They Just Walked Away?

There is this guy named Jesus, and one days he's out in the Temple Courts preaching. I'm gonna borrow info from Clayton King here but Clayton said on a given day in the temple courts there were about 300-400 people, who would come out to hear what Jesus had to say. So he's just sitting there being Jesus and spreading the good word to a sizeable crowd when the Pharisees bust into the courts with a woman who was caught in adultery. She was "caught" meaning she was most likely still undressed and probably very freaked out. You see it was a trap to try and get Jesus, so that they could have an excuse to not follow what he had to say and kill him. The Pharisees were a sneaky bunch, they probably knew that this woman was known for having committed adulterous acts already. Maybe she was "that girl" who everyone around knew was a little shady. And it could even be that one of the pharisees agreed to be in the act with the woman . They catch only her. There is never mention of the man that committed adultery with her, and they drag her right smack dab into the middle of the courts. Then they demand that Jesus tell them his opinion on the situation.

That's like in the middle of sunday morning church, suddenly a mob of guys dragging a naked person in and being like "look what she did, what do you think about it pastor?"

Now the woman who is probably the most embarassed she's ever been in her whole life is also probably frightened for her life, because according to the law of Moses a woman who committed adultery was supposed to be stoned to death. She knows the law, she knows the consequences, and she knows that right now she is at this crowd's mercy and things aren't looking good, because the only person who might be able to save her is Jesus but this mob is trying to trap him and it seems like a pretty good trap. If he agrees and says that she should be stoned, then he is guilty of wanting to be a murderer, but if he doesn't let her go then he's not obedient to the law of Moses. It's a no win situation, you the pharisees don't care if this woman lives she's just a tool, it's actually pretty disgusting what they do here.

So now it's up to Jesus to say something, either way he's a bad guy. So here's what he does according John 8:6 "he bent down and started to write with his finger". Now probably most of you who read my blog know this story and have heard it hundreds of times and have heard of the theories as to what Jesus wrote, because John actually never says what he wrote. A theory that I like is that he bent down and started writing names of people that the pharisees maybe had inappropriate relations with, but were secret and only they would know, or that Jesus wrote down some of their own sins that been kept deep, dark secrets. I don't really know, but say that Jesus does point out their own sin, something that I never really thought about happens.

They walk away.

They are silent and they just walk away. Jesus says that if anyone is without sin then be the first to throw the stone. The law didn't change and woman still committed adultery, yet they just walk away.

How many times have I just walked away? I've really been thinking about how I talk to , think about, or treat the unchurched or the unsaved lately and it sickens me. So many times I just get angry at what non-christians say or do, I get mad at all the drinking, all of the shootings, the crazy messed up things that happen in the world and I look down on people with disgust. Now I'm not saying that sin is good for non-believers but why should I waste time being mad at them and wanting them to follow Jesus when they don't even know who he is.

I try and trap Jesus too, I'm like well the way these people are living means they are going to end up in Hell and if I start talking to them or trying to get to know them then some of that Hell might rub off on me Jesus and I just can't have that. I act like I'm a little too good for that. Yet I always say that I want to reach those people, but I suck at doing it. Jesus has that power to forgive, to change, and to restore people to what he intended for them to be, and he's challenging me everytime I look down on others. The Holy Spirit has been convicting me so much lately, and so much in the past but it seems like once Jesus gets all up in my grill, I just walk away from his challenge.

The next part of the story is amazing. All of the people leave, and it's just Jesus and this naked adulteress woman who hasn't said a word the whole time. It's probably very awkward just standing there with Jesus totally exposed. She has just had a near death experience and then this guys starts writing in the sand and people don't want to kill her anymore. I probably would have been silent too. Jesus then asks her "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"

and she says "No one, sir"

and Jesus declares "then neither do I. Go now and leave your life of sin."

That's the kind of guy I want to be. When people are convicted of their sin, and they know that they are far from God and are completely exposed (not physically exposed) I don't want to condemn them. I want to tell them that Jesus has beat sin and they don't have to live life this way anymore. I don't want to throw stones, because who am I besides just another sinner like the rest of the world?