Mercy And Justice

The Interruption

Jesus was teaching in the temple when some scribes and Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery to Him. They asked Jesus what should be done with the woman. This is very interesting because the scribes and Pharisees had their own judicial system that handled cases like this. This was not the proper time nor was it the proper place for this to happen. They were there to try and trick Jesus and put him between a rock and a hard place.

If Jesus would have said to stone her, then His message of grace and mercy would have been discredited and he would lose a lot of His followers. If He said let her go, they would have accused Him of violating Moses’s law. They knew they had Him in whatever answer He gave. This is exactly what they wanted.

Jesus knew their intent and began to write on the ground. Many speculate on what He wrote, but the Bible does not say. The Bible does not say because it is not what is important about this event.

What Jesus was going to do was a stroke of genius.

Modern Day Interruptions

Just as people came and interrupted Jesus from doing what he was suppose to be doing, there will be people who interrupt us from doing what we are suppose to be doing.

This typically happens when we engage in activity that we have no business engaging in. These are called distractions. This typically happens when we lose focus of what we are suppose to be doing. We have callings in our life that we are to focus on and do. It is enough to focus on and do. Where we get in trouble is when we lose focus of what we are suppose to be doing and commit ourselves to something that we have no business doing. This creates stress in our lives.

I had a ministry coach about 3 years ago that met with me once a month to make sure that I was focusing on what God had called me to do. He challenged me to write down all my activity and how much time each activity took every week. Once I did this we determined that the level of activity I was engaging in was causing me to lose focus of my calling. He ask me to consider removing 3 activities or commitments to refocus. This was difficult because they were all “good activity”. It was they “good activity” that was preventing me from accomplishing God’s GREAT PLAN.

6 Now when it was reported to Sanballat, Tobiah, to Geshem the Arab and to the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall, and that no breach remained in it, although at that time I had not set up the doors in the gates, 2 then Sanballat and Geshem sent a message to me, saying, “Come, let us meet together at [a]Chephirim in the plain of Ono.” But they were planning to [b]harm me. 3 So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and I cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you?” Nehemiah 6:1-3

I encourage you to sometime this week asses your possible interruptions and make the necessary adjustments to focus on your call. This will be difficult but will help you accomplish God’s great work and reduce your stress!

The Crime

This woman was guilty of adultery. The Word of God said that she was caught in the very act of adultery. This is important to know because a person could not be punished for adultery unless they were caught in the act and seen by two credible witnesses. It was law that the witnesses of the crime were the ones who got to throw the first stones.

This seemed to be a no-brainer of a case. All the elements were in place to convict the woman of stoning except a few. The law states that both the man and the woman caught in adultery are to 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. Lev. 20:10 They failed to bring the man.

It is obvious that this woman is guilty of the crime that she is being accused of, but there is a bigger and more heinous crime being commited. This is the rejection of Jesus and the love of themselves.

The Bible is clear that the scribes and pharisees are not there to try this woman for her crime but to trap Jesus and discredit his mission. They believed if they could discredit Jesus then people would stop following Him and they could resume their life of pleasure and authority.

Modern day crime

I would like to caution you this morning from focusing on the obvious and losing sight of the critical.

In our walk with Christ, we often are very sensitive to the sins that we commit. When we lie, steal, cuss, or any other obvious sin, we tend to focus on that and changing the behavior. This is focusing on the obvious and missing the critical. The critical is not the act of sin, but the heart that rejects Christs command and engages in the sin. Jesus put it this way:

15 Peter said to Him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 Jesus said, “Are you still lacking in understanding also? 17 Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is [h]eliminated? 18 But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries,fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. 20 These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.” Matt. 15:15-20

RATHER THAN FOCUSING ON THE BEHAVIOR, WE NEED TO FOCUS ON SURRENDERING OUR HEARTS TO JESUS!

It is in the surrendering of our hearts to Jesus, that our behavior is changed.

The Verdict

Jesus instructed all those without sin could cast a stone. Obviously there was no one to cast a stone because everyone had sinned. Jesus was the only one in the crowd who qualified to cast a stone. Everyone walked out.

Does this mean that if we have sin that we do not have the right to hold people accountable for doing wrong? Absolutely not! if this were the case then no one would be in jail for any crime. What we don’t have the right to do is hold someone in contempt for an offense to us. Am I saying we don’t have a right to prosecute crimes against us? No! I am not saying this at all. What I am saying is we never have the right not to forgive someone of a wrong that they have done.

14 For if you forgive [a]others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive [b]others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions. Matt. 6:14-15

19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Rom. 12:19

21 Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus *said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. Matt. 18:21-22

The true verdict came when Jesus told the woman that He did not condemn her, but to go and sin no more. How could Jesus not condemn her for what she did. Because He knew that he was going to take the punishment for her crime on the cross. This would justify her. This is the same with us. Jesus has paid the price for all our sin as well. Does this give us the right to sin as much as we want? Paul puts it this way:

6 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. Rom. 6:1-4

Christ gives us a new life free from sin! we are to live in this new life that He gives!