September 8, 2024
Morning Service

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Grace-Unmerited favor of God

Truth-The state of being accepted as true, correct, right.

In John’s letter to us, his goal is “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that believing you may have life in His name.” (Jn. 20:31) In today’s study we see first-hand the heart of the One we are following.  A heart in which He looks at us not with condemnation and judgment (which we honestly deserve) but through the eyes of love and compassion; putting on display His character which is “full of grace and truth.”  This is a new concept to the Jewish nation who are God’s chosen people.  The Law of Moses made it clear that there were defined and immediate consequences for sin as we will see today.  Some sins could be confessed and atoned for through sacrifices, but some, such as this one that openly breaks one of the 10 Commandments, came with immediate consequences.  In Deut. 20:9, the consequence for cursing your parents (Comm. #5) was to be put to death.  Imagine what it would be like today following Jesus knowing that if we slip up in the wrong place and sin, we will be put to death.  It would be a difficult road to walk knowing that perfection was not just a goal, but a requirement.  What a heavy burden to carry, knowing ourselves well enough that we are certain to fail.  This was the burden the Jewish people carried with them; follow the rules to perfection or pay the price. 

Do you feel that way at times and carry that weight?  We know the path we should be walking, but we find ourselves lost in the weeds full of guilt and regret dwelling more on our failures than on how good God is to us.  We believe it would be easier to just give up than try to keep such a high standard.  Hold on, today we see things change as grace enters the story God is writing.

 

John 8:1-6But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.  (2)  Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.  (3)  Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, (4) they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.  (5)  Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?"  (6)  This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.

            I picture the scene as an intimate one as Jesus is sitting with a small group of people as He is teaching them.  These leaders interrupt this moment bringing a frightened, ashamed young woman and casting her in front of everyone to proclaim her sin before them all.  They could care less about this woman, (doesn’t it take two to tango, where is the man?) she is but a card for them to play in their game of testing Jesus.  They bring to Him a situation with what they think has a lose-lose outcome for Him.  If He says stone her, they can turn Him into the Romans authority and have Him convicted as that would break Roman law.  If he said to set her free, then He would openly be denying the Law (Lev. 20:10) which commands she be put to death; lose-lose for Jesus; win-win for them. 

 Think of this woman and what she is surely thinking; “I am so ashamed for I am guilty for all to see.  If there was only a way to do it all over I would choose differently.  Please though I don’t deserve it, can I have a second chance?”  Have you been there?  Guilty as charged in a confrontation with your own sinful act?  Never a place we desire to be owning up to our own sin.  The silence is deafening as Jesus stoops down and “wrote on the ground with His finger.”  What is He doing?  Why does He not answer?  He is using the same advice the Holy Spirit gave to James; “Be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” (James 1:19) When confronted with a test, don’t say the first thing that comes into your mind, think first, pray first and let the Sprit guide your words (doing not hearing only).  After this brief pause, Jesus has everyone’s undivided attention and everything changes, not only for the woman and for all of us.  BUT GOD

 

John 8:7-9 So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."  (8)  And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.  (9)  Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.

            According to the Law, it was one of the witnesses of the sinful act that would be required to throw the first stone condemning her.  Jesus opens a whole new perspective for all of us as He grants us a revelation that we are in fact all sinners and deserve to die (Rom. 3:23& 6:23).  Who are we to condemn one of imperfection if we are not perfect?  Notice it was from the oldest (wisest) to the last that they dropped their stones and left.  We are all sinners; why do we dwell so heavily on another man’s sin?  Why do we look critically at our brother with a splinter in his eye, when we have a 2x4 in ours? (Matt. 7:3) This critical spirit is one we must battle constantly judging others, putting them down, which we feel lifts us up. (life boat theory) After speaking notice, Jesus unassumingly stoops down again and writes in the dust allowing each one to make a choice without His influence.  He did not stand tall with His chest out looking them intimidatingly straight in the eye, no He stooped down and returned to writing.  This made the decision up to each individual on what to do with the rock in your hand. We must each recognize our own sinfulness.  At the end, Jesus is left alone with the woman and her whole world is about to change from total darkness of despair to a bright light of hope; making something ugly into something beautiful. BUT GOD

 

John 8:10-11When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?"  (11)  She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."

            He quietly breaks the silence and asks where her accusers are.  With no one to condemn her, according to the Law she was free to go.  “Neither do I condemn you” were words as sweet as a song to this young woman who moments ago was guilty, helpless, and hopeless.  He does not condone her actions, but forgives her and challenges her to do better “Go and sin no more.”  What do you think she did from then on?  She changed.  Repentance is to be a life-changing event for each of us.  We like the woman have been caught guilty as charged for our sins and when we admit it, own it, and ask forgiveness for it there has to come with that a desire to do our best to not go there again.  True repentance is not sorrow that we got caught, but a deep sorrow that we did it in the first place and a deep desire to never go there again.  Grace is what gives us the second chance through forgiveness.  Truth is what carries us forward from that point to something better.  We believe that Jesus is “the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except through Him.” (John 14:6) He is the right way.  He is the Truth. He alone gives us life.  By the grace (unmerited favor) of God we are no longer required to walk the path of perfection.  This grace produces in me a greater desire to however aim for perfection.  He forgave me when I did not deserve it.  I should have been stoned to death in that moment.  To pay for my sin, I should be required to die. I should be required to carry my cross to be nailed upon it.  BUT GOD

 

1Jn 1:5-10This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.  (6)  If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.  (7)  But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.  (8)  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  (9)  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  (10)  If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

            We began this message looking at the burden the Jewish people had to carry in fulfilling the Law to the letter, perfection.  It was impossible to do.  Enter in grace and truth and all things change.  We must recognize our sins, imperfection, and our lack of power to change that.  Enter Jesus, our Lord and Savior.  Through His sacrifice upon the cross, paying the price for our sin, He opens the door for this process of forgiveness to be available to us.  We are called to “walk in the Light” with no darkness.  When sin comes not if, we bring it into the light confessing it.  “He is faithful and just to forgive us of that sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness;” “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.”  We go forgiven, cleansed, and renewed to do better not because we are required to, but because we DESIRE to.  I want to give my best to the One who gave His all for me.  If God owns my heart, I will own up to my sin, confess it, and seek to separate myself from it.  We live in grace, not condemnation when we walk in the Spirit.

Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

 

Heavenly Father, thank You for raining your grace upon us.  Thank You for Jesus who paid the price for our sins.  Help me to walk worthy of the calling You have placed on my life.