Caught in the act (part 2)- KILLING 3 BIRDS WITH ONE STONE
Bible
Texts (New Testament with keywords Concordance-CLNT: Text: John 8:1-11; Luke
5:32; Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22)
John
8:1-11
1
Yet Jesus went to the mount of Olives.
2 Now early He again came along into the sanctuary, and the entire people came
to Him. And, being seated, He taught them.
3 Now the scribes and the Pharisees are leading a woman who has been overtaken
in adultery, and, standing her in the midst,
4 they are saying to Him, "Teacher, this woman has been overtaken and
detected committing adultery.
5 Now in the law, Moses directs us that such are to be stoned. You, then, what
are you saying?"
6 Now this they said to try Him, that they may have something to accuse Him of.
Now Jesus, stooping down, wrote down something with a finger in the earth.
7 Now as they persisted asking Him, He unbends and said to them, "Let the
sinless one of you first cast a stone at her."
8 And, again stooping down, He wrote in the earth.
9 Now those hearing it came out one by one, beginning with the elders, to the
last. And Jesus was left alone, the woman also being in the midst.
10 Now, unbending, Jesus said to her, "Woman, where are they? Does no one
condemn you?"
11 Now she said, "No one, Lord!" Now Jesus said, "Neither am I
condemning you. Go! From now on by no means any longer be sinning."
Deuteronomy
22:22
22
In case a man should be found lying with a woman espoused to her possessor,
then they must die, indeed both of them, the man who was lying with the woman
and the woman. Thus you will take out the evil from Israel.
Leviticus
20:10
10
As for a man who commits adultery with another man’s wife one who commits
adultery with his associate’s wife the adulterer and the adulteress shall be
put to death, yea death.
Luke
5:32
32
I have not come to call the just, but sinners, to repentance.
Last
week’s blog taught us that Yeshua’s life was connected to Mount Olive. His life
was also connected to the fruit of the olive tree. He lived a selfless life
that fulfilled what olive fruits do for humanity—bringing nourishment, healing,
and benefit to others.
This
week’s passage carries several lessons, just like last week’s. I pray you
perceive this week’s message beyond your 5 senses.
The
Woman Caught in Adultery
Yeshua
was in the middle of teaching the people who had gathered around Him on Mount
Olive when the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of
adultery.
I
have several questions about this incident.
Why
did they bring this woman to Yeshua?
Why
couldn’t they judge her themselves, as they had been accustomed to doing under
the Law of Moses?
The
answer seems obvious.
These
Pharisees were hoping to kill three birds with one stone.
First,
they accused the woman of committing adultery.
Second,
they wanted to trap Yeshua with the doctrine they had set before Him.
Third,
they wanted to ridicule Yeshua publicly and use the situation to draw the
people back to themselves.
To
me, their plan was deeply flawed.
Moses’
Law and Its Application
Leviticus
20:10 and Deuteronomy 22:22 both state that a man and woman caught in adultery
were to be put to death.
The
Israelites knew the Law. The administrators of the land were expected to uphold
it.
But
here is a question worth asking:
If
the punishment for adultery was death, why would people still commit adultery?
Have
you ever wondered about that?
One
might say, “People have a choice. They can either obey the law or disobey it.”
That
is true. But think about it. If violating the law could cost someone their
life, shouldn’t the fear of death have been enough to keep people from
committing such a sin?
Yet
people still sinned.
This
brings us to something Paul explained in Romans 8 concerning the relationship
between law, sin, and death.
The
Law could identify sin. It could establish boundaries. It could pronounce
judgment. But the Law could not transform the heart of the sinner.
John
tells us that Moses gave the Law, but grace and truth came through Yeshua
(John 1:17).
Something
important changed.
If
the Law was sufficient to deal with humanity’s sinful nature, why was grace
necessary?
Grace
is not a license to sin.
Grace
is the greater reason to rise above sin.
They
Called Him “Teacher,” But They Were Not Listening to Learn
The
Pharisees knew what the Law required. They appeared qualified to handle this
matter themselves.
So
why bring the woman to Yeshua?
Because
they were not really looking for an answer.
They
were looking for a trap.
They
called Yeshua “Teacher,” but their title did not represent genuine respect.
They were setting a snare for Him. They wanted Him to speak so that they could
take His words and use them against Him.
They
wanted to make Yeshua look foolish in front of the people.
Religion
can sometimes become more interested in proving someone wrong than
discovering what is right.
And
this is where Yeshua and the Pharisees were never truly on the same page.
Religions
See the Act; Grace Looks Deeper
I
want you to think carefully about this.
Religion
often focuses on compliance—Did you obey the rule? Did you break the law?
Did you follow the doctrine?
But
God looks deeper.
God
sees the heart.
God
sees intentions but, religions see the acts.
God
sees what people cannot see.
People
often judge what is visible. God examines what is hidden.
That
is why Yeshua’s response was so important. The Pharisees treated Him as though
He were their adviser, judge, or someone who needed to validate their
interpretation of the Law.
But
Yeshua did not come to reinforce their religious system.
He
came to reveal the heart of Yahweh.
He
did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Something
Was Missing
There
is another question I cannot ignore.
If
the Law was so powerful, why had Israel repeatedly fallen into sin and
eventually been taken into captivity?
Why
was this woman standing before Yeshua in the first place?
And
perhaps the biggest question:
Where
was the man?
Adultery
takes two people. It takes two to tangle.
Where
was the man this woman had committed adultery with?
Why
did the Pharisees bring only the woman to Yeshua?
If
they were genuinely interested in enforcing the Law, why was the man not
standing beside her?
Why
exposing this woman in the public?
Why
humiliating her?
Why
making her the center of a religious spectacle?
Something
was missing.
There
appears to be bias in the way this matter was handled. There appears to be
human craftiness. There appears to be an agenda behind the accusation.
And
perhaps this is one of the greatest lessons in this passage:
Human
beings can use the Law while completely missing the heart of God.
They
can quote Scripture and still be far from God’s thoughts.
They
can defend doctrine and still demonstrate no mercy.
They
can condemn sinners while forgetting that they, too, need grace.
As
Isaiah 55:8–9 reminds us, Yahweh’s thoughts are not our thoughts, and His ways
are not our ways.
There
Is More to This Story
I
feel like I should continue writing about this subject, but I need to stop here
for this week.
Wow!
There is so much more in this Bible passage.
I
hope to continue from verse 7 next week.
For
now, I want to leave you with this:
Think
about religion.
Think about laws.
Think about sin.
Think about human craftiness.
Think about bias.
Think about wickedness.
But above all, think about God’s ways.
Think
about His grace.
Think
about His mercy.
Think
about His love.
Think
about His hope for humanity.
Sometimes,
the greatest danger is not breaking religions' rules.
Sometimes,
the greater danger is using religions to hide a heart that has never
understood grace.
Until
then, remain
References:
https://www.concordant.org/version/read-concordant-old-testament-online
https://www.concordant.org/version/read-concordant-new-testament-online
Praise be to Yahweh who sent his son to give humanity grace instead of being punitive. Laws are good but cannot change people's heart. Grace does.
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