But when they got up!
But when they got up to walk away!
John 8: 1-11 1 while Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, 4 they said to him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. 5 Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" 6 They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." 8 And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.
Introduction: There comes a moment in the midst of every time of testing when the believer looks around and finds themselves alone, standing within the sight of God. He is large enough to be for all, yet sized just right to be personal for you! I have lived long enough to know that inside every period of pain, there will come a place that I call the moment of truth. What is birthed in that moment fuels our faith for the rest of our days!
Point 1: A woman (and some man) were guilty of adultery (v.3) There was the guilt of the woman and some unknown man. They were both guilty of the serious sin of adultery, a sin that affects so many lives. Under Jewish law it was considered so serious that the parties were to be stoned to death (Leviticus 20:10; Deut. 22:13-24). Note how the sin speaks to the sin of every person.
Þ The sin was a work of darkness. All sin is, and most sin is actually done under the cover of darkness. An attempt is made to hide it from wife, husband, mother, father, employer, class-mate.
Þ The man and woman thought what we all often think—that their sin would never be discovered, that no one would ever find out. But they overlooked two things that we all ignore: in the vast majority of cases, sin has been discovered; and sin, the very act of it, is always seen by God.
Þ The sin took place at the time of the feast, where the atmosphere was party-like and where men and women were brought together by drinking and dancing and the indulgence of the crowd. Such an atmosphere corrupts even those with the best intentions and the highest morals.
The woman caught in the very act was a sinner but the religionists and the public were also guilty. The witnesses who caught the woman in the act of adultery were great sinners. When the accusers dragged the woman to the religionists, people all along the way joined in, as the case so often is. The religionists saw a chance to test Jesus, so they took the woman before Him, hoping to discredit Him.
Note several things about the dark nature of man seen in these religionists and in the crowd who joined in the public exposure.
a. Yes she sinned! But those who accused her were wrong in the name of their so called righteousness! There was a sinful spirit among all these involved, a spirit..
.
· of self-righteousness that lacked forgiveness
· of criticism that lacked love
· of judging that lacked compassion
· of censoring that lacked understanding
· of condemning that lacked sympathy
· of punishing that lacked restoration
· of savagery that lacked curing
· of destroying that lacked the second chance
There was hypocrisy. They felt and claimed that they were religious, better than the woman, free from any sin serious enough to be exposed. They even used Scripture to condemn her sin and to support their right to condemn her.
There was complete failure to "love thy neighbor as thyself" a complete failure to do what we all need sometime, to be embraced and pulled out of the sin and hurt gripping us, a complete failure to hush—be quiet, and say nothing, except to the one caught in sin—and to set about a ministry of restoration and reconciliation to God and man.
Point 2: Jesus was silent for a while, I read that he ignored the self anointed, self appointed righteous, there was Jesus ignoring sinful man as long as He could. "He stooped down, and with His finger wrote on the ground," saying nothing. He was silent for a long time. We are not told why Jesus stooped in silence, but when he got up. . . when he got up!
Jesus did ignore them in all their sinful, critical, self-righteous, hypocritical spirit; but He ignored them only for a time. Jesus will not ignore nor allow sin to go on forever.
He will arise, face it, and judge it. The woman was guilty of a very serious sin. The law said she was to be condemned to death. Her accusers and the people were right, legally justified in their charge. If they were to be stopped from killing her, and even more, if they were to be corrected and rebuked, something phenomenal would have to happen. It did, and note what it was: Þ "He that is without sin...let him first cast a stone" (John 8:7).
Jesus said that stones could be cast at the sinner. But He placed a limitation on casting stones. "He that is without sin, let him first cast a stone." (Note: this means that only Christ can judge, for no person is without sin.) Casting stones is not based on how much Scripture a person knows, nor on how great a person's calling and gifts are, nor on the position a person has. It is based upon moral goodness and perfection, and no man has achieved that.
When she was dragged before the master she was guilty, humiliated and publicly shamed. . .but after he got finished, when she turned to walk away. . .she found out, what it means to be down but not out!
Point 3: Acts 9: 1-5 The Conversion of Saul 1 Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" 5 He asked, "Who are you, Lord?" The reply came, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
The man that they called Saul, was given over to a fierce objective, that of destroying all the followers of "the Way" of the Lord. He volunteered—actually went to the High Priest and the Sanhedrin requesting authority to storm after the fleeing believers—to arrest and bring the believers back to Jerusalem for trial (cp. Acts 22:5; Acts 26:10).b. He included women as well as men .
Somewhere I read that there was the light from heaven. Note: it was while Saul was set on his slaughter of believers that he was stricken down by the light from the Lord. It was in the midst of his ferocious evil that he was saved. (There is hope for all, for anyone of us.)
1. The light appeared suddenly, out of nowhere, unexpectedly.
2. The light was from heaven. It was supernatural and miraculous, from God Himself. God is the source and giver of the light.
3. The light was great, brighter than the noonday sun When it burst forth, Saul saw the Lord standing in the midst of it (1 Cor. 9:1; 1 Cor. 15:8). The light radiated from the Lord Himself. The light and sight of the heavenly figure struck Paul to the ground.
Now note what Scripture proclaims to all hearts. Light, the very presence of God Himself, is the first thing experienced in salvation."God...hath shined in our hearts...." (2 Cor. 4:6).
God has to shine in a man's heart for a man to be saved; he has to give the knowledge of the glory of God in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the Lord of heaven, the Son of God Himself. God's very own glory dwells in Jesus Christ. Therefore, for a man to know God's glory, he must know the face of Jesus Christ.
He must receive light, the knowledge, the understanding, the awareness, the consciousness, the quickening that Jesus is the Savior, the Son of God Himself.
That Saul to Paul conversion is such a beautiful thing! Still, it has been proven, inside of every conversion there is some form of confrontation, there was the confrontation with the Lord.
Struck down, He heard a voice speak to him. Note: he alone heard the voice. The others heard a sound, but could not distinguish the words (Acts 9:7). The message was a personal message to Paul alone.
1. There was the charge of terrible sin, of opposing and persecuting the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus called Saul by his name, "Saul, Saul." Calling the name twice shows two things.
a. It shows tenderness, love, and concern, an appeal to listen and heed.
b. It shows rebuke and warning. Saul was treading on dangerous ground. He was close to the brink, about to fall over the edge of no recovery. Opposing Christ is serious, so serious it dooms a person to hell unless there is repentance.
There was the request to know the Lord. Saul knew that the light and the person seen in the midst of the light and the voice had all come from heaven. He knew that he was being confronted by a heavenly being. He knew...· it was the Lord, the heavenly being.· it was the Lord he was supposed to know.
Something happens every time God’s truth approaches the sin of man! There is confrontation inside conversion! The shattering truth is a real eye-opener to every person who opposes Jesus (or God).
This truth shattered Saul, broke him in utter submission. Why? Because it meant that God was aware of Saul’s actions...God knew. · that every stone cast at Stephen was a stone cast against God Himself (Acts 7:59-60).· that every home he had stormed into was a home that truly worshipped God (Acts 8:3).· that every person he had forcibly dragged through the streets to jail was a true follower of God (Acts 8:3).· that every women he had abused was a child of God (Acts 8:3; Acts 9:2; Acts 22:4).· that everyone he had chained and imprisoned was a true servant of God (Acts 8:3; Acts 22:4; Acts 26:10).· that every synagogue he had stormed was the true house of God (Acts 26:11).· that every person whom he had killed (slaughtered, Acts 9:1), was a charge of murder against him (Acts 26:10; Acts 22:4).· that he was lost, truly lost, separated from God and doomed to hell.· that his life was a total wreck, being totally deceived and misdirected, bent on utter destruction.·
. . . that he stood no chance of escaping the guilt of his sin and the doom of hell apart from what could be the greatest act of mercy ever shown by God. (Cp. 1 Tim. 1:16.)
Saul saw the light and it knocked him to his knee’s, . . .but when he got up. . .
Point 4: Mark 15: 42 When evening had come, and since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Then Pilate wondered if he were already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he had been dead for some time. 45 When he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the body to Joseph. 46 Then Joseph bought a linen cloth, and taking down the body, wrapped it in the linen cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where the body was laid.
Imagine our Jesus, mocked and mangled, bloodied and beaten, betrayed and abandoned by those who he had walked with, turned on by those who once praised him, mocked by those that he came to save.
Imagine how those who had followed Jesus felt, they knew the power within the man
. They had witnessed all of the healings, they had seen all of the miraculous events, they had seen him exhibit power over nature, sickness and death, yet he who had said Lazarus “come forth” now hung dead above them and before them.
Joseph...
· took the Lord's body down from the cross.
· wrapped the body in linen.
· laid the body in a tomb, a tomb wherein no man had ever been laid.
They laid him down and sealed the entrance. . . but when he got up!
Conclusion: The point that I am making is simply this, there may be one like the woman caught in the very act, an undeniable sinner humiliated and publicly exposed, we might have in our lives encountered somebody like old Saul, someone whose every evil seems to be directed toward the killing of the things of God, and sometimes even those who have spent some time walking with and witnessing Jesus look at the circumstances and question his condition. . . . even those who believe have laid him down and walked away forgetting that it is not over until God says that its over!
That women bowed down. . .but when she turned to walk away. . .didn’t she have a new way of walking, a walk unburdened by all of the words of her accusers. . .old Saul went down, but when he got up, didn’t the light that he encountered give him a new outlook on life, a different way of looking at things! Somehow what he once lived to slaughter he now longed to save!
The great revelation is this—Jesus alone has the right to condemn and forgive
a. He gives a second chance (v.10)
b. He wishes to forgive (v.11a)
c. He challenges (v.11b)
d. He warns (v.11c) (8:10-11) Salvation— Jesus Christ, Savior—
Forgiveness: the great revelation. Jesus alone has the right to condemn and forgive. The picture of the woman is the picture of every person. When it comes to sin and judgment, every person stands alone before Christ—stands naked and stripped of all righteousness, for no person possesses righteousness. There are no accusers, not among men. No man can condemn the woman nor anyone else. The only righteousness and the only perfection, the only One who is not guilty of sin, is Christ and Christ alone. He alone is worthy to stand in judgment. However, note the most glorious news in all of human history.
Jesus did not condemn, but gave a second chance.
Jesus wished to forgive and did forgive: "Neither do I condemn thee."
Jesus challenged, but warned: "Go, and sin no more." Stop your sinning—make a clean break—do it no more. The warning is clear: repentance is essential for forgiveness.
Some have sinned and fallen, there are others who have run into something and been knocked down, one or two in our midst may feel like they have been crucified. . .I have and hold a praise this morning because I know that he lives, but more then that he is a God that speaks to our shame!
Let us Pray!