Compassionate Grace

John 8:1 – 11

1 Thessalonians 5:16 – 18 “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

Last week, we shared a message of expressed gratitude, taken from an encounter with Jesus and ten lepers.  Only one of the ten returned to express his thanks to Jesus.  Unexpressed thanksgiving leaves people often feeling “taken for granted.”  One may feel thankful but unexpressed thankfulness is experienced as ingratitude to the other person in the relationship.  It is the expression of thanksgiving that leaves one feeling appreciated and accepted, not the emotion of gratitude.  Hearts naturally gravitate toward recognition and gratitude.

This morning, if I were to ask you for one of many things that you are grateful for, what would it be?  Salvation, family, health, opportunities, love, etc?  I want us to look at a lady who was in desperate need.  The one thing she needed more than anything else was grace.  If we were honest, many people wish that the riffraff would just go away or that they would be punished.  While some can be tough on people, who do things that trouble them and want God’s justice to be poured out, they themselves desire God’s grace.  In John 8:1 – 11, we come to a powerful story about compassionate grace, which clearly teaches that from the perspective of God’s perfect holiness, we’re all riffraff — we’re all sinners who fall short of God’s glory and desperately need, not justice, but mercy and grace. 

I) Confrontation

John 8:1 – 6 “But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.  8:2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them.  8:3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group  8:4and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.  8:5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”  8:6 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.”  Jesus is in the temple court, seated (which represents authority), teaching when the Pharisees barge in and interrupt his teaching by dragging a woman in front of him.  They made her stand before the crowd and accused her of being caught in adultery.  Can you imagine how she must have felt?  Leviticus 20:10 states that both the man and woman were supposed to be stoned: “If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.”  So, where is the man?  This is actually quite a clever trap the Pharisees made. The Law of Moses specifies death by stoning for adultery, yet Roman law forbids the Jews from carrying out executions. If Jesus doesn’t condemn the woman, He breaks the Jewish law. If he does condemn her, He breaks the Roman law.  Notice the hypocrisy of the Pharisees! They accuse a woman of adultery as part of their scheme to commit murder! 

II) Conviction

Notice what happens next.  Can you sense the tension here? The religious leaders have just dropped a very difficult question on Jesus. Everyone’s wondering what Jesus will say. The Pharisees are probably feeling pretty arrogant.  John 8:6 – 9 “But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.  8:7 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.”  8:8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. 8:9At 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.”

Notice that Jesus doesn’t answer their question in verse 6. Instead, He bent down and started to write on the ground. While we don’t really know what He wrote, we do know that this is the only time in the Gospels that we read of Jesus writing something. Scholars have different opinions as to what Jesus wrote. Here are a few possibilities: He may have made a list of their sins; He may have written the Ten Commandments or wrote down their names.  We do not know.

 In verse 7, we read that they kept on questioning Him. The meaning here is that they “continued asking obstinately” like they were interrogating him.   Jesus then straightens up, which gives the picture of strength of force, and says to them, “If any of you is without sin, let him begin stoning her.” Wow. The word Jesus used here is “sinless.” 

Jesus upheld the standards of God’s perfect holiness but made it clear that there was only one person present who could have judged the woman. Only one who was sinless. With these words, Jesus made the religious leaders as uncomfortable as they had made the woman who was still in the middle of the group.

I’m sure the Pharisees were stunned. They probably thought Jesus was going to let the woman go, but instead He upholds the Law of Moses. Adultery is sin. It violates marriage. It wrecks homes and injures innocent children.  But I want you to notice that Jesus does not say, “You had better not throw stones on her.” Rather, what He said was more like a command, “Throw stones…if you are sinless.” When a person was deserving of a stoning, he or she would be thrown into a pit. Then, the person who witnessed the grievous sin would spit on the victim, pick up a stone and throw it first. The others would wait until he/she threw the first one, then they would send a volley of sharp and heavy rocks, which would cut the skin and crush the bones.  It was kind of like not eating until the hostess picks up her fork. When the fork is picked up, it’s a signal that the feast can commence. Likewise, when the first stone was launched the execution could begin.  In effect, Jesus is saying to these men (and to us), “You are no better off than she is. Your hearts are filled with murder and hatred.”  Jesus then stooped down and drew in the dust again. I get the sense that no one talked. I bet there was kind of an eerie silence.

During this time of awkward quietness, conviction began to settle in their hearts. What was Jesus writing this time? We have no idea but it must have pricked their hearts.  

Now, like the woman, the Pharisees have been caught in the act. Verse 9 says that they began to go away one at a time, the older ones first… They are finally convicted of their own sins. It is always more comfortable to focus on another person’s sin than it is to confront our own. As they filed out they admitted that they were unable to judge others. Perhaps the older ones left first because they had committed more sins than the younger ones  or maybe they were wiser and appreciated the wisdom of Jesus’ response.

Have you noticed that while everyone is leaving one by one, that the accused lady never leaves.  The only one qualified to pass judgment and yet the woman still stays around when she probably could have left with the others.  This leads to the response of Jesus.

III) Comfort 

John 8:10 - 11: “Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”  8:11 “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” We do not know much about the personality of the woman.  All we know is that she had been caught in a sin and was publicly paraded through the temple grounds. What makes this story so beautiful, is not the woman, but the way Jesus responded to her.  Notice how Jesus treated her.

He treated her with dignity - The leaders had treated her as an object, speaking about her sin in front of everyone. When Jesus spoke to her, He did not condemn her as a person or pass judgment on her.  He did not view her as an embarrassing failure or an irritating difficulty; He saw her as a person, a creation of God who possessed incredible worth. Jesus always treats us with dignity and worth whatever our past has been.

He treated her with Compassion - The first compassionate act that Jesus did was to write on the ground. The scribes and Pharisees loudly proclaimed her sins. Jesus stooped down and wrote in the sand. Suddenly, the attention was no longer on the woman.  By diverting the stares of the crowd from the sinner to the Sinless One, Jesus gave her the precious gift of compassion. 

He treated her with Frankness - Some people may think that Jesus was too easy on sin in this Grace Encounter. But notice that Jesus confronted this woman with the root of the problem when he said, “Go now, and leave your life of sin.” She had already been confronted and convicted by her sin. Now, Jesus is talking straight with her. Christians are to leave sin, to move on by following Him with their whole hearts. Romans 6:1, 2 “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?  6:2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?”

He treated her with Grace - This woman was condemned by the Pharisees. But, because of the grace of Jesus, He looked at her and said, “Then neither do I condemn you.”  I love the truth of Romans 8:1: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” 

He treated her with Hope - This woman needed hope for the future. The phrase, “Go now” literally means “from the now.” Jesus is forward-looking, not past-focused. He is ready to give her a new life, a new identity, and the power to overcome her sin. Jesus is not only interested in what we’ve done but also in what we can become. He loves us too much to let us keep living the way we have been. I am so glad that the Christian life is really a series of new beginnings, aren’t you? 

Conclusion:
Confrontation – Sometimes, we may need to confront others. The Bible says that we all have this responsibility. If you see me doing something that is not right, you are to come and talk to me. If I notice that you’re involved in something that God does not permit, I should come to you. Sometimes the Elders of a local church might need to address sin issues in the body. When we do it, we’re to do it with gentleness, with humility, and with the desire to restore the sinning brother or sister. In short, we’re not supposed to come with stones in our hands, but with grace in our hearts. But, we’re to do it. 

Sin has a way of coming to the light. Friends, don’t make the mistake of thinking you can hide your sin, you can’t. God knows about it already and others will eventually. We need to be more severe with sin in our own lives, than with the sin we have seen in others. Matthew 7:1 – 4 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  7:2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 7:3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  7:4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?”

Conviction - Conviction is good, not bad. It’s God’s way of letting us know how much He cares for us. Without conviction, we will not change. 

Be courageous, not a coward. The Pharisees had their hearts and their needs opened by Christ, but instead of sticking around to be forgiven and cleansed, they went away. Don’t run away from Him. We are left, like this woman, alone with Jesus. Do you feel like your sins have begun to control your life? Face them, don’t run. Own up to them. When you do, you can have the freedom you long for. When a person is willing to own up to his own sins, Satan can no longer keep us under guilt and condemnation.

Comfort - Grace leads us to repentance. Romans 2:4b says “…God’s kindness leads you to repentance.” Aren’t you tired of living with your guilt and shame? Weary of trying to hide? Come to Jesus and let His grace flood your wounds with rivers of forgiveness.  It doesn’t matter what you’ve done or where you’ve been sleeping. You can have a fresh start. You can start over. From this day on, you can live without being controlled by sin; you can lead a life of sexual purity. If you’ve made some mistakes, don’t let them dictate your future. Make a fresh start today by asking for your forgiveness. It’s never too late. 

Have you ever wondered why Jesus let the woman go? After all, there was One present who was qualified by His own sinlessness to cast the first stone—Jesus Himself. If Jesus cared so much about God’s law, why didn’t He insist that payment be made for the woman’s transgression?  He didn’t condemn her because He had come to be condemned for her. He wasn’t sweeping her sins under the carpet, just anticipating shedding His blood for them on the cross.  That’s God’s solution for sin—not ignoring or minimizing them but taking them upon Himself. Jesus’ forgiveness of the adulteress was free, but it was not cheap. It cost Him everything, and that high cost should make us shudder at the seriousness of our sin.  In reality the woman was the blessed one that day. Her partner may well have escaped, and the Pharisees sure left in a hurry when the heat was turned up, but at least she did not walk away.  While Jesus was stooped down, writing in the dirt, she could have slipped away. But, something kept her there. Grace kept her there.