A PICTURE OF GRACE

Introduction

-Today I want to look at a famous passage—of Jesus dealing with the woman caught in adultery, but as we shall see He really deals with the other people as well.

-But I first want to deal with a quick issue about the text itself. If you have a version of the Bible that is not KJV / NKJV, this passage might be in some sort of brackets, and there may be a note saying that the earliest and best Greek manuscripts do not have this passage.

-This means that the Greek manuscript copies that are closest to the original writings of John do not include this passage—and the passage itself seems to break up the flow of the narrative.

-Nevertheless, wherever this passage should have been placed in the text, I have no doubt that it is historical and inerrant like the rest of Scripture, and there is something here for us to learn.

-And what I see in this passage is a picture / portrait of a balanced view of the grace of God

-Too often people go to one of two extremes—they give too much leniency in the grace of God or they add too much legalism to the grace of God

~What I mean by that is that people either think that because of the grace of God they can live any old way they want and do whatever they want no matter what the Bible might say about it;

but on the other hand, there are people who think that the grace of God is so restrictive that they build up rules and traditions to protect it

-So, you have people who take the grace of God and say: Well, I’m forgiven, I can choose this particular lifestyle that the Bible clearly says is sin, but because of grace I can do it

~But then you have other people who say you cannot do this, that, or the other thing, but the Bible itself does not condemn these things. That’s not the grace of God because God’s grace brings freedom.~~Both extremes are wrong

-So, in the passage today we see how Jesus dealt with a sinner gracefully, yet upheld His righteous standards, and in this He gives us a portrait of how we are dealt with by God through Christ, and then we also see how we too are to deal with other sinners. So, I hope we learn a balanced, biblical view of grace.

John 7:53–8:11 ESV

53 They went each to his own house, 1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 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. 7 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.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 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. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

Let’s look at three lessons about gracefully dealing with sinners like ourselves:

I) Self-righteousness focuses on the fault of others

-Jesus goes to the temple and is teaching. While He is teaching, the scribes and Pharisees interrupt His lesson and toss this woman in front of Him.

~They accuse her of being caught in the act of adultery, which according to the Mosaic Law (given by God in Leviticus 20:10) such people are to be put to death. And they ask Him what He thinks they ought to do with such a sinner.

-The passage itself says that they are doing this to test Jesus so that they could accuse Him of something. They think that they have caught Him in a trap.

~Because this is their logic: If Jesus says to show her mercy, then they can accuse Him of not following the law handed down by God Himself. If Jesus says to stone her to death as the law prescribes, He then goes against the love and grace that He has been preaching, and the people will turn on Him.

-They think they have an ingenious plan—they can condemn a sinner and find a way to get Jesus off their hands—it’s like a two for one special…

-But their motives are clearly revealed. They, in their self-righteousness think that they themselves are so special and can do no wrong, are quick to point out the sins of others in order for them to gain personal power and prestige.

-Now, in a strict sense they are right—the Mosaic law said such a woman should be stoned to death. And yet, you can tell that they really don’t care about truth or justice or even the law of God. I want you to think about this for a minute—what is wrong with this picture as it is described here?

~The passage says that they caught her in the act of adultery…

~Now, I’m not the brightest bulb in the bunch, but the last time I checked the act of adultery involved at least two people. If she was caught in the act, that means the guy was caught in the act also—so here’s the question—where’s the guy, because according to the law both of them should have been stoned to death?

-The whole thing was a setup. It was entrapment—they wanted to entrap her and Jesus at the same time. Why? So that they could prove themselves to be self-righteous.

-They thought they could show how much better they are than other sinners and get rid of Jesus who was a thorn in their side. Their mentality was: We are God’s chosen! We are the righteous ones! Let’s help God out by getting rid of some sinners so our own righteousness can shine!

-And how often do we do the same things:

~We shine the light on other people’s sins to get the light off of our own sin; or we shine the light on other peoples’ sins, so we can feel better about ourselves; or we shine the light on other peoples’ sins, so we can gain some sort of advantage over that person or in the situation we find ourselves

-For personal gain and power, we have hearts that are quick to judge others and ignore our own faults----A self-righteous heart is a prideful heart, and God gives grace to the humble and resists the proud----if you find yourself focused on other people’s faults it comes from a self-righteous, prideful heart that needs to be repented of…

II) Reflection on Jesus refines our reflection on self

-So, how does Jesus handle the trap? At first, it says that Jesus bent down and started writing on the ground with His finger. Everyone is curious to know what Jesus was writing, but the Scriptures are silent, and so we will be too.

-But as Jesus is doing this writing they keep bugging Him and bugging Him until they get an answer. And the answer they receive from Him changes the whole dynamic of what is going on.

-Jesus stands up, looks at the accusing mob, and says: LET HIM WHO IS WITHOUT SIN AMONG YOU BE THE FIRST TO THROW A STONE AT HER—and then He goes back to His writing

-Jesus turned the tables on them—because now they no longer were to focus on the other person’s sins, they have to focus on their own.

-Jesus didn’t deny that the woman sinned, and He did not deny that the law gave the penalty it did—but now as they confronted Jesus they were forced to confront themselves

-Jesus forced them to look inside themselves and see that they too have broken God’s laws, and if things were going to be fair and on an even playing field, they were the ones that ought to be stoned to death right along with this woman

-And if only a sinless person could cast the stone, the only sinless person around was Jesus—and Jesus, being God, had every right to judge the whole lot of them—but Jesus did not throw stones, instead He offered forgiveness and mercy

-And if the only sinless person offers forgiveness and mercy, that is exactly what we are to extend to other people

~if we want, desire, and expect grace and mercy and love from God, then that is what we ought to expect God to show toward others

-When we are fully focused on Jesus, we have no time to focus on the sins of others—instead we will see our own sins and short-comings, and see that the grace extended to us is extended to others as well, and we will rejoice in all of it

-When we have a right view of Jesus, and a right view of ourselves, then we will have a right view of other people as we deal with them having a greater heart of mercy and compassion

-When Jesus said this, the accusers were dumbfounded—and after they reflected on what He said, after they were forced to look at themselves and see themselves as the sinners they really were, they had to walk away.

-You see, those who are self-righteous and focused on the sins of others haven’t really had a confrontation with Jesus Christ, because if they did they would be too busy being overwhelmed by the mercies and grace shown to them to worry about anybody else.

-So, when you really reflect on Jesus and what He has offered, it completely changes the way you see yourself and others

-But I think that there is one final important lesson that quite often is overlooked:

III) The gift of grace is not a sanction for sin

-With the accusers having all walked away, Jesus turns His attention to the woman who was accused. He asks her where her accusers are and if there is anyone to pass judgment on her. And since they all have gone, Jesus reassures her that He is not going to condemn her either.

-Jesus did not come into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him would be saved—including this woman. He offers her grace. But this offer of grace comes with an exhortation: FROM NOW ON SIN NO MORE

-The offer of grace does not give a sanction for sin—when forgiveness is given freely, it is not an invitation to indulge. And this is something that people quite often miss.

-There are people who blatantly disregard Scripture’s calling certain actions sin and they use this passage to justify themselves (a form of self-righteousness)----it’s as if because Jesus says He does not condemn or judge this woman that He is giving the green light to any sin

-There are people who actually think that even though the Bible before this passage may call certain things sin, somehow Jesus by not condemning this woman has annulled anything being called sin.

~Oh sure, the Bible used to call homosexuality a sin, but now that Jesus says He doesn’t condemn, it’s OK now

~Oh sure, adultery used to be a sin, but I’m in love with this other woman now and Jesus says He doesn’t condemn, so I can leave my wife

~Yeah, the Bible says not to steal, but when I cheat on my taxes it’s taking from a government who takes too much anyway, and since Jesus says He doesn’t condemn I am somehow justified in doing it.

~And on and on the excuses go

-But all these people have completely missed this very important part of the passage: FROM NOW ON SIN NO MORE

~You aren’t offered grace in order to be free TO sin; you have been offered grace to be free FROM sin

-Paul asked and answered this question in Romans 6:1-2 when he said:

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?

2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?

-The grace extended by God through Jesus Christ is not an invitation to sin, but a gift for which we give thanks by living in obedience to His Word.

Conclusion

{Let me close with this story:}

~There is a story about a Brazilian teen named Christina who longed to leave her poor family living in a poor house in a poor village to live the big life in the city. Having gone to the city, she had no education, no job skills, so what happens too often for someone in that situation she became a lady of the night—selling herself to keep from starving.

~Because of her “job” she was treated like a second-class citizen by her customers, by local law enforcement, by neighborhood businesses—calling her all the derogatory names that come with that profession. Most of her family wrote her off saying to themselves that whatever happened to her, she deserved it. She seemed abandoned by all.

~But meanwhile, her mom Maria, knowing what life on the streets would be like for a girl like Christina, used what little money they had to go to the city, have small photos of herself taken in a photo booth, write a note on those photos, and posted them wherever she could in the places where that kind of business takes place.

~A few weeks later Christina was coming down the stairs of the hotel where she spent that night, absolutely broken over who she was and what she had become. But at the bottom of the stairs on a bulletin board she noticed a picture of someone very familiar—her mother. She grabbed the photo, and found this note written on the back: “Whatever you have done, whatever you have become, it doesn’t matter. Please come home.” And so she did.

-You know, those other sinners that you think you are so much better than are the exact people that Christ is reaching out to, saying COME HOME! Just because someone sins differently than you doesn’t mean that somehow you are better than them. Who are you to self-righteously judge and condemn the very one that Christ died for and seeks.

~Christian, maybe you need to come to the altar and ask God for the grace to get over your self-righteousness.

~Or maybe you know someone who needs a touch of grace from God—come to the altar and pray that that person would heed the call placed on their life.

-But maybe you are the sinner in need of grace. You have tried to spiritually wash yourself clean to no avail. The dirt of sin clings to you. While you may be used to the condemning looks of others, there is a Savior who died to accept you, and forgive you, and cleanse you so that not one spot of sin remains.

~It doesn’t matter who you are, what you’ve done, or what others say about you or think about you—He has offered you the freedom you need.

~Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ today, who died on the cross and rose again to set you free.