John 7:53-8:11 A Look From Another Perspective

A chapter or two back, the woman at the well had been amazed when Jesus told her that she was living with a man who wasn't her husband, and she'd told the people of that town that He'd told her everything she'd ever done!

Now, in a plot hatched by the Jewish leaders, they brought to Jesus a woman they'd caught in adultery, but according to Scripture, both the man and the woman were to be stoned.  How convenient that they didn't bring the man, too!

Their plan was, as my commentary described it, "to pin Jesus on the horns of a dilemma.  If He said, 'Yes, the woman must be stoned!' then what would happen to His reputation as 'the friend of publicans and sinners'?  The common people would no doubt have abandoned Him and would never have accepted His gracious message of forgiveness.  But if He said, 'No, the woman should not be stoned!' then He was openly breaking the law and subject to arrest ... Instead of passing judgment on the woman, Jesus passed judgment on the judges ... It was required by Jewish law that the accusers cast the first stones."  His answer to their question was, "Anyone here who has never sinned can throw the first stone at her."

God showed me a different perspective this morning on the next things that occurred -- from the viewpoint of the men accusing her, specifically in their minds.  Might a few of them have heard that story about what happened with the woman at the well? ... "He told me everything I'd ever done!"??? ... And might those words have been ringing in their ears? ... "Remember when you were 17 and ...."??  Instead of being unashamed at how they were treating this woman, perhaps they greatly feared, as He looked them in the eyes, that He did know everything they'd ever done and wouldn't hesitate to stop them in mid-throw to remind them publicly of their own sin, which would destroy their self-righteous public image.  I can just hear them thinking, "This is not worth it.  I can never risk anyone finding out about that!"  And those eyes would have surely gotten the message across.

Of course, by not casting the stones, they were being publicly humiliated, "outed" for their sin, because all of those normal people watching would understand there was something inside they were hiding.  They'd been ruined as much as the woman had by this plot.  And most likely, they received a double dose of guilt thinking about the guy they'd "let go" who was the other party in this.  They'd done what they hoped to try Jesus for!!

Father, one other thing in my commentary really got to me:  "For Jesus to forgive this woman meant that He had to one day die for her sins."  And my sins, too.  I stood condemned, and Your Son said, "I'll take on his sins!"  He paid the price for my sins.  I can never forget that!  Thank You for Your grace, Father!

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford