Where Mercy and Justice Meet

Intro: Hide and Seek

Hide and Seek / Sardines / Manhunt

Different games but all variations on the same concept - hide and try not to be found

Especially when the kids were younger, they would want to play

They were shocked when I could find them almost immediately

I mean, they did hide in the same corner under the same blanket nearly every time

I would fake wandering around not able to find them

And what would happen if I “didn’t find them” long enough?

They would start to giggle and laugh

Ultimately, the kid wants to be found

Then, of course, they would want me to go hide

I was, of course, much better at it than any of them

I would duck behind a door or wherever and they would look for a while

But the game gets kinda lame if it is all hiding and never being found

That is a helpful picture for us at deeper parts of our lives as well

Most of us, if we are honest, spend a lot of time hiding

Hiding our mistakes

Hiding our weaknesses

Hiding our insecurities and our incompetencies

And, maybe most of all, hiding from our own shame and trying to hide others from seeing that of which we are most ashamed

How many of us wish all that we hid was found out, but in a way that freed us from our shame and extended a compassion to us in those deep, dark, hidden places?

Transition

Each time we get together, we study a passage of the Bible

In particular, right now we are looking at some stories in the gospel of John where people from all walks of life - important, forgotten, rich, poor, and more encounter Jesus

And the whole point of these encounters that they have with Jesus is that we would be invited to encounter Jesus ourselves and consider what we believe about Jesus

With that, our passage today comes from the first part of John 8 where we meet a woman who is found at the moment of her greatest shame

But even more, she - and her shame! - are being used as a pawn in a much larger plot

If you have your Bible, I would invite you to open to it

If you do not have a Bible, we have some in the back of the room

Grab it and if you don’t have a Bible at home, take it with you as our gift

Scripture Reading: John 7:53-8:11

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.”

A Quick Aside on the Text

Before we go too far, we need to stop and make note of one thing

If you are looking at your Bible right now, you may see a little note that says something like “The earliest manuscripts do not include 7:53-8:11”

Without going too far down the road of how we got the Bible, we do not have the original copy of any book of the Bible

Instead, we have copies and copies of copies - and this is true of every document from ancient history whether it be writings of Aristotle or Homer’s Iliad and the Odyssey

Some of those early copies don’t include this passage

That said, I believe it reflects a true event in Jesus's ministry and is included in the inspired canon of Scripture for four reasons:

Same voice, writing style as everything around it

Most of the time, if something was added later in history, it was appended to the end of the document, not stuck right in the middle

Similar wording to other things Jesus said elsewhere

It is almost a direct response to what immediately precedes it in chapter 7

Pray

Specifically thank God for this story because we can learn about the compassion of God to meet us at our moments of greatest shame

It’s a Trap

I thought about about naming this message, It’s a Trap, in honor of the great Admiral Ackbar

And, truly, this is a trap

While we do have sexual sin here

And let’s be clear - all sex outside of marriage between one man and one woman is sinful

That was not the most vile or evil sin

It was this trap

The Pharisees cooked up a scheme to use this woman to trap Jesus

Which, spoiler alert, didn’t work - but we’ll get there

3 reasons we can be sure this is a trap

First, where is the guy?

It takes two to tango

This woman was not committing adultery on her own!

Did they recruit a guy to sleep with this woman on the promise that they would overlook his offense?

Did one of them volunteer to “take one for the team” by sleeping with her to set the trap?

But nope, we hear nothing of the guy involved

Second, it took multiple witnesses with exactly corroborating stories to convict

Yes, the Mosaic Law did have an allowance for stoning those caught in the act of adultery

But because the punishment was so severe, the witness testimony needed to be from multiple sources with every detail exact

And the witnesses needed to see it process, not just observe people in a compromising situation - they needed to see the deed!

There is a story from Jewish history about a couple that were acquitted because the witnesses could not agree on the type of tree under which the act had occurred

So the only way to be really sure is to have set the whole thing up in the first place

I mean, why else would multiple Pharisees just happen to be walking by the house at that exact moment early in the morning?

I mean, I suppose this all could have been an accident… I just don’t see it

Third, the Pharisees knew where Jesus was

They pulled this woman from a house and brought her to Jesus

That only works if they knew where to take her in that moment where Jesus would have a crowd around him to set the trap

She was a pawn being used - it was Jesus they were after

They were willing to let her die for the sake of the trap

Let me say it even stronger than that: They were willing to kill her if it got them Jesus

It’s a trap

As John 8:6 summarizes: “This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him.”

Eyes Over Here

Ok, so we get that this is a trap

But what is this whole experience like for the woman?

What is running through her mind? Her heart?

Because that is the place where we are invited to encounter the character of Jesus, as the woman does

She was in the middle of an intimate encounter

But she is ripped out of bed and yanked out of the house

And no, almost assuredly she was not given time to get dressed or even allowed to grab a sheet to cover herself

They wanted her naked as they paraded her through the city

And this was not just from the house next door they pulled her out and Jesus happened to be there

He is in the temple - and probably not in the outer court where the Gentiles were allowed

She is ripped out of the house into the middle of town

Down the street, weaving way through

Through the outer court of the temple to at least the second section of the temple

And then thrust into the middle of this crowd gathered around Jesus

And what is happening this whole time?

All eyes are on her - people are staring, moms are covering their children’s eyes

With each step she is pushed forward, the shame is growing

She is staring at the ground to avoid making eye contact with those staring at her

That is the power of shame

We want to hide because shame tells us that not only did we do something wrong, but we are wrong - we are less than

How much in that moment she wanted to hide, to be invisible, to disappear

Where have you experienced that kind of shame?

Maybe even this morning you are here carrying that

If people knew about…

If this ever got out…

Maybe something you did years ago that haunts you

Maybe something you are in the middle of even as this woman was engaged in adultery when this encounter with Jesus occurs that shames you

Or maybe, and this is why the trap is vile, something that was done to you where you feel less than or shamed because of something of which you are the rightful victim!

Which makes us want to hide, to be invisible, to disappear

But she couldn’t hide

She was paraded through town naked

All eyes on her… until…

Jesus does something really curious

The rest of John 8:6 “Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.”

What a strange response to the words of the Pharisees

John 8:4–5 “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?””

If Jesus says “let her go” - “Ha, we’ve got him”

He just told us to ignore the law of Moses!

If Jesus says “stone her” - “Ha, we’ve got him”

He just contradicted his entire message of grace

Either way, they win

But then Jesus gets down gets down on his knees and starts to draw on the ground with his finger

What did he write?

This is the natural question

And throughout the church’s history, there have been a lot of theories

Some say he wrote the 10 commandments

Some say he wrote the particular sins of those Pharisees standing there attempting to trap Jesus

Some say he wrote the names of the Pharisees

I kinda think it is funny to imagine him writing two lists - one with him writing names and the other him writing sins - and then playing a matching game connecting them

Or maybe he was just playing tic-tac-toe

The reality is, the Bible never tells us what he wrote

What was the effect of him getting down and writing in the dirt?

We don’t know what he wrote, but maybe we have insight into the “why”

Let me ask this: What happened as soon as he stooped down and began to draw in the dirt?

First, he isn’t looking at the naked woman - he isn’t adding to her shame

And second, this is where it gets really amazing: All eyes on him

The crowd gets tighter, everyone wanting to see what he is writing

And the woman? She is pushed to the side

Do you hear that?

All eyes were on the woman - she was the center of attention

Jesus took the center of attention and brought all eyes onto him

And off of her

This is so beautiful

At the moment of her greatest shame, Jesus takes all eyes off her and puts them onto himself

Not only does he not add to her shame, he takes it upon himself

I said earlier that we see here the character of Jesus

And what is that character?

Compassion and gentleness and kindness for hurting people

Friends, where, right now, do you need Jesus to take your shame?

I can think of one specific event from I was a kid where I carried the shame of that for years… and it wasn’t even my fault!

Where do you need the compassion of Jesus?

There is nothing you have done, or are doing now, or have had done to you, of which the one true God is unaware

You can’t hide from him

But you don’t need to

Because, like this woman, when you encounter Jesus, you find compassion and gentleness and kindness

I don’t know the source of shame for you

But Jesus is compassion, come to him and let him take your shame upon himself

Where Mercy and Justice Meet

Finally, let us come back to the core of the trap laid by the Pharisees

If Jesus condemns the woman to be stoned as the law of Moses required, he has turned his back on mercy

If Jesus let’s her off the hook, he has denied justice

The Pharisees have Jesus backed into a corner

And instead, Jesus doodles

When he finally speaks, he states, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Then he bent down and started to draw again

One by one, beginning with the oldest, they left

Until everyone was gone… just Jesus and this woman

In justice, he allowed for the enforcement of the Mosaic Law

In mercy, he called for the sinless - which was none of them - to throw the first stone

John 8:10–11 “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.””

Do you see the heart and character of Jesus?

In justice, he doesn’t deny that she sinned and instead tells the woman to go and sin no more

In mercy, he says that he does not condemn her

Jesus is where mercy and justice meet!

And yet, there was a need for mercy and justice to meet in a way that both are forever elevated

Not just in this one moment for this one woman

But for all time for all of us

Which is precisely why the death of Jesus is so wonderfully mysterious

Sin must be punished - the justice of God requires it

Forgiveness must be offered - the mercy of God requires it

On that cross, the justice of God was fully satisfied as our sin was paid for by death

On that cross, the mercy of God was fully exalted as that death was the death of Jesus, not you and me

On the cross, as Psalm 85:10 tells us, it was there that mercy and justice meet, where righteousness and peace kiss

Conclusion

I am grateful for this story being in the Bible

Through it we gain a beautiful picture of Jesus

Jesus is the One who is full of compassion, taking our shame upon himself

We don’t need to carry our shame or be defined by our shame any longer

Jesus is the One in whom mercy and justice meet perfectly and forever

And Jesus is the One in whom you and I are called to believe

And last thought here

Like the woman, Jesus calls us to “from now on sin no more”

There is a call to obedience, to leave behind our sin

Not because we are afraid that we will somehow make God stop loving us or we will lose the gift of eternal life he promised

But because he has set us free from our sin

And he is also the One who says “Neither do I condemn you”

Jesus knows you will fail - again and again and again

You will sin again even when he says not to

But instead of being just another source of shame, it is a place for us to be reminded once again of the wonderfully mysterious power of the cross where mercy and justice meet

The truth of the cross is where your story and this woman’s story ultimately meet

It’s the place where her encounter with Jesus becomes the invitation to your own encounter with Jesus

You don’t need to wonder if Jesus can handle your sin or your shame

On the cross, he was naked, exposed, and made sin, taking the ultimate shame

He took the justice your sin required and offered the mercy your soul longed for

Walk out of here today as someone found, not hidden

Trust that Jesus is not where mercy and justice met for one woman 2000 years ago

But they meet perfectly and eternally for you, through his finished work on the cross

Pray