“Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the
act of adultery. The Law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?” They
were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but
Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding
an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has
never sinned throw the first stone!”
—John 8:4-8 NLT
The law exposes sin. It does not cleanse it. The Old Covenant,
the Law of Moses, called for stoning to death for this woman caught in
adultery. But Jesus didn’t look on that woman who sinned through the eyes of
the law. He looked upon her with love that was ready to give His life for her.
The men surrounding this woman demanded that the Law of Moses be satisfied by
stoning her to death. But the soul of this woman was precious to Jesus, and He
knew she needed to experience His forgiveness. He looked beyond her sin, and
saw her need. The Old Covenant law could only be completely satisfied with the
gift of His life. He knew He would give His life for her on Calvary, and His
grace would set her free.
Did the men who were gathered around her know His purpose? They
didn’t understand He had come to not only set the woman free, but to set their
own hearts free from the hatred that consumed them. Jesus listened to their
accusations, and stooped down the write something in the dust with his finger.
No one knows what He wrote. I believe He prayed for them and waited for the
sting of hatred to calm. Their hatred and their demand for retribution was not
going to be satisfied according to the law. It could only be satisfied through
a heart change only He could bring.
In one moment Jesus directed their hatred and retribution
away from the woman caught in sin. In one moment He asked them to look at the
state of their own hearts. If they had no sin, then they could stone her. In
that one question, He spoke the reason He had been born. The letter of the law
would only be satisfied by His love written on the human heart. No one lived
perfectly, and they knew it.
The woman’s accusers are suddenly gone when the state of
their own hearts are revealed. Jesus looks at the woman and asks her where her
accusers are. No one is there demanding and calling for her death. His love has
set her free. “Go and sin no more,” He whispers. The death she expected has
been replaced by life. The call to “go and sin no more” is also for her
accusers who could not remain in Jesus’ presence after His question. If we are
to remain in His presence, throwing stones is never the answer. His unconditional
love is.
“Do not judge,” Jesus said in Matthew 7: 1-2, “and you will
not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others.” Do we throw stones? Do we accuse and not look at the state of our
own heart? Jesus waits for us to realize
that the judgment and hatred we carry is what will stone us to death. He offers
new life through the gift of His own. Forgive, He says, and you will be
forgiven.
© Lynn
Lacher 2017
www.lynnlacher.com/2018/06/throwing-stones.html
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