(045) The Gospel of John XV: God’s Mercy & Justice

The Gospel of John XV: God’s Mercy & Justice

John 7:53-8:11

September 14, 2008

Prep:

·         Read leftovers (really)

·         Phil. 12 (Legalism), unChristian

·         Textual Criticism in NAC

·         Memorize 8:9-11

Opening:

Announcements and mom & dad

prayer

·         Mom and dad

A textual Question

Enjoyed a break to talk about the Bible, next week Jay speaking, following week is the MIssion of TGCC. But today we get to read one of the best loved passages in the Bible.

·         I liked the Q & A, so we will do it again.

Before we read, we need to look at the opening note:

“The earliest manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have John 7:53-8:11.”

It does not belong here: not in earliest mss, moves around, interrupts the story, does not fit John’s writing style.

Q   Does this belong in the Bible?

I think so. It probably preserves an early account of Jesus life. The fact it moves around suggests they knew it to be authentic, but weren’t sure where to put it.

Perhaps it was written by Luke (similar style) or just held in oral tradition. It clearly reflects what we know about Jesus.

Ä  It holds a beloved and well-deserved spot in our hearts as we see Jesus love and mercy, not in words but actions

·         It has comforted many people who wonder if they have gone too far for God’s mercy.

8:2-11 At dawn [Jesus] appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them.  3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group  4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.  5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”  6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.  7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”  8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.  9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.  10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”  11 “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

The Pharisees set a trap

In this story, there are three characters: The Scribes and Pharisees, Jesus, and, caught in the middle, this woman. She is a pawn in the trap the Pharisees are setting for Jesus.

For some time now, they had been trying to get rid of Jesus, but rather than kill him and make him a martyr, they would have preferred to discredit him.

This situation was meant to be a “no win” situation. If he said “stone her” he could be charged with sedition and also would have lost his support with the “sinners.” If he said let her go, he denies the law and shows himself to be a false prophet.

·         Up until now Jesus had only contradicted statutes added to the OT law, not the law itself.

Mercy vs. holiness

The Pharisees were “right,” ignoring her sin would contradict God’s law, and an affront to his holiness and righteousness.

Jesus, as holy God, could not “that’s no biggie.” For him to ignore the sin would be saying sin is okay, that the evil is not really bad. But it is it is destructive.

·         From adultery to lying, from genocide to oppression, sin sucks, and sucks the life out of us.

Without realizing it, they are setting up one of the fundamental problems of theology: How can God be just and holy yet loving and merciful?

Of course, they did not care about the answer to that question. They were not saying, “We really want to show mercy, but...”

·         This story does not answer that question through carefully developed theology, but rather we see the answer in actions.

Ä  This is a drama that continues to play itself out through history. We are now the players and we play the role of the Pharisees, the woman, or Jesus.

Legalistic morality

In the Pharisees, we see a legalistic morality that is neither holy and just, nor loving and merciful. This is still true of today’s legalism, which is too common in the church.

1. It is a callous and impersonal

These guys were incredibly calloused to this woman – her life was expendable as they tried to trap Jesus.

·         They did not care about her.

Perhaps one of the most important steps to leaving legalism is to stop seeing them as dysfunctional, sinful individuals and start seeing them as individuals that God loves as much as you.

2. It is focused on punishment

In contrast, God’s holiness is redemptive – it takes those who are broken and attempts to make us whole, because he loves us.  

·         There’s a huge difference punitive and redemptive acts.

3. It is selective

First thing we notice that that only one person is brought before Jesus. Adultery is kinda a team sport – where’s the guy?

This is indicative of their attitude and modern legalism’s: Choosing certain sins to focus on, and ignoring your own.

·         No one can live up to the real standards, so edit them.

Ä  It is on this last point that Jesus catches them.

Calling them out

So they present them with this tough case, and he seems to ignore them, and just writes on the ground. They pester him, he says, “If you are without sin, throw the first stone.” He lets that sink in while he writes some more.

Q   What was he writing? There are lots of theories.

·         I think he may have been writing out names, dates, and times.

·         They left without a fight, which tells me that they wanted to get leave without any attention.

Jesus point seems to be asking if they want to be judged by the same standards. Do you really want God to be holy without love?

·         No one who truly understands God’s standards does.

Jesus had challenged their behavior and motives, and they knew they failed the test.

·         The oldest left first because they had the wisdom to recognize the truth of Jesus words.

Ä  And so we are left with just Jesus and this woman.

Guilty as charged

She is guilty. That is an important point to understand. She knows it, and Jesus know it. She is probably still very tense – what will happen next?

John 8:10-11a Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”  11 “No one, sir,” she said.

He shows her tenderness, stands up and looks directly at here and speaks to her with kindness. “Woman” is an affectionate term – Jesus used it when speaking to his mother and friends.

Ä  But it is what comes next is what floors me.

Neither do I condemn you

Growing up in the church, having heard this story countless times, I have become numb to it. But reading it again, I was deeply moved by his next words “Neither do I condemn you.”

I don’t know why it struck me different. Perhaps growing up in a rather Christian environment, I have seldom seen such a clear and desperate need. But now I see it so often.

·         These are words spoken to people I know and love, and to me.

Here is the God of the universe and before him is one who has sinned and clearly deserves punishment, but God says, “I don’t condemn you.” Wow.

The compassionate and gracious God

So frequently we see God as an angry God. We know better, that God is love, yet there remains the feeling he’s out to get us and is mad at us.

In the 18th century, Jonathan Edwards preached a sermon called “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” I know it was an attempt to shake complacent Christians, but even still, it is so almost entirely absent of God’s love and compassion for people.

One of the clearest self-disclosures of God:

Exodus 34:6-7   “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,  7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.”

Yes, anger is there, and God does punish sin. As I have said, if God did not hate sin, he would not be good. Wrath is part of God’s love.

·         When one of my kids stuck a metal thermometer in the socket, my anger proved my love.

The overwhelming emphasis is on his love, compassion, and mercy.

Love or justice?

Q   But how do we answer that initial question: How can God, through Jesus, be both holy and loving?

Here we see Jesus not condemning the woman (“condemning” being a technical term for “to pronounce sentence”), what we don’t see it how much it cost Jesus to say “neither do I condemn you.”

·         Stones still had to be thrown, (every jot and tittle must be fulfilled), but they would hit Jesus. 

Romans 3:25-26 God presented [Jesus] as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished – 26 he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

The answer to the problem is that Jesus takes the penalty and God is now free to show mercy and grace while still being just. 

·         We take communion to celebrate and remember.

Ä  But the story is not over, Jesus loved this woman too much leave her there.

Sin no more

When Jesus says, “Leave your life of sin,” he shows that he cared for her as a person and wants her to be free from sin’s destruction. He loved her just the way she was, but too much to leave her there.

·         This is what God’s grace truly looks like: Not just a freedom from guilt, but freedom from sin.

What strikes me is that the Pharisees meant this for her ill, for evil, but God meant it for good. Had none of this happened, she would not have come face to face with Jesus.

She is so much like us: We don’t want to stop sinning; we want not to get caught. But getting caught was the best thing that happened to her.

·         Sometimes the most gracious thing God can do to us is let us get caught.

·         We never “get away with sin,” we will always have to pay.

When we are caught in our sin, we have the chance to repent, receive God’s forgiveness, and be freed from sin’s destruction. Salvation does not leave us in the same mess we started.

This story encapsulates the entire message of the book of Romans (the most theologically complex book in the Bible):

·         Because we’re forgiven, we now live our life to glorify God.  

Q&A?

closing/Application:

Q   Who are you in this story?

Prayer: