She shivered with every step, even though sweat beaded on her forehead. Sure, it was hot, but with nothing more than a sheet concealing her, she shouldn’t be perspiring like this. But she knew, there was nothing to be done. She must pay for her sin. They had after all, caught her in the act. There was no denying, no justifying, no hiding. Obviously, since she was being pushed through the town by a group of men wearing nothing but the bedding she had grabbed before they tossed her out. Their hands were heavy, rough and unforgiving. Caught in thought, she slammed into the body in front of her, that had come to a halt. Who had they brought her to?
The men parted, pushing her to the wall in front of them. She stood, eyes closed, chin high. It was all she had left. She was preparing for the pain when they began speaking, and it was only when they grew impatient for an answer that she opened her eyes. And there he was, bent down writing in the sand. This was the man she heard people whispering about, she knew it instantly, she stared. Did they really just ask him what they should do? Did her fate really rest in the hands of a man drawing in the dirt?
John 8 holds one of the most common stories used for preaching and teaching in the Christian world. I don’t have enough fingers to count how many sermons I’ve heard on this small section of scripture. Still, I wanted to share my take on this story. Maybe it’s something you’ve already heard preached, in which case it can just be a fresh reminder, or maybe it will be something entirely different; either way, I hope you let it resound in you today.
So, in John 8 a woman is brought before Jesus, a woman who has just been caught in the act of committing adultery. The first problem with this story is that the people who are supposed to be “upholding the law” aren’t actually following the whole law. According to Deuteronomy 22:22 and Leviticus 20:10, both the man and the woman are supposed to be brought in for judgement. So, either these people don’t care about upholding the whole law, they want to see if Jesus will notice their error, or they want to see if Jesus will take advantage of the situation they’ve found this woman in and condemn her. The irony is that I don’t think they could have ever seen things turning out the way they did.
So, in verse 3, one of the most interesting points of this story is that this woman is brought before Jesus after she was caught “red-handed in the act of adultery,” according to the Message translation. So, I’m kind of assuming she is naked, but even if she’s not, she is definitely standing in the definition of naked. Naked: without the usual covering or protection (Google.com). So, this woman shows up on one of the worst days of her life, standing in front of the creator of the universe without any protection or covering. She is unable to cover her shame, her blemish, or any of her flaws and there she stands before Jesus. Can you imagine!?!?!
In today’s society, we are able to cover up many of our flaws. We can blast Instagram with our great achievements, our best side, and capture moments at the best angles. We get to choose what people see and, unfortunately, that’s how many of us approach Jesus. But, this woman comes face to face with Jesus, spiritually and physically naked, everything is laid out for Jesus to see. She is completely exposed for the worst of who she is and cannot hide that from Jesus, the people she goes to church with, or the men and women who see her every day on the street. I often wonder who this woman was. Was she a prominent member of society? Was she a teacher? Was she a shop clerk? Now, we know how this story ends, so it’s easy for us to play this off, but put yourself in her position for a second as you wait to see what this man says about you, what his judgement is.
While I realize that these were less than optimal conditions, I wonder how great of an encounter we could have with Jesus if this was the way we would come to Him every day. I wonder what kind of grace and love we would find waiting for us if we came to Jesus with the good and the bad, ready to let Him do whatever it is He will do. Could we walk away with an encounter worthy of being told over and over for hundreds of years? I believe many Christians continue to struggle with their relationship with Jesus because we’re still trying to put our best foot forward with God. We refuse to come to God completely exposed for exactly who we are and let God work with us to fix it, instead we come to God all dressed up like nothing is wrong.
While this woman didn’t choose it for herself, she came to Jesus in all of her vulnerability, her sin, her mistakes, the blemishes, the worst she could possibly muster. And, in that, she is able to see Jesus for exactly who he is, a loving God who is willing to continue looking on her with love, a love that protects her from all of her accusers and all the people waiting to destroy and harm her.
His response comes easily. He doesn’t seem to have to consider it for long, He utters one sentence that leaves them all staring at Him. She thinks he’s going to keep standing to do the “masculine thing” and hold a standoff. Instead, he bends back down to continue writing. She is wide eyed, watching the stones in their hands. The bewilderment grows as she watches the rocks return to the ground once again. One by one, like place holders for her accusers that begin to leave. She can’t remember when she stops watching them leave and turns her attention to Him. But now He has captivated all of her attention.
She doesn’t notice the last stone hit the ground. But she sees as His gaze shifts from the ground to the crowd of rocks that are left. He looks around, as if He is surprised. When He turns his attention to her, her heart quickens.
“Where did they go? Did they not accuse you?”
“No,” she said.
“Then, I don’t either. You can go, and be free from sin.”
She’s startled by his words. The tears she’s held back flow freely, now. He has pardoned her, saved her, redeemed her life. It will not be in vain.
In verse 7, Jesus says, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” In this moment, Jesus, in all of his perfection, basically gives himself permission to kill her, being that he is the only one who has the right to condemn her, and yet, He doesn’t. But I think the weight of this is overlooked. You see, there’s a big difference between being pardoned from death and forgiven for something. Ask any prisoner on death row and they will tell you, asking for forgiveness and asking for a pardon are two very different things. Many of us continue to struggle with reoccurring sin because we’ve grasped the forgiveness of Jesus but we haven’t grasped on to the truth: that Jesus has, in fact, pardoned us from death.
He instructs her in verse 11 to “go and sin no more.” His love accepts us for exactly who we are on our worst day in all of our shame and calls us to be better in the days that follow. His love for you is so great, no matter what you have done, He won’t point out your every flaw, you already know what those are, but He will call you to something greater than the way you’ve been living.
Today, reflect on this story, and let God see the deepest and most hidden parts of yourself. Come to him with all your baggage, all your sin, and experience His love that changes everything. He is here to show you real love that not just forgives, but pardons you from death. He has something better for you, that goes so much deeper than just what people see on the surface, He wants to do a deep work within you. He is here and he is peace, love, acceptance, grace, forgiveness, and truth in the midst of darkness. And He’s calling us to go and sin no more, so that we are able to live in the fullness and freedom of the life He originally designed for us. Let us also be reminded, to treat those around us, who are found without the usual covering, the way Jesus would treat them; not the way the crowd would. He is here to be love, and we are here to be a reflection of that love.
