John 8:1-11
It’s Palm Sunday tomorrow. We’re
near the start of Holy Week, which is the week before Easter. On Palm Sunday,
Christians traditionally remember the day when Jesus entered Jerusalem a week
before his death.
A huge crowd gathered to welcome
Jesus into Jerusalem. They were singing, “Hosanna!”, “Blessed is the one who
comes in the name of the Lord.” Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. He came
to the city as a king, but he was not the kind of king anyone was expecting.
2000 years later, Jesus still
comes to be with us. He doesn’t come into a city, but he comes into our lives.
I wonder if you have ever asked
yourself this. If Jesus comes to be with me, how will he deal with what he
finds in me? We all have things in our lives that we’re not proud of. We have
all turned away from God. We have all separated ourselves from his love and
wisdom. Another word for this is ‘sin’.
So the question is, if Jesus comes
to be with us, how is he going to deal with that? This is a story about how
Jesus deals with sin and sinful people.
Video and Reading: John 8:1-11
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Discussion: What stands out to
you from the story?
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The trap.
The Pharisees and teachers of the
law wanted to trap Jesus. They brought him a woman caught in adultery. They
said, ‘The Law of Moses tells us to stone her to death. What do you say?’
It was a trap. If Jesus said,
‘Yes, stone her’, he would go against his reputation for love and mercy. He
would also come into conflict with the Roman authorities. If Jesus said, ‘No,
let her go free’, people would say he was teaching against the Law.
It seemed like a choice between
mercy and justice.
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The cruelty of the trap.
If we step back, we can see the
cruelty of the situation caused by the Pharisees.
The woman must have felt
completely terrified and ashamed. She had been dragged through the streets, and
her sins were being shouted out in the house of God.
The Pharisees didn’t care about
any of that. They didn’t see her as a person. They only saw an object, a tool
for trapping Jesus and getting what they wanted.
Jesus doesn’t play their game. He
sees a person.
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Jesus’ response.
Jesus bends down and writes in the
dust. But the Pharisees keep demanding an answer: mercy, or justice?
Jesus eventually stands up and
says ‘Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at
her.’
Mercy or justice? It’s both. Jesus
doesn’t deny the sin, but the woman goes free. She escapes from death and gets
a second chance. Jesus could have thrown the first stone himself because he was
without sin. But he did not condemn her.
The Pharisees and the crowd
gradually leave. Then only Jesus and the woman are left. He asks her, “Woman,
where are they? Has no one condemned you?” He wants her to see that her
accusers have gone. She stands alone before Jesus and she is not condemned.
Then he says, “Neither do I
condemn you. Go now, and leave your life of sin.”
Mercy and justice. Jesus does not
ignore the sin. Jesus gives her a command to change, the opportunity of a
second chance, and the resources of grace.
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Discussion: Have you ever been
given a second chance? What did it mean to you?
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We started with the question: how
does Jesus deal with sin?
Jesus sees a person, not an object.
Jesus gets rid of shame.
Jesus brings together mercy and
justice.
But how can we know that this is
for all of us, not just for this one woman?
When he died on the cross, Jesus
did for all of us what he did for this woman. He even took her place. He was
accused, humiliated, and condemned, even though he was innocent.
Jesus’ resurrection and ascension
proved that his death on the cross was for everyone. We can still experience
his love, forgiveness, and grace even now.
