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About-Him.Com Devotional 08-14-04
146: The Adulterous Woman - Jn. 8:1-11
John 8:1 ¶ Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. 2 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. 3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, 4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? 6 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. 7 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. 8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. 9 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. 10 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? 11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
The next day after the feast of Tabernacles had ended, Jesus returned to the temple and sat down to teach the people, as was customary for any rabbi to do. As He was teaching, He was interrupted by some scribes and Pharisees. They had caught a woman in the very act of adultery. They reminded Jesus that the law of Moses called for death by stoning (Deuteronomy 22:22-24). What penalty would He prescribe?
It had been centuries since anyone had been put to death for adultery. If, as many scholars suppose, the woman was a betrothed virgin, their common practice was to confiscate the woman’s dowry. The law of Moses also called for the man to be put to death, but he is curiously absent.
This they considered to be a trap that Jesus could not escape from. If He didn’t call for death, He would be annulling the law of Moses. If He called for stoning, he would lose favor with the people.
Jesus, ignoring them, stooped down and began to write in the dirt. Some suggest that he was writing the names and sins of each of the accusers. That could have been the case since He knew all things (John 16:30) and knew what was in the hearts of men (Matthew 9:4). However I don’t think so, since the men kept pressing Jesus for an answer as He was writing.. Jesus simply looked up and said, “He that is without sin, let him cast the first stone.”
One by one they were all overcome by a guilty conscience and began to leave. Jesus asked the woman where her accusers were? She said “I have none.” Jesus said those tender words that still echo down through the centuries. "..., Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more."
Conclusion and Application:
I believe that we can all identify with this women and also with her accusers.
I believe that the women appealed to Jesus for forgiveness and mercy which Jesus readily extended. He did not minimize her sin. He told her to go and sin no more. I believe that He gave her the enabling power to do so, just as He does to us.
Let him that is without sin cast the first stone. People often take this out of context in an effort to cover their sin. There is a place for judgment in the house of God (I Peter 4:17). However we must remember that we will be judged with the same measure of judgment that we have rendered to others (James 2:13). Jesus said, Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy (Matthew 5:7).
All of us are thankful for the loving and forgiving Savior who not only forgave our sins, but gave us the enabling power to "Go and sin no more!" We are also thankful, that if we do sin, we have a heavenly Advocate, whose blood still covers all of our sin (I John 2:1-2).
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Humor I went to the cinema the other day and in the front row was an old man and with him was his dog. It was a sad funny kind of film, you know the type. In the sad part, the dog cried his eyes out, and in the funny part, the dog laughed its head off. This happened all the way through the film. After the film had ended, I decided to go and speak to the man.
"That's the most amazing thing I've seen," I said. "That dog really seemed to enjoy the film."
The man turned to me and said, "Yeah, it is. He hated the book."
Somebody Has said "There are two kinds of people in this world; givers and takers. If you are going to be a taker, take all you can get, because that may well be all that you ever get." Keep Looking Up!
Don & Marie Spooner About Him! Ministries Your thoughts and Inquiries Contact@about-him.com Subscribe to this devotional? Subscribe@about-him.com
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