Sticks and Stones will break my Bones

Jonathan Prater

Sermon • Submitted 6 years ago

John 8:1–11

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Context

This entire scene is a setup for Jesus trying to turn people against him

Jesus could have called people to depart from the law of Moses- labeling him as an extreme heretic and most likely causing people to turn against him.

While the law of Moses called for the death of those caught in adultery, it does not state stoning as the method- Jesus could be in trouble for this

The woman was the only one brought- Jesus could be in trouble for this

No firsthand witness stepped forward- Jesus could be in trouble for this

Jesus had no authority to call for the death penalty- Jesus could be put to death for treason.

The text says that Jesus was in the Temple

This was most likely the outer court- a common place for teachers to be with their students and followers, and a common place for Jesus to be. There would be a large group of people there and plenty of activity.

The Sin involved

Today’s passage is another well known story about Jesus- as he interacts with a woman caught in adultery. A familiar story, today we will hear from this story again.

Jesus finds himself teaching in the outer courts of the temple- a common practice, not just for Jesus, but for many religious teachers in that day. Filled with people and full of activity, the outer courts of the temple were a known hot spot for people in everyday life.

As Jesus is teaching there comes a group scribes and Pharisees who bring a woman caught in adultery to Jesus- clearly, this is a trap. The men that day are looking to discount, disprove, or incriminate Jesus. There are so many things that can go wrong in this situation for Jesus, so he must be wise and discerning with his response. Consider some of the possible outcomes-

Jesus could have called people to depart from the law of Moses- labeling him as an extreme heretic and most likely causing people to turn against him.

The woman was the only one brought- Jesus could be in trouble for this

No firsthand witness stepped forward- Jesus could be in trouble for this

Jesus had no authority to call for the death penalty- Jesus could be put to death for treason.

Fortunately, Jesus knows that they were not interested in justice, but only trapping him.

So, the woman finds herself in quite the situation. Can you imagine how she feels? In the most embarrassing moment of her life, throw into the public square, caught in one of the most ridiculed and promiscuous sins, stuck between the religious institution of the scribes and Pharisees, and Jesus....sounds horrible to me.

Can we be confessional today, church? Many times the church is not the safest place for those who are the most broken. Many times when broken people come to the church, we can treat them the same, if not worse, than the world ever does.

In the 1820's, a young woman named Emma gave birth to her first child. The child was born deformed and died in a matter of hours. For two weeks, it was uncertain if Emma would live or die.During that time, her husband tried to join a local church. Local people, knowing his reputation, did not want him. Some demanded that he specifically repent for his corrupt dealings and occult practices, and it was proper for him to do that, but I am aware of no indication that anyone tried to minister to him or his family.If someone had shared God’s grace with him when he was a broken man, history might have been different. He might have become a great revival preacher or missionary. Instead, Joseph Smith went on to found the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mormons. He went on to spread a false gospel which has reached around the world, to engage in bloody conflicts, and to wreck lives by claiming women as polygamous wives (including women who already had husbands). He went from being a local scoundrel to a world class deceiver.If someone had shared God’s grace with Joseph Smith when he was a broken man, history might have been different.

Many times when the ones who need Jesus’ grace the most are placed in front of us, we are the ones with stones in our hands....and across from us stands Jesus…and Jesus does something completely different than the Pharisees...

During that time, her husband tried to join a local church. Local people, knowing his reputation, did not want him. Some demanded that he specifically repent for his corrupt dealings and occult practices, and it was proper for him to do that, but I am aware of no indication that anyone tried to minister to him or his family.

Jesus does not do exactly what they were expecting. First, he stoops down and writes in the dirt. Now, what he wrote is of little consequence- at least not important enough for John to include it in his account, but can we wonder for a moment? Just for an exercise in compassion....

Maybe he wrote:

LORD, you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the LORD, the spring of living water”

all who forsake you will be put to shame.

Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust

because they have forsaken the LORD,

the spring of living water

Do not spread false reports. Do not help a guilty person by being a malicious witness. Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd

2 “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd

Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty

The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), .

If someone had shared God’s grace with him when he was a broken man, history might have been different. He might have become a great revival preacher or missionary. Instead, Joseph Smith went on to found the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mormons. He went on to spread a false gospel which has reached around the world, to engage in bloody conflicts, and to wreck lives by claiming women as polygamous wives (including women who already had husbands). He went from being a local scoundrel to a world class deceiver.

The New International Version Chapter 23

Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

If someone had shared God’s grace with Joseph Smith when he was a broken man, history might have been different

English Standard Version Chapter 19

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

Like I said, it is of little consequence, but I do wonder.... While Jesus is writing on the ground the people are still arguing and demanding an answer; they want an indictment! They want vengeance! Let’s face it....they want BLOOD.

Jesus wants something else thought; his only words to the crowd that day tell the story “Let you who is without sin cast the first stone.”

Without sin- ἀναμάρτητος (ana-mar-ta-teous) literally means without guilt or having no fault. You see, we like to categorize sin, right? When we are confronted with our sinfulness it is easy to start justifying our sin by placing it on a continuum of sins ranging from not-so-bad to grotesque. For example, if we get caught lying we make ourselves feel better by saying “well at least I am not a murderer” or if we are caught cheating on a work project we justify ourselves by saying “at least I didn’t cheat on my spouse.”

But Jesus takes the stair steps of sin that men create and levels the field- anyone who is FAULTLESS. Jesus creates two categories- with sin and without sin- PERIOD. And spoiler alert there is only one person standing in the sinless category and it isn’t you.

And the stones fall....and the only person standing there that has a right to cast a stone stands empty handed and open hearted…this man named Jesus.

Here’s the things church it is okay to name sin. Jesus’ himself said in that if your brother or sister sins against you go to them and name their sin. In Paul writes: Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” In James’ letter in 5:19-20 he wrote My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

As people of God we have a responsibility to call out sin, but we do not have a responsibility to punish sin- because we too are sinful people.

In 1960, Israeli undercover agents orchestrated the daring kidnapping of one of the worst of the Holocaust’s masterminds, Adolf Eichmann. After capturing him in his South American hideout, they transported him to Israel to stand trial.

There, prosecutors called a string of former concentration camp prisoners as witnesses. One was a small haggard man named Yehiel Dinur, who had miraculously escaped death in Auschwitz.

On his day to testify, Dinur entered the courtroom and stared at the man in the bulletproof glass booth – the man who had murdered Dinur’s friends, personally executed a number of Jews, and presided over the slaughter of millions more. As the eyes of the two men met – victim and murderous tyrant – the courtroom fell silent, filled with the tension of the confrontation. But no one was prepared for what happened next.

Yehiel Dinur began to shout and sob, collapsing to the floor.

Was he overcome by hatred? By the horrifying memories? By the evil incarnate in Eichmann’s face?

No. As he later explained in a riveting 60 Minutes interview, it was because Eichmann was not the demonic personification of evil that Dinur had expected. Rather, he was an ordinary man, just like anyone else. And in that one instant, Dinur came to a stunning realization that sin and evil are the human condition. “I was afraid about myself,” Dinur said. “I saw that I am capable to do this … exactly like he.”

Dinur’s remarkable statements caused Mike Wallace to turn to the camera and ask the audience the most painful of all questions: “How was it possible for a man to act as

Eichmann acted? Was he a monster? A madman? Or was he perhaps something even more terrifying? Was he normal?

Yehiel Dinur’s shocking conclusion? “Euchmann is in all of us.”

In other words, we need to be both people of conviction and people of compassion- not one or the other, but both.

F.B. Meyer once said that when we see a brother or sister in sin, there are three things we do not know:

First, we do not know how hard he or she tried not to sin.

Second, we do not know the power of the forces that assailed him or her.

Thirdly, we also do not know what we would have done in the same circumstances.

Conviction and compassion - it’s not a binary concept of one or the other. It is both strength of conviction and depth of compassion that will enable us to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world that God has called us to be.

And so we know that it is okay, and even encouraged in Scripture to call out sin. But, as we see in Jesus, it is not okay to be the ones who condemn people because of sin. So, what can we in response to sin? Well, Jesus shows us that too.

English Standard Version Chapter 7

“Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

6 “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.

English Standard Version Chapter 8

She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” ]]

Our response to sin should be calling people to something different. Jesus does not overlook her sin, or communicate any kind of affirmation for her lifestyle- no he calls her into something different. He is not okay with this woman continuing to live this way, and we should not be either. When we see people in our lives living in unholy ways we should WANT better for them. In a world that tells us that we should mind our own business it is drastically harder to remember that living with no concern for our neighbor is completely contradictory to what Scripture teaches.

This story calls us to live in a different way.

Some people will tell you that our response to sin should be conviction. To stand with stones in our hands, call people to account. They want judgement. After all, God is a holy righteous judge who cannot look upon sin....

Other people will tell you that our response should be compassion. Love them, accept them. Don’t tell them that they are wrong. You cannot judge their truth. After all, God is loving, merciful, God who gives unconditional love....

But Jesus shows us the third way in this encounter with a sinful woman. He calls out the sin, both in the woman and the crowd. He does not downplay it, he does not excuse it, but he does not harm the woman in the process. Then, and only then, does he call her to a new life, a better life, a holy life.