Caught in the Act

Jesus has gone to the Feast of Tabernacles at the feast the priest would go down and draw water from the pool of Siloam with a golden pitcher…they would return to the temple and pour the water letting it run over the altar…they would then begin to pray for rain…

John 7:37–38 “37 On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.””

This sets the stage for a few things - first a debate over whether Jesus is the Messiah, second a test of Jesus’ commitment to the Law and finally Jesus’ next I AM statement, which we will talk about next week…

John 7:53–8:11 CSB

53 [Then each one went to his house. 1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 At dawn he went to the temple again, and all the people were coming to him. He sat down and began to teach them. 3 Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, making her stand in the center. 4 “Teacher,” they said to him, “this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery. 5 In the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 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. 7 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.” 8 Then he stooped down again and continued writing on the ground. 9 When they heard this, they left one by one, starting with the older men. Only he was left, with the woman in the center. 10 When Jesus stood up, he said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 “No one, Lord,” she answered. “Neither do I condemn you,” said Jesus. “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”]

While everyone went home Jesus took the time to refresh Himself by spending time with the Father…

People will make mistakes.

She was caught “in the act”

Where is the man in this interaction?

People matter more than their failures

The Pharisees were willing to sacrifice this woman to win an argument

The only one who sees people as pawns in a game is Satan…

The enemy uses your failures as a weapon

Jesus uses your failures as a means to meet you in that moment, to make you better

A high school student repeatedly acted out, failed assignments, and disrupted class. Other teachers labeled him a lost cause. But his English teacher refused to see him that way…

She pulled him aside one day and said, “You are more than your mistakes. I see something in you worth fighting for.”

He returned years later, now a successful author and told her. “Your belief in me mattered more than every failure I ever made.”

Your value is not rooted in your perfection; it is rooted in God as the image you bear

We all have had, have, or will have sin issues

What was Jesus writing?

Sinful people require grace and mercy

Jesus did not condemn her, even though He had the full authority to and the Law even backed Him up.

Grace is not quick to discard - grace is quick to restore.

Restoration includes forgiveness and a call to “sin no more”

Jesus did not ignore her sin; He called it out and forgave it

It is not loving to allow someone to continue living in sin

A young woman was caught with drugs. She had a problem for years and continually failed drug tests. After another arrest, she stood before the judge, ashamed and fully expecting jail time.

Instead, the judge said, “I’m giving you another chance. But I expect you not to waste it. He put her in a program that would hold her accountable, give her counseling, and offer job training. He then told her that he would personally monitor her progress.

She returned sometime late – now clean, sober, and employed. She told the judge, “Your grace saved me, but your expectations changed me.”

Jesus’ grace saves us, but he doesn’t just leave us there – He changes us.