John 7:53-8:11

John 7:53-8:11

And each went to his house.  But Jesus went into the Mount of Olives.  Early in the morning He again came into the temple and all the people were coming to Him.  And after sitting down He was teaching them.  And the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman having been caught upon adultery and after standing her in the middle they say to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught upon the very act of having been in adultery.  And in our Law, Moses commands to stone such a woman.  Therefore what do you say?  And they were saying this to catch Him in a trap in order that they should have something to bring charges against Him.  And Jesus, who bent down, was writing by a finger into the earth.  And when they continued to question Him He stood up straight and said to them, “Let the one of you all who is without sin throw the first stone upon her.”  And again after bending down He was writing into the earth.  And the ones who heard were departing one by one while beginning from the oldest ones.  And He was being left alone and the woman is in the midst of Him.  And after standing up Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they?  Did nobody condemn you?”  And she said, “Nobody, Lord.”  And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you.  Go, and from now on sin no longer.”

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

The Pharisees and the scribes try to trap Jesus.  They bring Him a tricky case.  They know the Law, but they also know that the crowd is watching and they may well react poorly if Jesus comes down too hard on sin.  After all, who doesn’t have sin in their life?  So the religious leaders come and try to trap Jesus into saying something that will either be heresy or unpopular with the people.  Isn’t it interesting how people – especially leaders – try and trap one another?  We like nothing more than to set up our opponents into a no-win situation.

Where have you been set up in a no win situation?  How did you react?  Why do you think that we enjoy intentionally trapping people?  What does it mean to you as a disciple of Jesus that the religious leaders of His day tried to trap Him?

Second Thought:

Nobody condemns the woman.  Everyone leaves without throwing a single stone.  Jesus has very deftly managed to avoid the trap and deliver the woman into freedom.  How awesome is this!  Jesus could have thought only of saving His own skin.  However, through His power, He is able to save the woman and demonstrate His authority.

Where does Jesus have authority in your life?  Where has Jesus delivered you into freedom and spared you from those who accuse you?

Third Thought:

Jesus is a mastermind in this passage.  As we’ve talked about, He gets the woman out of her dilemma very masterfully.  However, he also earns relational capital with the woman.  He immediately exchanges that relational capital for spiritual capital.  Jesus tells the woman to sin no longer.  He doesn’t simply leave her free of condemnation.  Jesus challenges her into a true relationship with God.  Freedom is not about escaping punishment and doing what we want.  Jesus gives the woman freedom so that she can be led into the pursuit of God.

Where in your life could you stand to hear Jesus say, “Sin no longer?”  How would you respond if Jesus were to actually say those words to you?

Passage for Tomorrow: John 8:12-20