What Does Love Look Like?
Notes
Transcript
John 8:2-11
Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
A great English prince…went to visit a famous king of Spain. The prince was taken down to the galleys to see the men who were chained to the oars and doomed to be slaves for life. The King of Spain promised, in honour of the prince's visit, that he would set free any one of these men that the prince might choose. So the prince went to one prisoner and said: "My poor fellow, I am sorry to see you in this plight; how came you here?" "Ah! sire," he answered, "false witnesses gave evidence against me; I am suffering wrongfully." "Indeed!" said the prince, and passed on to the next man. "My poor fellow, I am sorry to see you here; how did it happen?" "Sire, I certainly did wrong, but not to any great extent. I ought not to be here." "Indeed!" said the prince, and he went on to others who told him similar tales. At last he came to one prisoner, who said: "Sire, I am often thankful that I am here, for I am sorry to own that if I had received my due I should have been executed. I am certainly guilty of all that was laid to my charge, and my severest punishment is just." The prince replied wittily to him, "It is a pity that such a guilty wretch as you are should be chained among these innocent men, and therefore I will set you free." C. H. Spurgeon.
Let me paint a picture for you this morning. The feast of tabernacles has just ended and everyone went to his own home. Early, Jesus goes to the temple, all the people came to Him and He began teaching them. All of a sudden, a group of men burst into the temple with a woman. They thrust her at Jesus as they then begin to lay out the accusation against her. For a brief moment, let’s look at:
1. The Shamed Woman:
We have no idea what circumstances brought her to this life. Perhaps this was the only way she thought she could provide for herself and maybe her family. Life had taken her to a place of shame and regret. It’s clear that her accusers were using her to trap Jesus. But, she was accustomed to being used by men. This, to her, was nothing new. She had been caught “in the act”. I think it safe to say that what covering she had on was just what she was able to grab as she was dragged away. And now she and her sin were on display for all to see. I can imagine her thinking as she stood there before everyone “well, at least it will be over soon”. This was certainly a death sentence, at least in her mind.
They tell Jesus that this woman had been caught in the very act of adultery and begin to tell Jesus what the law had to say about the matter. And then the question, “what do you say?”
2. The Self-Righteous Leaders:
Again, it’s clear that they were not concerned with cleaning up the city or getting rid of immorality, their intent was to trap Jesus. The Romans, which occupied Israel, were to have the say in capital punishment. If Jesus had said she should be stoned for her actions, He would have been reported to the Roman authorities as one who disregarded Roman rule. Had He said that she should not be put to death, He would have been labeled as disregarding the law of Moses. They thought they had Him.
3. The Savior’s Response:
In response to their question, Jesus does something that seems strange and out of character. He bends down and, with His finger, begins to write on the ground. As far as I’m aware, this is the only time recorded of Jesus writing. This was a subtle display of authority. Exodus 31:18 tells us that God gave the law to Moses “written with the finger of God”. How ironic they would try to ensnare, with the law, the one who wrote the law. Being pressed for an answer, Jesus straightens up and says “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” This statement could be translated as “none of you is in a position to stone this woman for you have disregarded the law you profess to honor”. In their zeal to catch Jesus off guard, they made some mistakes. They stated that she had been caught in the very act of adultery which meant they knew the identity of the male; yet, he was not presented for stoning. In Leviticus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 22:22, it clearly states both shall be worthy of death. Their argument against her is already invalid. Deuteronomy 17:6 says that at least two witnesses are required to carry out a death sentence. Verse 7 directs the witnesses to be the ones to initiate the stoning. Not only that, if you were found to have given false witness, you would receive the punishment meant for the accused. No one came forward and no one would. Their wagon had come off the wheels. We aren’t told what Jesus wrote on the ground. I’ve heard some say that He wrote the woman’s date book, I’ve heard others say He wrote the names of the accusers who had been with her; but, I believe He simply began to write the ten commandments. The older men had been alive longer to break the law on more occasions, that’s why the left oldest to youngest. What Jesus does next is one of the greatest displays of grace, compassion and love during His earthly ministry. He asked her if anyone was left to condemn her and her reply was “No man, Lord.” The religious had addressed Him as teacher; but, she addressed Him as Lord. Then He said to her, “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.”
So, what does love look like? It looks like Jesus. It looks like a Christ follower having love and compassion and showing love toward another. But not backing away from the truth. Jesus did not ignore her sin. He didn’t try to sweep it under the rug. He faced the dilemma head on, dealt with it and gave her wise counsel.
