The subject of sexual impurity of various sorts is at the forefront of evangelical debate these days. For many, the questions surrounding sexuality and immorality are the defining issues of our times. And without a doubt, there are some very serious debates going on in the public arena which may have a great impact on our society, which I would say have already influenced our culture for the worse and will have tremendous negative consequences. So I want to be clear at the outset that what we are going to say today about this particular response of Christ to immorality does not diminish the tragic effect of these issues on our society. God will forgive sin, but that doesn’t mean we disregard or redefine sin. God, not us, has defined sin, and sin has tragic consequences.
As we consider the story before us, I think that it illustrates very clearly that in the eyes of God, all sin is damning. There are not some sins which are more acceptable than others. We cannot climb upon a pedestal and look down at other people who are caught up in some obvious, grievous sin, and then claim some sort of spiritual superiority because our sins are not so obvious, and in our minds, not so terrible as someone else’s.
Paul said in 1Timothy 5:24 “The sins of some men are quite evident, going before them to judgment; for others, their sins follow after.” The point he is making is that all sin requires judgment, and the wages of sin, he said in Romans 6:23, is death. Though some people’s sins are evident, such as the sin of alcoholism or drug abuse or prostitution, going before them to judgment, yet the sins of others are secret, such as hate or lust, yet whether obvious or secret they will face judgment. Either way, both lead to judgment.
James makes it clear that even if you commit only one sin, it condemns you of all sin. James 2:10 “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.” So all are guilty of sin, all of us are under the penalty of sin, and only through faith in Christ can we be saved from our sin.
Now let’s look at this story and see how this is illustrated for us here. There are a few points that I would like to make before we get into the main part of the story though. First, there is a debate in theological circles as to the authenticity of this text, or as to to location of this text in the book of John. I don’t wish to spend a lot of time on that, but only to address the notes that you may have noticed in your translation, indicating that some of the ancient manuscripts do not contain this story. But I would point out that the fact that it is included in practically all translations, indicates that though their may be some uncertainty about the text, yet almost all conservative translators and theologians concur that it should be included in our Bibles as the word of God. I would add that John wrote this gospel around 90AD, and by 100 AD or shortly thereafter, it was referenced by a couple of early church leaders in ancient writings. It has been accepted as part of the gospel since the very beginning. But some manuscripts do not include it, some put it in another place, some leave a blank area where it should be, and one manuscript includes it in Luke’s gospel. But most theologians believe that it is consistent with John’s style of writing, it is consistent with scripture as a whole, and it is consistent in it’s portrayal of Christ with the other gospels. So I believe that it is the inspired word of God and as such we will study it as the Word of God.
Another point not to be overlooked is that in vs.53 of vs.7, it says everyone went to their home, and then in vs.1 of chapter 8, it says that Jesus went to the Mt. of Olives. While He is in Jerusalem, He is living outdoors, perhaps spending most of the time on the Mount of Olives. Jesus said in Matt. 8:20 "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” That’s such a poignant statement, and so much can be inferred through this little note that says Jesus went to the Mount of Olives and spent the night out under the stars. This was a daily part of Christ’s life. The very God Incarnate - while everyone else is at home with family and sleeping in a warm house - the Son of God is alone, sleeping under the stars. I find it ironic that there are some who are teaching that Christians are somehow entitled to the luxurious standard of living that we have here in America. What about Jesus’ statement that said, a servant is not above his master? Yet some teach that if you just have faith and ask for a 4 bedroom house with all the modern amenities, then God will give it to you. But yet God let the King of Kings live in the cold and damp outdoors. You know, I have to admit, if God let me live without a roof over my head I would have to wonder about His providence. But maybe that speaks more to our priorities rather than God’s priorities.
And one final note is it says early in the morning, Jesus went to the temple to teach. A lot of good stuff happens in the Bible early in the morning. This seems to be a favorite time of God to work. I know our early service seems to be a hardship on some people, and I wish I could do something to make it easier on everyone. But I believe if you look at scripture, you will find that God is at work early in the morning in more than a few cases, and if we want to get in on some of those blessings, it may behoove us to seek God early in the morning. But I am not going to get dogmatic and mandate that, of course. I just throw that out there for your consideration.
Alright, so to the story; Jesus is in the temple teaching very early in the morning, and the scribes and Pharisees come barging in, dragging a woman who was caught in adultery and they present her to Jesus. Under Jewish law, adultery was considered a capital offense. Lev. 20:10 says “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.”
Now the interesting thing is that they have only brought the woman. They said they caught her in the act, but yet there is no man brought forth, only the woman. That makes the whole situation suspect. I think it indicates that she was set up, and obviously they are trying to set up Jesus as well. They say to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?”
The truth of the matter is that though adultery had a serious penalty attached to it, it was a rare thing in Jewish society to actually condemn someone for it because it was so hard to prove. There had to be at least 2 witnesses to the actual act, not just seeing them go in to a house together or seeing them come out together, but they had to actually catch them in the act. And there is good indication that in most cases it was a law that was not enforced.
So I think it is possible to read between the lines here and suspect that someone had a reason to dispatch of this particular woman. It could be that a man wanted to divorce his wife, and didn’t want to go through all the requirements involved in that, including dividing his money with her and so forth. We don’t know for sure, we can only speculate. But we can say unequivocally that there was something fishy about the proceedings, because there was only the woman caught and not a man. A woman cannot be caught in the very act of adultery alone. That is an impossibility. So the whole thing is a set up.Now that shows the corruptness of the scribes and the Pharisees.
The interesting thing about these scribes and Pharisees is they never seem to catch on that Jesus can read their thoughts. It would be humorous if their hatred was not so vile. I think they would have changed their tactics if they realized that He knew their thoughts. But it’s also indicative of the sinfulness of these men. They have already decided to put Jesus to death. That was established by John in chapter 7:25. He says it was widely known that the Jewish leaders were trying to kill Him. And to do that, they are willing to set up a woman to commit adultery, probably with one of their own leaders, probably having ulterior motives for having her put to death as well, and at the same time they are going to present themselves as being the arbiters of all righteousness. Their hypocrisy and hard heartedness is appalling.
It’s no wonder that when they come bursting in with all of this that Jesus doesn’t answer them at first. He seemingly ignores them, kneels down and starts writing in the dirt. And then they continue to hound Him for an answer, and finally He stands up, says “Let him who is without sin be the first to cast a stone” and then squats down and continues writing on the ground.
Now much speculation has been made concerning what Jesus was writing. There have been numerous suggestions, from the men’s names to various verses of scripture, you name it, it’s been suggested. But the fact is that we don’t know, because John through the Holy Spirit does not think it’s necessary to tell us.
But I have my own theory which I would like to propose to you this morning. Everyone is quick to point out that Jesus is never recorded as having written anything during HIs life on earth. He did not write His own gospel, for instance. And yet John calls Him the Word. But He never wrote a word that we have record of. But what we also know from John is that He was in the beginning with God, and was with God, and was God. So I cannot help but think of two instances, the only two that I can find in the Bible when God wrote something.
The first instance of course was with Moses on Mt. Sinai, when God wrote upon tablets of stone the 10 commandments as recorded for us in Exodus 31:18, which says, “When [God] had finished speaking with him upon Mount Sinai, He gave Moses the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written by the finger of God.”
Now what I suggest is that Jesus wrote the 10 commandments on the ground with His finger as the scribes and Pharisees watched and waited. I don’t know, but I imagine that it took a while, and all the while perhaps the Jewish leaders are getting more and more uncomfortable as they read the words of the Law written there upon the temple floor. And as they read the Law, their guiltiness would have been inflaming their conscience, especially as they watch this poor woman who was undoubtedly sobbing and kneeling on the floor there in front of them. I can imagine that even these hard hearted men began to feel guilty.
You know, I find that people who are living in sin, even when they exhibit a particularly rebellious, indignant spirit, end up feeling guilty just by being around me as the pastor of the church sometimes. I make them feel guilty and I haven’t even said a word. And when I start preaching, even it is unrelated to their particular sin, they will find something to get offended at in my message and go off in a huff and not come back. But I can’t help but notice how their guilt becomes almost unbearable just hearing the word of God.
Anyhow, I think the indication is that Jesus left them on tenterhooks for a while, as He writes the Law upon the ground. Knowing of course, that these are people who prided themselves on knowing the law, and so they would know that Duet. 27 said that to be guilty in one aspect of the law was to be guilty of all of it. So I suggest that it’s a good possibility that Jesus was writing the law upon the ground, as the religious rulers were shuffling from one foot to another, and it was convicting them of their sin.
And if my suggestion is correct, as each of the commandments convicted their consciences, they became ever more incensed. After all, the law of adultery is pretty far down on the list, being number 7. And the law against murder was number 6 by the way. So they are fidgeting, Jesus’ silence is deafening, the Law is condemning them, and so they began urging Jesus to give them an answer. So Christ’s answer to them fits the situation perfectly; “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” At that point, their conviction must have been at a breaking point. You know, I get accused sometimes of preaching too much about sin. But in reality I really don’t think that I do. I just preach the Word of God. God has a lot to say about sin, and the Word of God convicts us of sin. The Holy Spirit brings conviction through the Word of God. And as Jesus wrote the Law of God upon the ground, I think it pricked their consciences.
Then it says that Jesus knelt down again and began to write on the ground. Now He could have just continued to write the Law. We don’t know. But as I said earlier, there are two times in the Old Testament that God wrote with His finger. The first was the Law, and the second is found in the book of Daniel. If you remember the story in Daniel 5, Belshazzar the son of Nebuchadnezzar was having a feast. He brought in the utensils from the Jewish Temple and was using them to serve his guests. He was not like his father Nebuchadnezzar who had repented. Belshazzar was a wicked man. And suddenly, in the middle of the feast, a man’s hand appeared and started writing on the wall of the banquet hall.
Daniel 5:24-28 says, "Then the hand was sent from Him and this inscription was written out. Now this is the inscription that was written out: 'MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.' This is the interpretation of the message: 'MENE'--God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it. 'TEKEL'--you have been weighed on the scales and found deficient. 'PERES'--your kingdom has been divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”
Now this is just speculation on my part, of course. But I can imagine that Jesus wrote on the ground the second time, “Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin.” These scribes and Pharisees would have instantly recognized this famous line from the story in Daniel. And they would know that Jesus was directing it towards them. God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it. This is what Jesus would prophecy later on when He came out of the temple, and said that God would destroy it, leaving not one stone upon another. And then “you have been weighed in the scales and found wanting.” These men who wanted to judge this woman according to the law, in spite of breaking the law in order to do it, these men that wanted to murder Jesus, and as such broke the law concerning murder, these men were guilty, they had been weighed in the scales and found wanting. They were condemned by their own standard.
Romans 2:1 says, “Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.” Jesus in preaching the Sermon on the Mount said in Matt. 7:1-5, "Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.”
Well, John tells us that one by one, the Jewish leaders began to go out, beginning with the older ones. We could speculate on the distinction as to the age difference, but I would just say that it was the elders who left first, followed by the younger members. Undoubtedly, they were on the one hand convicted of their own sin, and secondly, I think they were undone by the wisdom of Christ. You see, they had set a trap for Jesus. Either way He answered, they thought that they had Him. If He said she did not deserve to die, then He was guilty of going against the Law of God. If He said she should die, then He was guilty of going against Roman law which forbid the Jews to execute anyone. That is why when they eventually sought to crucify Jesus they took Him to the Roman governor to pronounce death and provide the Roman soldiers to carry it out.
But Jesus brilliantly evaded their trap, and at the same time provided a means of grace for the woman. Note that Jesus does not say that the woman did not deserve death, but says, “He who is without sin, let him cast the first stone.” None there could say after that soul searching time when Jesus wrote on the ground, that they were without sin. Their sin was staring them right in the face.
I think it’s also evident that the woman was in fact guilty of adultery. She might have been set up, she might have been left to take the fall all by herself, she may have been duped to think that the man had loved her, but she was still guilty of adultery. The woman doesn’t deny it, and more importantly, Jesus doesn’t deny it, and He knew the heart of the woman. And Jesus said He did not come to annul the Law but to fulfill it. So the woman was guilty and deserved death, and Jesus knew that.
But Jesus also said in John 3:17 “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” See, the Law condemns man. That was the purpose of the Law, to bring men to conviction so that they would recognize that they needed a Savior. Galatians 3:24 tells us, “Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.”
Now the Jewish leaders are convicted of their sin, but they are just embarrassed by it, so they leave. There was no repentance. There was no faith in Jesus Christ. If anything, they exhibit by their later actions that they hated Him even more. So they filed out, and they rejected the only one who could save them from their sins.
The woman, on the other hand, has very little to say. Or at least, John records only three words of this woman. Perhaps she was sobbing so hard, there was little else she could say. You know, I can’t help but feel sorry for this woman, and I know Jesus had compassion on her as well. My reason is that this poor woman was doubly hurt. She was upset that she had been caught in adultery and marched into the temple in front of everyone and basically sentenced to death by the Pharisees. But she also must have been crushed to be so deceived and duped by some guy who said that he loved her, but who was only using her. I don’t want to make excuses for the woman’s sin, but I do think that sin does not negate compassion.
People are deceived. That is why they go into sin. They believe the devil’s lie, that it will be good, it’s not so bad, it will be fun, it won’t hurt you, it’s not addicting. It’s all a lie. Sin is a cruel master that hopes to enslave you, and ultimately destroy you. Sin is a lie, and it is from the devil, the father of lies. But Jesus is the truth, and the life, and when you come to know the truth, the truth will set you free. That’s why we need to have compassion on the lost. They are deceived. I know that sometimes it’s hard to be compassionate, sometimes they attack you personally, they hate you because you are destroying their lie, upon which they have built their life, which they have sold their soul to. But our job is to have compassion on them, and snatch them like a brand from the burning, and compel them, convince them of the truth, because they are being destroyed by the lie of Satan. This is the battle we have been called to fight. Not against the sinner, but FOR the sinner. Against the lie, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in high places. But not against the sinner. We are called to have mercy and compassion and go to them, suffering whatever is necessary in order to bring them the truth.
Now I believe you have to read a little between the lines in this story, and certainly that is the case with this woman. She was left alone with Jesus there in the court of the temple. And Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”
First of all, I believe this woman knew that she was a sinner. She had been caught in the act. She had been duped perhaps, but she knew that she was a sinner. That is so important. People must come to understand that they are sinners. And that is possible because the Law reveals what sin is. Don’t misunderstand that. The Law is necessary, or we would not know what sin is. That’s the danger with this whole culture war out there about homosexuality or transgenderism. Go back to Leviticus 20 and read it for yourself. It lists all kinds of sexual sins. They are all there, and it’s the Law of God, the Word of God. And it’s still relevant today. The law teaches us that we need a Savior.
So she was repentant, because she recognized her sin, and she knew it carried the penalty of death. But note that she called Jesus Lord. Some translators have it as “Sir” but in the KJV kyrios is translated as Lord 667 times, lord 54 times, and sir 12 times. I think she was calling Him Lord. It was a title in Jewish culture which was given to God and the Messiah. It means ruler, master, sovereign. I like the first definition listed under kyrios, which is “he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding.” This woman was not only recognizing Jesus as Messiah, but recognizing that He had the power of deciding her fate, because she belonged to Him.
So Jesus forgave her of her sins. He said, “neither do I condemn you.” Now there are a couple of things to notice in that statement. First, is He was the only One there who was innocent of all sin. So He had the right to condemn her of sin, and He had the right to punish her. And yet He says, “neither do I condemn you.” Now how can He say that? Can He just do away with the Law? Can He do away with justice just because He feels like it? Well, no He cannot and be true to HIs nature as God. God is just and holy and the righteous Judge over the earth. And God is also a God of love and compassion and mercy. But how are the two contrasting natures married? The answer is a principle taught in the Law; the principle of the substitution of the innocent for the guilty. This was the principle taught by the system of sacrifice in Levitical law. But in the New Covenant, God does not stop counting sin, God counts sin upon Jesus Christ. He is the innocent One who was slain for the guilty.
Jesus could forgive this woman her sins because He would take her sins upon Himself and die on the cross so that she might be forgiven and have eternal life. 2Co 5:21 says, “[God] made [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
Ladies and gentlemen, that is the gospel. God hasn’t stopped counting sin, but for those who believe in Him, trust in Him, surrender to Him, God counts our sin against Jesus, and so He crushed Him, bruised Him, whipped Him, nailed Him to a cross and let Him hang there until He was dead, so that He might transfer our sins to Jesus, and transfer Jesus’ righteousness unto us, so that we might be called sons of God, and be given an inheritance with Christ, sharing in His glory in heaven. What a tremendous thing is this gospel!
Don’t forget the last phrase that Jesus said to her, “Go and sin no more.” We that have been saved are declared righteous in the sight of God, but sin is still sin. Sin still has consequences. Jesus has paid the penalty of our eternal punishment; death. But sin is still sin, and there are consequences to sin. Paul said sin shall not have dominion over you now in your new nature. And we now have the Holy Spirit in us to convict us of sin, to teach us and lead us into righteousness. He has written the Law of God upon our hearts as Paul says in 2 Cor. 3:3, “you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” That is the third time God has written, He has written in our hearts. We have the law of God written upon our hearts so that we might walk according to His will.
If you have trusted in Jesus this morning for the forgiveness of your sins, then go, and sin no more. You are a letter of God written to the world, His law is written in your heart, that you might walk in His statues and keep His commandments, so that the world might know from your life the compassion and love of God and be saved. John said in 1John 2:1, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”
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