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1. Read 7:53-8:2. Where did each of the crowd go? Where did Jesus go and why? At dawn where did he appear and who gathered around him? What did he do? 2. Read verses 3-6a. What did the religious leaders do? Who did they bring to Jesus and with what question? Why? 3. Read verses 6b-9a. How did Jesus act? What did he say to them? Why did they go away? What does this tell about Jesus and them? 4. Read verses 9-11. Who were left there? What did Jesus say to her? What salvation and life direction did Jesus give to her?

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Message

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In the previous passage Jesus, on the greatest day of the Feast and in a life-threatening environment and in a loud voice, invited all thirsty souls to himself and gave the promise: “Whoever believes in me…streams of living water will flow form within him.” May we claim this promise with a life-dedicating spirit. Today’s passage is about what happened on the next day after the Feast of Tabernacles was over. Through one ungraceful event Jesus bestows his grace of no condemnation and new life direction on a pitiful woman and all sinners. This is the core of Christian faith: forgiveness of sin and new life in Christ Jesus. May we deeply learn the essence of Christianity. First, Jesus’ daily life of mission (7:53-8:2). 7:53 says, “Then each went to his own home.” After the festival the crowd of people needed to go home, most probably for rest. The author said, “‘Each’ went to his own home.” The Festival spirit or party spirit was a high, crowd spirit. After the Feast, each had to come back down to earth, to his or her own spirit. Each returned to each one’s own home, the usual place. Then 8:1 says, “But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.” What a contrast! According to the Bible’ description Jesus had no home of his own to lay his head (Mt 8:20). So this could be a reason for him to go to the Mount of Olives. However, the Mount of Olives was the place Jesus went usually to spend the night in prayer (Lk 21:37; 22:39). After the Feast of Tabernacle was over, Jesus went to the Mount of Olives to pray. After contacting many people Jesus had a quality time with God. To Jesus this was his first priority. Through his prayer he listened to God and talked with God. In his prayer he renewed God’s will and mission for him. He newly received a direction from God. Obviously Jesus prayed, “Father, save them.” He did so, because he loved God. We learn how to love God and how to prepare ourselves to serve people continually. Look at verse 2. “At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them.” After the Feast, the very next morning temple courts must have been quiet and serene, and maybe also messy. But Jesus appeared again in the temple courts, and all the people appeared, too, gathering around him. As for Jesus, he was faithful to God’s given mission of teaching the word of God. As for the people, Jesus’ words of invitation remained in their hearts: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink…” They could not just sleep at home. Early in the morning they came to Jesus in the temple courts to drink from him. Jesus taught them the word of God. Jesus wanted that their thirstiness would be quenched and streams of living water flow within each of them. Jesus loved God, so came to God to pray. He also loved the people, so came to them to teach the word of God. We see Jesus’ example of daily life of mission. Luke described this life in 21:37 says, “Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple, and each evening he went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives, and all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple.” May God help us to learn Jesus’ daily life of mission. Second, Jesus’ shepherd heart and wisdom (3-9). While each went to his own home, there were some people who went neither home nor to the Mount of Olives. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees roamed around the streets of Jerusalem all night long and finally caught the scene of a woman committing adultery and video-taped it as an evidence. They were diligent and worked hard without sleeping. In the morning they dragged the woman in to the temple courts where Jesus was teaching the people. They interrupted the graceful atmosphere and made the woman stand before the group. They said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap in order to have a basis for accusing him. They asked Jesus, “What do you say?” They did not say, “What do you think?” Their question was a closed question, demanding, “Yes” or “No,” so as to trap Jesus in either way. The answer “Yes” would be against his own law of love and mercy and Roman law forbidding execution by the Jews, and the answer “No”, against Moses’ law. They were sure that they trapped and cornered Jesus and would succeed in their plan this time. They used all their strength and their human wisdom to accuse and then get rid of Jesus, whom God sent to bless all people of the world. They lost God’s mission for them and were blind to see the will of God. Let’s think for a moment about the woman. Why did she become such a shameful woman? In committing such a sin she must have been thirsty for love. In truth she was deceived by her sinful desire for a momentary pleasure and went astray. She thought she would be okay. Yet, now her sin was exposed and she was paying the price of her sin. We newly learn a simple truth that sin cannot be hidden but will be exposed in the matter of time. And sin is not enjoyable; it is not free of charge. Sin brings shame and pain and guilt and fear, and the judgment. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death. She was lost in sin; pitiful and miserable paying the heavy price of sin. Let’s return to Jesus. How would Jesus deal with this situation? Jesus seemed to be entrapped with no way out. They were demanding Jesus’ quick and rush answer (yes or no). What did Jesus do? Jesus could have stared them down, or looked at the sky or some other place in sigh. Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. What an unexpected action! Most probably Jesus was full of compassion for the pitiful woman and also had a shepherd heart for the religious leaders who went far away from God in their evil desire. Jesus wanted to give them a time of silence to think of what they were doing, and calm down their emotions. So Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. It is an eternal mystery to know what he wrote. Anyway, in the act of Jesus’ bending down and writing the spirit of holiness and serenity must have been present and permeated that atmosphere. Yet, the authorities could not bear the holy silence and kept questioning him. Then Jesus 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.” In short Jesus’ answer to their question was “Yes”, “throw a stone at her”, with one condition, “If any of you is without sin.” The opponents never expected such an answer from Jesus. Now it was their turn. They had to decide whether to stone her. Then again Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground. They had pushed Jesus to answer quickly. After answering their question, Jesus was giving them more time to think and decide. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first until all of them were gone. They were totally defeated by Jesus. We are amazed by Jesus’ wisdom. It must have come from above and out of his shepherd heart for the people. Jesus’ wisdom is truthful and life-saving. To Jesus the woman who was caught in adultery and standing in shame and dread before all people was like his own daughter. How could he stone her? In his shepherd heart and wisdom Jesus disarmed the accusers of their stones and even let them flee away, and thus saved her from all the people’s condemnation. Praise Jesus for his shepherd heart and wisdom. Let’s think of the meaning of Jesus’ words, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” This word of Jesus gives light on how we should have relationship with others. A judging spirit is embedded in all humans and can easily break human relationships. However, in light of Jesus’ words, no one is qualified to judge others; all are sinners before God. Jesus said in Matthew 7:1, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged,” and in Luke 6:37, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged.” All the judgment belongs to God. So we must entrust all judgments to him. We will all stand before God’s judgment seat (Ro 14:10). So Paul said in Romans 14:13, “Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another…” We should strive hard to overcome judging spirit. No judgment on others will improve our human relationship. We have no right to judge other fellow human beings. We have only duty or obligation to love our neighbours. Third, Jesus’ grace of no condemnation and new life (10-11). Now only Jesus and the woman were left there. It meant Jesus was the only one who was qualified to stone her. According to Moses’ law Jesus had to throw a stone at her so as to purge evil from the Israelite society. But what did Jesus do? Look at verses 10-11a. “Jesus straightened up and asked her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ ‘No one sir,’ she said. ‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared…” In the Old Testament the community of God, the nation Israel, mattered to him. God dealt with the whole nation as his chosen one for his purpose. This community of the nation had to be purged and made holy. However, the beauty of the gospel story of Jesus in the New Testament is that Jesus dealt with each individual. From the viewpoint of the community of the Jews she had to be stoned so that the community be purified and cleansed as a whole. Yet, to Jesus the one soul was precious. The pitiful soul had to be saved first. This is the amazing grace of Jesus. Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you.” Jesus saved her from all condemnation and punishment of sin. When Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you,” he was not condoning her sin speaking irresponsibly. It implied that Jesus himself would be fully responsible for her sin and be condemned and punished in her place. Jesus did so through his death on the cross. Most parents cannot see their children suffer from serious illness or any pain. Instead, they themselves want to suffer. This is what Jesus did for her and for each of us. He could not see each of his people be condemned and punished and suffer eternally in the fire of hell. So he chose to be condemned and suffer for us. Indeed he was condemned and punished for our sins, sin of lust, pride, selfishness, laziness, unbelief, fatalism, ignorance and all unknown sins. He took all our sins upon himself and was condemned with full responsibility so as to save us from all the condemnations of sin and punishment. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Ro 8:1). This is the wonderful grace of Jesus Christ given to undeserving sinners. John 3:17 says, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” We pray that we may remember the wonderful grace of Jesus and live as forgiven sinners. We also pray that we may keep the grace of no condemnation and guard our hearts and others from any spirit of condemnation. Paul cries out to keep this grace, “Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns?” (Ro 8:33,34). He also said in Romans 14:22, “…Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves.” He encourages all believers to live by faith (Ro 14:23). Look at verse 11 again. “‘Then, neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.’” Jesus not only saved the woman from condemnation and but also gave her a clear life direction. In not condemning her, Jesus was not encouraging her to sin continually or promoting her sin. No! Not at all! Never! Jesus also declared, “Go now and leave your life of sin,” “Sin no more.” Jesus’ grace of forgiveness and his direction of new life cannot be separated. It would be a great spiritual battle for her, to fight against her sinful nature and sinful life. She used to live the life of sin. Her sins were forgiven, but the life of sin had been formed as her lifestyle. Even changing one’s eating habit is not easy. But from now on her sinful life style had to be changed. Jesus’ grace of no condemnation that is not followed by new life cannot be the full grace of Jesus. This is a biblical constant. When Jesus said, “Go now and leave your life of sin,” Jesus knew that it would be very hard for her, but Jesus would watch over her and be willing to help her for her new life. Jesus saw her as a potential saint. Now the Holy Spirit, that is the spirit of Jesus, helps us in this matter. In light of the whole Bible teaching, “leave your life of sin” also meant to live a life of mission. Each believer should struggle hard to sin no more. But God wants us to grapple more positively by living a life of mission. Our body is vulnerable to sin, so dangerous. So Paul cried out, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” Some even regard body as bad, while spirit is good. Some may cry, “I wish I have no body of sin.” However, if body is well used, it is a wonderful thing. In truth our body is the wonderful gift of God. With our body we can serve God and serve others. This what Paul meant when he said in Romans 6:13, “Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.” With our body we can labour and serve our family members and many others. With our body we can work hard and love God and love our neighbours as Jesus did. We thank God for Jesus’ wonderful grace, “Neither do I condemn you. Go now leave your life of sin.” May we keep his grace of no condemnation at any cost and live a life of faith and mission offering our body to God.

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