven’t changed!  All Pharisees are the same!

B. Their Problems

Their plan might have succeeded with an ordinary man, but they were dealing with Jesus Christ, and He simply refused to play by their rules! 

When they tried to stump Jesus, They discovered that they had met their match.  Notice how He responded to their arguments.

1. They Were Ignored-vs. 6

While they were talking to the Lord, He just knelt down and began to write on the ground.  He had no use for their pettiness and lack of love for sinners.

What did Jesus write?  Well, for 2,000 years, men have tried to solve that little mystery.  Today, I am going to give you a deep theological answer: I don’t know!  And, neither does anyone else!  However, let me give you a little food for thought in this matter.  Maybe He wrote:

a.  The Ten Commandments.  After all, it was his finger that wrote them the first time!

b.  Perhaps He wrote their names in fulfillment of

Jeremiah 17:13 KJV 1900

13 O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters.

c.   Maybe He wrote out Lev. 20:10 and Deut. 22:22.

d.   Maybe He simply wrote the names in the crowd that were guilty of adultery also.

Whatever the Lord wrote on the ground, it surely got their attention.  By the way, He knows how to speak to your heart as well!  How much better it is to come to Him by faith and miss all that exposure and punishment!

2. They Were Exposed-vs. 7-9

People refuse to come to the light of Jesus Christ because they love their sin and do not want it exposed; they are willfully blind.

John F. MacArthur

- When Jesus did speak, He said, “He that is without sin among, let him first cast a stone at her.” 

Jesus wasn’t requiring that any judge be sinless.  If that were the case then no human would ever be able to render judgment in any matter, even in a court of law. 

 I think that Jesus was saying to these hypocrites, “He that is free from this particular sin, let him first cast a stone at her.”  You see, adultery can be committed with the head and the heart just as surely as it may be committed with the body! 

     At this point, all the shouting came to a stop and all that could be heard was the dropping of their rocks and the shuffle of their sandals as they stole quietly away.  You see, these men have been exposed before their fellow man, the accused lady and most importantly before the Lord.

Let’s at least give them credit for the fact that when they saw themselves as they really were, (Perhaps the most painful realization of all), they stopped calling for the death of this woman.  I want you to know that one of the hardest things you can face is yourself as you really are!

 However, when you see yourself as being sinful, then you can do something about it. 

1 John 1:9 KJV 1900

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

When we are convicted of our sins, then is the time to come to Jesus. 

After all, He is the only One who can deal with Man’s sin problem!

The conniving religious critics were convicted, but showed no desire for confession or repentence.

They went away still in their sins!!!

  I.  The CAUGHT Woman

 II.  The CONNIVING Critics

III. THE COMPASSIONATE SAVIOUR-VS. 9-11

A. He Faced Her-vs. 9-10

Only Jesus could have cleared the Temple after that fashion and when the last rock had hit the Temple floor, Jesus stood up and faced this sinful woman.  As He stood before her, He was the only One the world has ever known who was qualified to take up the first stone, and stone her to death. 

When she faced Jesus, she was facing the ultimate judge!

Revelation 20:11–15 “11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

She had reached a place in her life where it was just her and Jesus.  It always comes down to that! 

Eventually, somewhere, someday you are going to have to face Jesus. 

Oh, I am sure that He has given you opportunities in this life to come to Him.  What have you done with them? 

My friend, you will either receive Jesus at one of life’s encounters, or you will face Him on judgment day.  Which would you rather it be?

In the end, it always comes down to just you and Jesus.  And, what you do with Him will determine where and how you spend eternity!

B. He Forgave Her-vs. 11

God is not against us because of our sin. He is with us against our sin.

Unknown

Colossians 1:13–14 “13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:”

The only One qualified to throw a stone refused to!  Jesus dealt with her on the basis of compassion. 

The religious men had condemned and considered her as good as dead, Jesus however, saw someone worthy of His love and worth salvaging. 

When she came to Jesus, she received 2 great blessings that forever changed her life.  These same 2 blessings are the gift of God to all who receive Jesus as their Savior.

1. A New Lord-vs. 11

By her simple confession of Christ as Lord, salvation became her’s. 

That is all there is to being saved!  Rom. 10:9 says, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God has raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved!” 

It doesn’t get any easier than that!  Even small children can comprehend that truth and make it real in their lives.  What about you? Have you taken this step of faith?

Anyone who wants to be saved can be saved through faith in the shed Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ!  Rev. 22:17; John 3:16; John 6:37

2.  A New Life

All of her life, she had been subject to the God of this world, Satan.  She had been a prisoner of her own lusts and desires, Eph. 2:1-3.  Jesus, however, came and unlocked the shackles that held her bound in sin and He set her free!  Imagine for a minute what happened the next time she saw her lover!

Jesus specializes in taking wasted, ruined lives and saving them by His grace and restoring them to usefulness.  Every person who comes to Jesus for salvation receives this new lease on life - 2 Cor. 5:17.

2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV 1900

17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

 We get a chance to begin again, and this time, we actually have a chance of making something out of our lives - 1 Pet. 1:23.)

1 Peter 1:23

23-  Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

Conclusion:

How is your relationship with The Compassionate Saviour?

Maybe. Like this woman, your life has been wrecked and ruined by sin. 

Maybe you are looking for a compassionate Savior, One who will make everything right. 

I want to invite you to come to Jesus.  He cares about you just like you are.  He loves you and wants to save you.  He wants to deliver you from your bondage.  He wants to set you free.  Therefore, He invites you to come to Him today. 

If there are issues in your life that need to be settled, this altar is the place where they be taken care of forever. 

Will you bring your life to Jesus and let Him make it over?

Maybe you have been hurt by religious, self-righteous people. 

And you have been using that as an excuse to turn your back on God…to live in defiance toward God…to be angry with God.

Come confess that anger, bitterness, unforgiveness as sin in your life.

Quit living like a victim and learn to live victoriously!!!

Maybe you are like some of those in the crowd with an attitude of condemnation towards those that are different than you, or are not at the place spiritually that you are…today is a good day to come and let Jesus soften your heart!!!