The Verdict Part 3

Introduction

Bryan Stevenson is a widely acclaimed public interest lawyer and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative. Mr. Stevenson writes in the book Just Mercy: "Each of us is more than the worst thing we have ever done."

This is why it is essential to seek restoration over retribution when dealing with other people's shortcomings and failures because we have all fallen short of the glory of God. In the verdict Jesus delivered in the death penalty case of the woman caught in adultery, he showing Bryan Stevenson’s remarks to be true.

When we apply this to what we learned during our first week in this series, The Verdict, we can see that Jesus understood that her lifestyle was the result of a thirst that only he could quench. Jesus understood that thirst could drive people to do things they would not do under different conditions. Therefore, in the divine-human encounter, we see Jesus revealing himself as living water for anyone that thirsts.

Last week in part 2 of our series The Verdict, we took a look at the verse where Jesus said:

John 8:12 (NASB95)

12.Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."

Jesus understood that thirst was only part of the problem. He also understood that she was walking in darkness and therefore was stumbling through life spiritually blind and needed the eyes of her understanding enlightened to the hope that only Jesus can provide.

Therefore, Jesus shined the light into her darkness that could lead her out of the night into the dawning of a new day. The powerful part about this that we didn't touch last week, but I will touch on right now, shows how Jesus can be whatever we need whenever we need it!

Jesus is water when we are thirsty.

Jesus is bread when we are hungry.

Jesus is a counselor when we are confused.

Jesus is a way maker when we are trapped.

Jesus is a friend to the friendless and a mother to the motherless.

Jesus is a bridge over troubled water and our shelter from the storm.

I have been showing us that encounters with Jesus demand and response, and these divine-human encounters are also spaces where God reveals more of himself to us. At this point in John chapter 8, the Scribes have left, the Pharisees have walked away, and the women has entered the dawning of a new day in her life.

But what about the audience that has witnessed all of this? Therefore, we need to look at the response that Jesus is demanding from the audience and what God reveals about himself.

(Therefore, go with me back to the 8th chapter of John's Gospel and meet me in verse 31.)

John 8:31–32 (NASB95)

31.So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;

32.and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."

(To set the context for this evening’s preaching and teaching, I want to tag this text with the thought "Free At Last.")

I. The Inference. "So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him."

I want us to start by looking at this inference made by the author. Because it provides us with some key details that are needed for us to grasp the truth of this text. First, it shows that the attention of Jesus has shifted from the Scribes, Pharisees, and the women caught in adultery, and now his attention is on the audience who witnessed all the events that just unfolded.

Remember this chapter opens with verse 1 saying that Jesus arrived at the temple early in the morning, and all of the people gathered around to hear him teach. Therefore, he shifts his attention back to them, not picking up where his lesson left off. But to find out if the audience caught the revelation Jesus was providing them in the object lesson that took place right in front of them.

Douglas John Hall said it perfectly when he stated, "For revelation is not revelation until it is a revelation for someone. And that cannot occur until those for whom it is intended have been enabled to perceive it. Thus revelation is both an internal and an external event, that requires not only the redemptive work of the Son but also the enlightening, regenerating work of the Spirit".

Consequently, the audience is now having an encounter with Jesus that will demand a response! We need to notice that this verse's inference comes from the previous verse where John states, "As he spoke these things many came to believe in him."

"This does not mean that they believed to the saving of their souls. It probably means nothing more than they are momentarily impressed[1]." We can see this, even more, when we consider the verb tense of the word believe. The verb "believed" is in the perfect tense, meaning this is the present state or a snapshot of their current perspective because of what has happened thus far.

So, what we have is the trail has shifted from the women caught in adultery to the audience. Jesus is looking at their ability to perceive and understand what that means for them.

(Let's move deeper into our text.)

II. Levels of Knowledge: "had believed."

To pick up the progressive nature of this passage and explain the relational process within this passage, I want to understand Jesus is showing us levels of knowledge. Douglas John Hall addressed this in his book Thinking The Faith.

Hall states that there are different levels of knowing as there are also different kinds of knowledge. To know mathematics is distinctively different than knowing sociology. Therefore it is possible to distinguish between varying levels of knowledge as it applies to Christian faith and theology. The first level is knowledge, the second level is acknowledgment, and the third level is trust.

The use of the word believed in verse 31 would correspond better with the first level of knowing called knowledge more than it would correspond to saving faith. Especially since the remarks of Jesus lead to an argument in the following verses between Jesus and the audience.

Hall describes Knowledge as merely the collection of data. But it is the collection of this data that becomes the foundation for everything that comes after that. Therefore this type of knowledge plays an essential role in the process of moving from knowing to belief[1].

This shows the critical place the audience was in related to their response to this encounter with Jesus. They were at a tipping point, poised to be stagnant in their belief, go forward in faith, or backward in disbelief and skepticism.

This is because this information is not sufficient,for it depends on if this information moves from head to heart. Here is the difference between when you have the fact-knowledge that God will provide for all of your needs according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus. Versus when you are laid off, with no severance pay, job prospects, and your rent or mortgage payment is a week away.

This takes believing-knowledge, that is, birth in the furnace of affliction and not in the quiet time of our daily devotions. These are the experiences of life that will help drive our knowledge from our heads to our hearts.

(Let's move to the next clause and explore the next level of knowing.)

III. Acknowledgment: "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine."

Acknowledgment is achieved mainly in the realization that the knowledge you gained is essential to your growth and development as a person. But even in this part of the process, there is a mystery. We can see this because the highly significant information for one person is not for another person[1].

That's why we can look at someone's decisions and say, "I don't understand how they haven't learned their lesson considering the challenges and harsh experiences they have encountered. The problem is they don't see the experience as having the same level of significance.

For example, two people go to the doctor and get the same diagnosis. One person takes that information, acknowledges it as being significant, and change their lifestyle accordingly. Verses another person with the same diagnosis but doesn’t acknowledge the information as significant and continue living the same lifestyle.

However, here in the words of Jesus, he gives us a spiritual practice that we can use to facilitate our movement from Jesus simply being information and data to being a personal relationship with Jesus. Jesus says, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine."

The word continue is vital because it means to stay or remain. The verb tense is that of a state of being. This word picks up the image of abiding in Christ that we see in the parable of the vine.

Next, we have "My word" or the contents of my communication, i.e., the contents of what is preached about Christ or the words within scripture preached by Christ. We must also remember that The Word is a person. Therefore it should point us to the person of Jesus; consequently, studying the bible or the word of Jesus is not the end, but where our relationship begins.

The last critical word in the clause is the word Disciple. Disciple: comes from the "doer," a student that adheres to and travels with a teacher in a pedagogical relationship, especially students with spiritual teachers.

This brings in the relational aspect of continuing in the word. Biblical Scholars have made a career out of studying the bible and have no relationship with Jesus.

This is "more art than science" relationships are not mathematical equations, but experiences lived out together in the moment. We must learn as we go. Some practices will aid the growth of a relationship but can't guarantee growth.

When we pull this together, Jesus is saying that if you stay in my word and become a doer of my word, you will see our relationship with Jesus move from the fringes. It is by continuing in the word of Jesus that we learn from experience:

John 15:5 (NASB95)

5. "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

Here is where the relationship progresses and grows, as we realize more and more that in Jesus, we live, move, and have our being. But we must commit to continue!

When you miss the mark, continue.

When you fail, continue.

When the favor of God is on your life, continue.

When nothing is going right, continue.

When people walk out on you, continue.

When people betray you, continue.

When there is money for the bills or no money for the bills, continue.

(Let's continue the progression of this text to the last level of knowing.)

IV. Trust: "and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."

"In human experience, there is also a kind of knowledge which is different from either the acquisition of data or the assimilation and acknowledgment of this data[1]." The transition from continuing in the word of Jesus to knowing the truth implies growth in relationship depth.

Also, remember that Jesus said, "I am the way the truth and the life. Therefore to know the truth is saying that when we continue in his word, we will begin to know Jesus.

When we say that we know a person, we do not say we know certain truths or ideas about a person. But we are trying to communicate that there is a relationship that exists between myself and another person[2]. However, this is a process because there was a time when we could say that we knew a lot about a person, but we could not say we knew the person.

I know some married people know where I am coming from. When you are sitting and looking back at more than a decade of marriage, you may realize that you knew a lot about the person you married. But history has taught you that you did not know them as well as you thought.

But what does it mean to know the truth? To Know means to know experientially or knowledge acquired through observation or the senses. When we add the word truth, we say God's truth as embodied in Christ and manifested in his word.

This truth is not merely the disclosure of what God is but is the manifestation of God's saving presence in the world. Therefore, all that Jesus does and offers is true! Therefore, when Christ said, "I am the truth," he means that he is the full revelation and embodiment of God's redemptive purpose. Now we can understand the saying "to know the truth," which means to know God's saving purpose as it is embodied in Christ, and the freedom promised is freedom from sin, which could not be accomplished under the old covenant but only by the Son.

Remember, it was the law that was calling for the life of the women caught in adultery. But it was the truth of Jesus and his relationship with her that set her free! Many people need to understand how to move from a momentary deliverance to a life of freedom.

This is all predicated on our developing trust in Jesus. This is the way to move past momentary deliverance into a life of freedom. We must know the truth, and the truth will make us free!

Here is where this connects back to The Verdict. Notice in the following verses Jesus says that he will set them free from sin. When that is combined with the fact that in the original language, to be made free means the same as the English word acquit. When someone is acquitted, that means a Judge has delivered a verdict that declares that person has Not Guilty! When you know the truth, you are walking in the freedom of having been given The Verdict of Not Guilty. Tell you neighbor; I'm Free At Last!

Which means:

I am Free to walk in my purpose.

I am free from my sin and shame.

I am free from my past failure and mistakes.

I am free to live an abundant life.

I am free to minister in my anointing.

I am free from guilt and depression.

I am free to live with no regrets.

In closing, as I bring this all together, I need you to know that we are in this audience's same situation within the text. We have witnessed all that has taken place, and for the last three weeks, we have had an encounter with Jesus that demands a response.

The truth of the matter is that we are living in trust and experiencing freedom in some areas. While in other areas of life, we are in the knowledge or acknowledgment stage, and we struggle in bondage. But her is the response that is demanded from us, which is to continue, in the word of Jesus.

I believe that if we continue despite all the issues surrounding us, God is going to honor your effort and you will notice your relationship with Jesus in the area will deepen. You will begin to walk in the freedom of the Not Guilty Verdict that was pronounced over your life on Calvary. We are Free At Last.

[1] Exposition of the Gospel of John Authur Pink. Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI pg. 445.

[2] Hall, Douglas John. Thinking the faith: Christian theology in a North American context. Fortress Press Minneapolis, MN. pg.374.

[3] Hall, Douglas John. Thinking the faith: Christian theology in a North American context. Fortress Press Minneapolis, MN. pg. 376.

[4] Hall, Douglas John. Thinking the faith: Christian theology in a North American context. Fortress Press Minneapolis, MN. pg.378.

[5] Hall, Douglas John. Thinking the faith: Christian theology in a North American context. Fortress Press Minneapolis, MN. pg. 381.

[6] Hall, Douglas John. Thinking the faith: Christian theology in a North American context. Fortress Press Minneapolis, MN. pg. 382.