John 8:1-11
A Woman Taken in Adultery
— Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.
And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.
And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,
They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
— This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
— She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
Before we start with this week’s devotion I want to repeat the motive behind this series “True Treasure.” That our greatest state of being whether we have an abundance or we struggle with daily needs He, God, is our True Treasure. It is often through the struggles that we come to acknowledge that truth. We are all wired the same. We were made by God for God – to be in relationship with Him. However when Adam and Eve disobeyed God a divide was created and a sin nature entered into the fabric of man. The core of that sin nature is the I, sin, pride combination we discussed last week. We are all the same in needing God’s presence. The way we go about trying to compensate for the lack of It is unique to each of us. This is all on a subconscious level. On a conscientious level it deals with our core values of what causes us to feel safe, secure and of value.
In our first study we dealt with the desire for wealth with the farmer who would build bigger barns to store his crops. God called him a fool because “that night his soul would be required of him.” Then Martha, who represents many of us having busy schedules that crowd God out. In being busy we feel needed and therefore secure. If we would commit to a half hour of time with The Lord we would feel secure with so much less hassle and hectic pace. Then we studied the rich young ruler who had an emphasis on being moral and doing good, but in the end it was his wealth that made him feel secure. Lastly we finished discussing those of us that maintain a very legal right and wrong approach to life. Because we can discipline ourselves to walk that line it gives us a sense of value, importance and unfortunately excessive pride.
Now in this study we are going into an area that has multiplied a thousand fold or more. As the collapse of the family continues, so has this area increased. The breakdown of the family has had a tragic effect on our children. The home represents the one place of refuge and security. Unfortunately as divorce or affairs have come into the home this inner sense that “I’m safe, secure” is stripped away making our children vulnerable.The importance of this stability, or it’s lack has a huge effect on the “fabric” of our developing kids. As much as one parent wants to cover all the bases, it is not possible. Nor is it possible to keep them from blaming themselves for the divorce, or wondering why daddy had an affair. “He must not love us” is their conclusion. As this thought “I am not loved, worth loving, or important enough to be loved” becomes woven into their self image they are unprepared for what awaits them. Instead of reaching adolescence, a most turbulent part of life secure, they enter it with this huge deficit and have no inner “tools” to cope with it. They are going to seek out and do whatever means they find to fulfill this void and be accepted. They will go in the direction of the “natural bend” of their soul – such as the personalities we have studied so far.
There are still so many more “natural bends” that we have not studied with sex being a major one. In our sex pumped cultured we have girls pre-adolescence having sex and not understanding any of the physical or emotional consequences that come with it. Many of us live with our boyfriend or girlfriend as opposed to getting married. This also sends a message to our kids of a home that is still not home. Was this the background of the woman in our story? Is that why Christ did not judge her according to the law? The law that God gave to Moses? The pagan culture of that day was very much like ours today. With the temple prostitutes coming into the towns at night to practice their trade. Could she have been a temple prostitute, but now older and on her own to make a living from the only “trade” she knew? The story does not say, but these are questions to consider.
Let’s get into the story and see what we can learn. The event happened in the morning based on the first verse. That is why I mention that at one time she might have been a temple prostitute, but now she’s on her own? Since she was caught in the very act where’s the man? The law of Moses states that both of them were to be stoned, not just the women. So we have a double standard. Why would the Pharisees not bring the man, could he have been a fellow Pharisee? Whatever was the truth behind this event Christ knew it, and he was not going to play into their self righteous hypocritical ways, nor answer their questions.
We will need to continue this study next week, but this lays the foundation for the study. The lesson to bring home is this. Whatever damage we have sustained through life and how that damaged has caused specific actions, vices or habits from us, Christ does not condemn us. However knowing that we are not condemned by Him, we are not free to continue in a known sin, we are “to go and sin no more.”
Father God,
May the greatness of your forgiveness in not condemning me be the thing that changes me. Once a guilty man with no hope of true life, now standing uncondemned by the only one that could condemn me. Let this joy and truth be the impetus to seek You and begin finding victory in the areas of my life that have torn me down. I no longer need to rationalize my actions trying to make something wrong right – I’m not condemned. Now help me by your grace to live free. Thank you and Amen.