Grace and Truth

The Guilty Woman

The Pharisees bring a woman caught in adultery to Jesus. She is obviously a woman that has made some very poor choices in life. She is one that seems to get her self-worth by pleasing men in inappropriate ways.

The fact that she is caught in the act and the man is not brought for judgment lends some commentators to believe that this was a set up by the Pharisees to trap Jesus. It is obvious that this woman is guilty because she was caught in the very act. The Pharisees knew that the law of Moses (Whom the Jews saw as a man of God) said that a woman caught in adultery should be stoned.

10 ‘If there is a man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, one who commits adultery with his friend’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.

The law states that both the man and the woman should be both put to death. They did not bring the man to be put to death. They were not following the whole law!

They knew that Jesus had established himself as a friend of sinners. So they thought they would trap him by making him say that she should be condemned using the law. Then they would say how could a friend of a sinner betray a sinner by putting them to death. If he said that they should not stone her then they would claim that he transgresses the law of moses and therefore is not a man of God. They thought they had Jesus trapped!

But before we look at Jesus’s response let’s take a look at the lady that is before Him. She is probably unclothed. She is paraded before a crowd of people. She knew that she was guilty. She is being called an adulterous. She is brought before the most holy man that ever lived. I imagine she is mortified, yet she makes no attempt to defend herself or try to run away. Why? Could it be that she wanted to change her life?

The guilty Pharisees

This story is not about a woman caught in adultery. This story is about the corrupt religious system of the day. Jesus came to expose the faulty religious system of the day. The religious system of the day was based on salvation by adherence to the law. The law was never meant to bring salvation. The law was meant to reveal man’s need for a savior. As we proved last week, we all have need for a Savior.

What the religious system of the day had produced was a lot of pretending God followers. They were the religious people known as Pharisees and Sadducees. These were known as the religious elite of the day. They were responsible for teaching and making sure everyone followed the law. They were viewed as the most moral people of the day. From outward appearances they may have appeared to be good people, but Jesus exposes them and the religious system.

39 But the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the platter; but [a]inside of you, you are full of robbery and wickedness. 40 You foolish ones, did not He who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But give that which is within as charity, and [b]then all things are clean for you.

42 “But woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithe of mint and rue and every kind of garden herb, and yet disregard justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. 43 Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the chief seats in the synagogues and the respectful greetings in the market places. 44 Woe to you! For you are like [c]concealed tombs, and the people who walk over them are unaware of it.”

45 One of the [d]lawyers *said to Him in reply, “Teacher, when You say this, You insult us too.” 46 But He said, “Woe to you lawyers as well! For you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, [e]while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers. 47 Woe to you! For you build the [f]tombs of the prophets, and it was your fathers who killed them. 48 So you are witnesses and approve the deeds of your fathers; because it was they who killed them, and you build their tombs. 49 For this reason also the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send to them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and some they will [g]persecute, 50 so that the blood of all the prophets, shed since the foundation of the world, may be [h]charged against this generation, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the house of God; yes, I tell you, it shall be [i]charged against this generation.’ 52 Woe to you [j]lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering.”

You see this whole parade is not only about convicting a woman committing adultery. It is about getting rid of Jesus.

Jesus posed a threat to the way they wanted to live their lives. So they wanted to get rid of Him.

Who Will Cast the First Stone?

Jesus was not pressured into giving an answer. Instead he squatted down on the ground and began to write in the sand. We don’t know what he wrote because the Bible does not say. If it were important for us to know what He wrote the Bible would have revealed what was written. He was just seeing how persistent they would be to assess their true purpose.

He masterfully said, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” He was allowing for the punishment to happen, but only by the person that was worthy enough to carry the punishment out.

This group of sinners were not worthy to carry out the sentence of the law. This is fascinating because this was the religious elite. If anyone had the right to carry out the punishment it would be them. But Jesus qualified it with the person that hasn’t sinned. The word of God said that they dropped their stones and left from the oldest to the youngest.

Jesus was also giving an invitation for forgiveness with his statement. The fact that the pharisees left and didn’t come to Jesus for forgiveness of their sins revealed that they did not have repentant hearts.

You see their is a difference from feeling sorry about your sin and repenting of your sin. The difference is so large that it will determine heaven or hell.

3 Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,

You see Judas realized that he had made a mistake and was very sorrowful about what he did, but never believed Jesus could forgive him. How do we know?

5 And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself.

He couldn’t live with the guilt because he couldn’t receive forgiveness!

What about Peter didn’t he also, deny Christ? Yes, but he recieved forgiveness.

15 So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus *said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you [f]love Me more than these?” He *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I [g]love You.” He *said to him, “Tend My lambs.” 16 He *said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you [h]love Me?” He *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I [i]love You.” He *said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.” 17 He *said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you [j]love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you [k]love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I [l]love You.” Jesus *said to him, “Tend My sheep

The guilty woman stayed

After this public humiliation, the woman stayed to here what Jesus was going to say. She knew that she was a sinner and wanted to change. Instead of running from Jesus she stayed with Him.

You may be here today and you may feel bad about your sin. This is an opportunity for you to have a new beginning. You must make a choice this morning you can continue to feel bad about your sin and walk away from Jesus or you can come to Jesus and receive forgiveness.

Grace and Truth

Jesus ask the lady where her accusers were. She said no one was there to accuse her. He said ““I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”]

So how could Jesus let a guilty woman go free without being punished. This doesn’t seem very just! He knew that he would be the one paying for her adultery on the cross of Calvary. He took her punishment. There was punishment rendered for her sin. It was on Jesus and not her.

He also told her go and sin no more. This is truth! He didn’t tell her to stop committing adultery. He told her to stop sinning. The only way a person can stop sinning is by abiding with Christ.

4 Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or [b]knows Him. 7 Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; 8 the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil [c]has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one who is [d]born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is [e]born of God. 10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: [f]anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.

So where do we go with this message today?

What are you holding against someone today? Do you want to see them punished for what they did to you or would you want them to have mercy and grace? What would you want for yourself?

Do you have an area of your life that you feel bad about but have not been able to receive forgiveness. Repent today and receive the gift of forgiveness from Jesus today.

How do we deal with people living in sin today? Grace and truth. First we do not condemn them. We help them to change!