WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.459 The good news, guys, this morning, the text that 00:00:02.459 --> 00:00:06.099 we're in, there is no controversy on this at 00:00:06.099 --> 00:00:09.640 all. People don't have differing opinions on 00:00:09.640 --> 00:00:13.000 this passage in the least. So it's going to be 00:00:13.000 --> 00:00:16.920 real simple and real easy today. I was being 00:00:16.920 --> 00:00:19.100 facetious. There's a lot of opinions on this. 00:00:19.280 --> 00:00:23.600 And as I was working through and studying, I 00:00:23.600 --> 00:00:26.440 felt like I could have spent half the week just 00:00:26.440 --> 00:00:31.379 in a piece that wasn't even... actually, the 00:00:31.379 --> 00:00:34.159 text, but it was a little bracket right at the 00:00:34.159 --> 00:00:38.939 beginning. So, if you look in your Bibles, depending 00:00:38.939 --> 00:00:42.679 on whether you have the CSB or ESV, most versions 00:00:42.679 --> 00:00:44.359 are going to have a little bracket that says 00:00:44.359 --> 00:00:47.579 something like, the earliest manuscripts do not 00:00:47.579 --> 00:00:54.039 include John 7, 53 through 8, 11. So, we're going 00:00:54.039 --> 00:00:57.960 to talk about that and why, but before we do 00:00:57.960 --> 00:01:00.979 that, we are going to come before the Lord in 00:01:00.979 --> 00:01:03.380 prayer. Because if you're here to hear Jared 00:01:03.380 --> 00:01:07.739 talk this morning, no bueno. We're here to hear 00:01:07.739 --> 00:01:10.040 the word of the Lord and to let his Holy Spirit 00:01:10.040 --> 00:01:13.280 work in our hearts and draw us closer to him. 00:01:13.359 --> 00:01:16.239 So let's open a prayer. Heavenly Father, you 00:01:16.239 --> 00:01:20.980 are good. We praise you because you are worthy 00:01:20.980 --> 00:01:25.280 of all honor, of all praise, of all glory. Lord, 00:01:26.250 --> 00:01:28.650 You have given us the gift of your son, Jesus 00:01:28.650 --> 00:01:30.790 Christ. You have given us the gift of your word. 00:01:31.230 --> 00:01:34.790 You have given us the gift of people who spent 00:01:34.790 --> 00:01:39.609 time to dive deep into your word and to translate 00:01:39.609 --> 00:01:42.409 it from its original languages across so many 00:01:42.409 --> 00:01:46.310 different texts and manuscripts. And Lord, you 00:01:46.310 --> 00:01:48.730 still speak to us through your words. So I just 00:01:48.730 --> 00:01:50.870 pray that you would open our hearts and our ears 00:01:50.870 --> 00:01:55.069 to what you would have for us this morning. Let 00:01:55.069 --> 00:01:57.189 it be your words. We pray this in Jesus' name. 00:01:57.650 --> 00:02:03.549 Amen. So, I mentioned that little bracket at 00:02:03.549 --> 00:02:05.730 the beginning, and I want to start there. We're 00:02:05.730 --> 00:02:07.390 going to focus most of our time in the text. 00:02:07.530 --> 00:02:10.830 We're not going to do a whole historical lecture 00:02:10.830 --> 00:02:16.050 about biblical translation and inerrancy and 00:02:16.050 --> 00:02:19.150 the process by which the canon was established 00:02:19.150 --> 00:02:21.569 and manuscripts were selected. We're not going 00:02:21.569 --> 00:02:24.349 that deep. But I do want to touch on something 00:02:24.349 --> 00:02:29.319 because there is controversy over this particular 00:02:29.319 --> 00:02:33.939 passage, chapter 7, verse 53 through 8, 11, because 00:02:33.939 --> 00:02:36.900 it wasn't actually found in some of the earliest 00:02:36.900 --> 00:02:40.599 Greek manuscripts that biblical scholars worked 00:02:40.599 --> 00:02:44.780 to translate some of our more modern day English 00:02:44.780 --> 00:02:48.159 and other language translations from. It is in 00:02:48.159 --> 00:02:50.639 some of the earliest Latin ones, which came way 00:02:50.639 --> 00:02:54.180 later. And some of the later manuscripts have 00:02:54.180 --> 00:02:57.199 this passage in different places. There's two 00:02:57.199 --> 00:03:01.000 other places it could be in John. One translation 00:03:01.000 --> 00:03:03.620 of manuscript that was put together puts it over 00:03:03.620 --> 00:03:07.300 in the book of Luke. And there's kind of two 00:03:07.300 --> 00:03:10.340 common views. There's more, but these tend to 00:03:10.340 --> 00:03:13.939 hold the biggest sway. One is a view that St. 00:03:14.099 --> 00:03:17.280 Augustine held. The other is St. Jerome. And 00:03:17.280 --> 00:03:19.620 Augustine's was, hey, the early church fathers 00:03:19.620 --> 00:03:23.560 actually... may have left this out because it 00:03:23.560 --> 00:03:27.099 seemed like it gives too much license for people 00:03:27.099 --> 00:03:30.539 to sin. And so that it didn't create confusion 00:03:30.539 --> 00:03:33.979 prior to some of Paul's further letters and things 00:03:33.979 --> 00:03:37.280 of that nature. When they pulled the scriptures 00:03:37.280 --> 00:03:40.800 together, they just left this piece out. But 00:03:40.800 --> 00:03:44.520 it was really actually written by disciples. 00:03:44.900 --> 00:03:47.900 And then the other one is, Jerome, that it was 00:03:47.900 --> 00:03:52.159 oral stories. This was all true and was passed 00:03:52.159 --> 00:03:55.000 down through oral tradition that kind of either 00:03:55.000 --> 00:03:58.500 got missed in writing it as a manuscript or it 00:03:58.500 --> 00:04:01.419 became so commonly referred to and everyone knew 00:04:01.419 --> 00:04:04.639 about it that they then decided to take that 00:04:04.639 --> 00:04:07.919 and to put that in as they were collecting and 00:04:07.919 --> 00:04:11.099 establishing more of the manuscripts. Regardless 00:04:11.099 --> 00:04:17.540 of what view you hold to or I hold to, No doctrine 00:04:17.540 --> 00:04:21.839 depends on this passage alone, and the account 00:04:21.839 --> 00:04:25.379 is consistent with the teaching and the character 00:04:25.379 --> 00:04:28.819 of Jesus. So rather than be a reason to doubt 00:04:28.819 --> 00:04:33.160 the veracity or the truth of God's Word, I think 00:04:33.160 --> 00:04:35.720 it's actually really cool that the translators 00:04:35.720 --> 00:04:39.879 are so focused on making sure they're doing the 00:04:39.879 --> 00:04:42.139 best job they can in bringing the scripture, 00:04:42.300 --> 00:04:43.920 that they're actually calling out and saying 00:04:43.920 --> 00:04:45.879 like, hey guys, there is some discrepancy. There 00:04:45.879 --> 00:04:48.100 are some different viewpoints on this. However, 00:04:48.300 --> 00:04:51.899 we do believe that it does match the character 00:04:51.899 --> 00:04:55.139 and the work of Jesus. We do believe that this 00:04:55.139 --> 00:04:58.160 is historically accurate, and so it is included. 00:04:58.480 --> 00:05:01.240 So we can view this as authoritative and trustworthy, 00:05:01.399 --> 00:05:03.899 because everything in this account lines up perfectly 00:05:03.899 --> 00:05:07.040 with how the Bible describes Jesus. Jesus. So, 00:05:07.079 --> 00:05:09.899 I do. I believe it happened exactly as it states, 00:05:10.079 --> 00:05:14.079 and we're going to dive in, and we're not going 00:05:14.079 --> 00:05:17.540 to form individual pieces of doctrine off of 00:05:17.540 --> 00:05:20.459 this, but all of this does point back to what 00:05:20.459 --> 00:05:25.920 we do know about Jesus. So, we're going to start 00:05:25.920 --> 00:05:30.939 and look at chapter 7, verse 53, which is kind 00:05:30.939 --> 00:05:34.120 of smushed right in there with 8, and then we're 00:05:34.120 --> 00:05:37.970 going to look through 8. chapter, verse 2. So, 00:05:38.009 --> 00:05:40.970 it says, then each one went to his house, but 00:05:40.970 --> 00:05:43.910 Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn, he 00:05:43.910 --> 00:05:45.649 went to the temple again, and all the people 00:05:45.649 --> 00:05:48.209 were coming to him. He sat down and began to 00:05:48.209 --> 00:05:54.350 teach them. So, this may not have been right 00:05:54.350 --> 00:05:57.209 after the Feast of Booths that was just finishing 00:05:57.209 --> 00:05:59.550 up at the end of chapter 7. It may have been 00:06:00.250 --> 00:06:03.110 Again, we don't know exactly where this was in 00:06:03.110 --> 00:06:06.490 the chronological timeline, but regardless, people 00:06:06.490 --> 00:06:08.730 are going home to their own house. Jesus had 00:06:08.730 --> 00:06:12.550 been teaching in the temple, and Jesus goes to 00:06:12.550 --> 00:06:15.029 the Mount of Olives. We don't know exactly why. 00:06:15.149 --> 00:06:17.189 Was he going there to pray? Was he camping there? 00:06:17.329 --> 00:06:20.110 Did he actually go from there over to Bethany, 00:06:20.129 --> 00:06:22.389 which wasn't that far where he had some family 00:06:22.389 --> 00:06:25.970 and stay? We don't know. Scripture doesn't explicitly 00:06:25.970 --> 00:06:30.050 tell us, but it does then mention that he came 00:06:30.050 --> 00:06:34.730 and early in the morning at dawn, he came back 00:06:34.730 --> 00:06:37.550 to the temple again and all the people were coming 00:06:37.550 --> 00:06:41.490 to him. And he comes and he sits down and he 00:06:41.490 --> 00:06:43.730 starts to teach them. So what was interesting 00:06:43.730 --> 00:06:49.689 was back in that time, typically a rabbi or commonly, 00:06:49.850 --> 00:06:53.730 a rabbi would be the one who would sit and everyone 00:06:53.730 --> 00:06:55.629 who was coming to listen to him would stand. 00:06:56.139 --> 00:06:58.259 So, Craig, could you bring me a chair? I'm going 00:06:58.259 --> 00:07:00.000 to sit. The rest of you are going to stand for 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:01.459 the rest of this. I'm just kidding. We're not 00:07:01.459 --> 00:07:03.939 going to do that. It's a good thing we didn't 00:07:03.939 --> 00:07:05.980 do that last week when we did chapter 7 with 00:07:05.980 --> 00:07:08.259 all 52 verses. You would have been standing for 00:07:08.259 --> 00:07:10.740 a long time. So, good news, we're not doing that 00:07:10.740 --> 00:07:13.800 today. But I want you to get the picture in your 00:07:13.800 --> 00:07:16.199 head of what's going on here, right? Jesus has 00:07:16.199 --> 00:07:20.079 come back to the temple, and these people are 00:07:20.079 --> 00:07:22.819 coming, and they're saying, teacher, we want 00:07:22.819 --> 00:07:26.889 to hear, what do you have to say? Just the chapter 00:07:26.889 --> 00:07:30.050 before, when they were in the middle of the ceremony 00:07:30.050 --> 00:07:32.870 and they're doing the piece of the water, Jesus 00:07:32.870 --> 00:07:36.470 is there going, hey, guys, look, look at me. 00:07:37.509 --> 00:07:41.069 Not because he wanted attention on himself, but 00:07:41.069 --> 00:07:44.069 he was saying, look, I am living water. And so 00:07:44.069 --> 00:07:46.129 the people are like, what's going on? Who is 00:07:46.129 --> 00:07:48.089 this guy? And they're coming. They've seen him 00:07:48.089 --> 00:07:50.829 doing signs. They've seen him healing people. 00:07:51.009 --> 00:07:54.040 And so they're coming and they sit down. And 00:07:54.040 --> 00:07:57.040 they're all fanned out around him. He may have 00:07:57.040 --> 00:08:00.420 been sitting up on a step. We don't know exactly. 00:08:00.600 --> 00:08:02.839 But I want you to picture this. Jesus is there. 00:08:03.139 --> 00:08:05.639 People have come to him to hear what he has to 00:08:05.639 --> 00:08:10.540 say. And he starts teaching. And then chapter 00:08:10.540 --> 00:08:14.779 8 verse 3 says, Then the scribes and Pharisees 00:08:14.779 --> 00:08:19.100 brought a woman caught in adultery, making her 00:08:19.100 --> 00:08:25.920 stand in the center. Guys, this was quite the 00:08:25.920 --> 00:08:30.060 spectacle. Okay, so they're in the temple grounds. 00:08:31.560 --> 00:08:34.019 And I want you to picture this, right? Jesus 00:08:34.019 --> 00:08:37.419 is there. It's early morning still. The sun is 00:08:37.419 --> 00:08:40.259 still rising. It hasn't even come up high enough 00:08:40.259 --> 00:08:44.840 to be over the walls of the temple. The morning 00:08:44.840 --> 00:08:49.059 doves are still. singing their songs. People 00:08:49.059 --> 00:08:51.899 are quietly listening to Jesus. And then all 00:08:51.899 --> 00:08:54.019 of a sudden, there's this really big disturbance. 00:08:55.100 --> 00:09:00.379 A bunch of religious bigwigs in their fancy clothes 00:09:00.379 --> 00:09:03.659 that are set apart from everyone else start coming 00:09:03.659 --> 00:09:06.960 down the stairs from an inner part of the temple 00:09:06.960 --> 00:09:10.840 or from a different section. And are all coming 00:09:10.840 --> 00:09:12.899 out and there's this big procession. It's the 00:09:12.899 --> 00:09:15.519 Pharisees, it's the scribes, it's the lawmakers. 00:09:15.960 --> 00:09:19.000 And they are coming out and right towards the 00:09:19.000 --> 00:09:22.820 front of the procession is this woman. And she's 00:09:22.820 --> 00:09:27.600 disheveled, wearing probably slightly less clothes 00:09:27.600 --> 00:09:30.580 than would be normal for that situation. And 00:09:30.580 --> 00:09:34.019 there's two guys who have her arms in a vice 00:09:34.019 --> 00:09:37.580 grip. And they're just half dragging, half walking 00:09:37.580 --> 00:09:40.080 her along. And they come right down and they 00:09:40.080 --> 00:09:41.679 come to the group that's sitting in front of 00:09:41.679 --> 00:09:43.980 Jesus. And they start pushing through the crowd. 00:09:44.059 --> 00:09:45.799 Hey, get out of the way. We've got something 00:09:45.799 --> 00:09:49.860 to do here. They're making a scene. And they 00:09:49.860 --> 00:09:54.279 bring this woman up in front of the crowd, right 00:09:54.279 --> 00:10:01.159 in front of Jesus. And they set her there in 00:10:01.159 --> 00:10:07.039 the center, the center of attention. And this 00:10:07.039 --> 00:10:12.759 woman was caught in adultery. So this is going 00:10:12.759 --> 00:10:15.059 to get your attention, right? Everybody, including 00:10:15.059 --> 00:10:17.980 Uncle Ron, who was standing there while Jesus 00:10:17.980 --> 00:10:20.759 is teaching and started to... And, you know, 00:10:20.779 --> 00:10:23.539 your aunt's over into his... Even Uncle Ron's 00:10:23.539 --> 00:10:26.220 awake and is like, what is going on here? And 00:10:26.220 --> 00:10:31.200 so everybody's locked in and watching. And as 00:10:31.200 --> 00:10:36.129 we get to verse 4, the Pharisees... lay out the 00:10:36.129 --> 00:10:38.789 charge that's happening here. So John chapter 00:10:38.789 --> 00:10:43.549 8 verse 4, teacher, they said to him, this woman 00:10:43.549 --> 00:10:49.210 was caught in the act of committing adultery. 00:10:49.850 --> 00:10:53.250 In the law, Moses commanded us to stone such 00:10:53.250 --> 00:10:59.090 women. So what do you say? They've come, and 00:10:59.090 --> 00:11:01.649 then scripture in the first part of chapter verse 00:11:01.649 --> 00:11:05.769 6 says this, they ask this to trap him. in order 00:11:05.769 --> 00:11:08.590 that they might have evidence to accuse him. 00:11:09.750 --> 00:11:13.250 The author makes it pretty clear what's going 00:11:13.250 --> 00:11:18.289 on here. They're asking this to trap Jesus so 00:11:18.289 --> 00:11:21.490 that they can have evidence to accuse him. The 00:11:21.490 --> 00:11:24.389 religious leaders have brought this woman who 00:11:24.389 --> 00:11:27.750 was caught in the act of adultery, and they're 00:11:27.750 --> 00:11:30.250 going to come and they're going to present a 00:11:30.250 --> 00:11:34.379 death sentence, which was allowed, that was under 00:11:34.379 --> 00:11:40.460 the law, but the requirements of the law for 00:11:40.460 --> 00:11:44.539 what was going to go on here were pretty stringent. 00:11:45.399 --> 00:11:48.879 For someone to be stoned to death, according 00:11:48.879 --> 00:11:52.679 to the law, at least two or more witnesses had 00:11:52.679 --> 00:12:00.340 to literally catch the people in the act of adultery. 00:12:01.450 --> 00:12:03.990 With verifiable witness of two or more people 00:12:03.990 --> 00:12:08.429 before the death sentence could be rendered according 00:12:08.429 --> 00:12:11.710 to the law of Moses. So the Jewish leaders bring 00:12:11.710 --> 00:12:14.549 a woman who was caught in the act of sleeping 00:12:14.549 --> 00:12:16.990 with a man who was not her husband. Then they 00:12:16.990 --> 00:12:20.830 announce this sin publicly and condemn her and 00:12:20.830 --> 00:12:23.649 demand that Jesus then and there make a public 00:12:23.649 --> 00:12:26.570 judgment. Now, a couple things to note here. 00:12:27.950 --> 00:12:30.490 They don't actually really care about justice. 00:12:31.820 --> 00:12:36.220 That's not what's going on here. The woman actually 00:12:36.220 --> 00:12:40.620 did sin. Scripture is clear. Jesus isn't even 00:12:40.620 --> 00:12:44.740 going to deny that later. But they are, these 00:12:44.740 --> 00:12:47.100 religious leaders, the Pharisees and the scribes, 00:12:47.120 --> 00:12:50.220 are using this woman's sin as a tool. They're 00:12:50.220 --> 00:12:56.399 weaponizing her sin to take out Jesus. The other 00:12:56.399 --> 00:13:02.179 thing to note here, it takes two to tango. Adultery 00:13:02.179 --> 00:13:05.059 is a team sport. If you're not sure what I mean, 00:13:05.159 --> 00:13:09.720 ask your parents. Where's the guy? The law says 00:13:09.720 --> 00:13:12.100 that both the man and the woman are to be put 00:13:12.100 --> 00:13:17.000 to death. And stoning was for a specific situation 00:13:17.000 --> 00:13:20.340 in where the woman was not married to the man, 00:13:20.460 --> 00:13:23.659 was betrothed, or was the daughter of a priest. 00:13:23.720 --> 00:13:25.980 So there were some pretty stringent things. So 00:13:25.980 --> 00:13:28.700 there's something that's a little interesting. 00:13:29.230 --> 00:13:32.210 going on here. A lot of biblical scholars say 00:13:32.210 --> 00:13:36.210 this was probably a setup, that she actually 00:13:36.210 --> 00:13:41.049 did sin, but may have been set up, and the guy 00:13:41.049 --> 00:13:43.690 was in on it, and the Pharisees and the scribes 00:13:43.690 --> 00:13:47.690 were using this as a situation to put Jesus in 00:13:47.690 --> 00:13:51.809 where there was no escape for him. Maybe, I don't 00:13:51.809 --> 00:13:54.129 know, scripture doesn't explicitly say that. 00:13:54.269 --> 00:13:56.750 That could make sense because they don't bring 00:13:56.750 --> 00:14:00.100 the guy, they just bring the woman. So something's 00:14:00.100 --> 00:14:04.559 kind of fishy here, but they bring her forward, 00:14:04.620 --> 00:14:11.019 and they've already condemned this woman. They've 00:14:11.019 --> 00:14:15.299 already said what she has done under the law 00:14:15.299 --> 00:14:20.559 of Moses deserves death. So Jesus, what should 00:14:20.559 --> 00:14:25.799 we do here? This is what the law says. They're 00:14:25.799 --> 00:14:30.419 setting a trap. They're saying, hey, this woman 00:14:30.419 --> 00:14:33.220 is condemned. Condemned is like a building term. 00:14:33.279 --> 00:14:37.559 It's unfit for use. Condemnation takes a person's 00:14:37.559 --> 00:14:40.179 worst act and makes it their entire identity. 00:14:41.220 --> 00:14:44.419 Condemnation exposes sin in order to destroy. 00:14:44.840 --> 00:14:48.039 It sees another's guilt clearly while often being 00:14:48.039 --> 00:14:51.860 blind to our own. But they're bringing this woman 00:14:51.860 --> 00:14:55.940 forward, and they're setting a trap for Jesus. 00:14:57.870 --> 00:15:04.610 And in doing so, they have already judged and 00:15:04.610 --> 00:15:09.629 said, this woman is condemned by what she has 00:15:09.629 --> 00:15:14.070 done. And before we're too quick to distance 00:15:14.070 --> 00:15:16.429 ourselves from these religious leaders and look 00:15:16.429 --> 00:15:20.929 at this as we sit here now in 2026 and think 00:15:20.929 --> 00:15:24.129 back to something that happened over 2 ,000 years 00:15:24.129 --> 00:15:28.669 ago. before we start saying like, well, you know, 00:15:28.710 --> 00:15:31.649 I wouldn't act like that. Why are they making 00:15:31.649 --> 00:15:33.610 such a big scene? I'm not going to go march some 00:15:33.610 --> 00:15:36.509 woman out in front of everybody and try to, you 00:15:36.509 --> 00:15:38.149 know, go to Jesus and be like, so Jesus, what 00:15:38.149 --> 00:15:43.730 you going to do, huh? Right? It's easy to look 00:15:43.730 --> 00:15:46.169 at what was going on here and distance ourself 00:15:46.169 --> 00:15:53.419 from this. But if you're a Christian, Often this 00:15:53.419 --> 00:15:56.779 is a posture that we take. I won't just call 00:15:56.779 --> 00:16:00.240 you out. I'm going to call myself out. I'm very 00:16:00.240 --> 00:16:03.519 quick to look at the sin of somebody else and 00:16:03.519 --> 00:16:09.720 say, wow, that was pretty bad. Man. And to look 00:16:09.720 --> 00:16:14.679 at somebody with condemnation. See, the longer 00:16:14.679 --> 00:16:16.580 we go to church, the easier it can become to 00:16:16.580 --> 00:16:18.840 think, I'm right, they're wrong. We know the 00:16:18.840 --> 00:16:22.580 language. We know the expectations. We know how 00:16:22.580 --> 00:16:25.200 church people are supposed to act and think and 00:16:25.200 --> 00:16:28.820 talk, and slowly we begin comparing our cleaner 00:16:28.820 --> 00:16:34.600 -looking sin to the more visible or what we deem 00:16:34.600 --> 00:16:39.340 more ugly -looking sins of others. And in doing 00:16:39.340 --> 00:16:41.299 so, it's kind of like we're carrying some stones 00:16:41.299 --> 00:16:45.200 ourselves, stones of comparison, of gossip, of 00:16:45.200 --> 00:16:48.779 disgust, of suspicion, of self -righteous judgment. 00:16:49.679 --> 00:16:52.299 And we look and we define somebody else by the 00:16:52.299 --> 00:16:56.139 things that they have done. At the same time, 00:16:56.139 --> 00:16:59.240 we expect everyone else to understand the complexity 00:16:59.240 --> 00:17:03.519 and the nuance of our own failures. To realize 00:17:03.519 --> 00:17:07.359 my sin isn't as bad as Jared's. Or, well, if 00:17:07.359 --> 00:17:11.579 you just understood why I'm sinning, then the 00:17:11.579 --> 00:17:14.519 sin really actually wouldn't still be that bad. 00:17:16.700 --> 00:17:20.380 But Scripture is clear. Sin is missing the mark 00:17:20.380 --> 00:17:26.920 of holiness that God has set. And this is exactly 00:17:26.920 --> 00:17:29.920 where Jesus is about to bring these religious 00:17:29.920 --> 00:17:33.660 leaders to so that they have to confront it. 00:17:33.779 --> 00:17:36.400 But first, let's notice the trap that they've 00:17:36.400 --> 00:17:39.519 laid and they've set for Jesus. So here's the 00:17:39.519 --> 00:17:44.339 trap. It's a lose -lose scenario or a lose -lose 00:17:44.339 --> 00:17:50.490 -lose scenario. They're sitting here, and they 00:17:50.490 --> 00:17:53.930 have brought this woman who, there's no dispute, 00:17:54.089 --> 00:17:58.210 she was caught in the act of having sex with 00:17:58.210 --> 00:18:01.250 someone who was not her husband. And the punishment 00:18:01.250 --> 00:18:05.190 that was put in Moses' law was both the man and 00:18:05.190 --> 00:18:08.950 the woman are to be put to death. So they bring 00:18:08.950 --> 00:18:13.849 this to Jesus, and if Jesus says, or picks up 00:18:13.849 --> 00:18:16.190 the stone and says, yes, stone her, let's start 00:18:16.190 --> 00:18:22.009 stoning her, Jesus actually becomes a Roman rebel 00:18:22.009 --> 00:18:25.910 because Rome had said, hey, for capital offenses, 00:18:26.190 --> 00:18:30.950 Rome is the one who can render judgment. There 00:18:30.950 --> 00:18:32.890 were some scenarios where the Jewish leaders 00:18:32.890 --> 00:18:36.089 could come, they could petition for acts of religious 00:18:36.089 --> 00:18:41.349 reasons for executing capital punishment, but 00:18:41.720 --> 00:18:43.579 this all had to go through Rome. So if Jesus 00:18:43.579 --> 00:18:48.079 says, yep, stone her right now, they can twist 00:18:48.079 --> 00:18:50.940 this where, oh, Jesus is a rebel against Rome. 00:18:51.339 --> 00:18:53.720 Now we get to let the Romans kind of take them 00:18:53.720 --> 00:18:59.019 out for us. But if Jesus says, no, no, don't 00:18:59.019 --> 00:19:02.339 stone her. Let her, no, we can't do this. Then 00:19:02.339 --> 00:19:06.400 he violates the law of Moses, and he exposes 00:19:06.400 --> 00:19:13.309 himself as a false prophet. Jesus has been gathering 00:19:13.309 --> 00:19:16.750 this following, and a good chunk of his followers 00:19:16.750 --> 00:19:22.210 are, as the Pharisees would say, dirty, rotten 00:19:22.210 --> 00:19:24.970 sinners. He's hanging out with tax collectors. 00:19:25.170 --> 00:19:27.630 He's hanging out with prostitutes. He's hanging 00:19:27.630 --> 00:19:33.029 out with all the other sinners. And if he doesn't 00:19:33.029 --> 00:19:36.910 show mercy to this lady, chances are pretty good 00:19:36.910 --> 00:19:38.970 that maybe he's going to lose a little bit of 00:19:38.970 --> 00:19:43.130 his following. So they're setting this up for 00:19:43.130 --> 00:19:46.369 Jesus to essentially kind of no matter what goes 00:19:46.369 --> 00:19:49.609 on, they can twist this and use it against him. 00:19:50.509 --> 00:19:52.490 It's kind of similar to what happened in Matthew 00:19:52.490 --> 00:19:54.849 when they come and they're testing him. They 00:19:54.849 --> 00:19:56.970 come to trap him and they say, hey, you know, 00:19:56.970 --> 00:20:00.750 Jesus, should we pay taxes to Rome? They're trying 00:20:00.750 --> 00:20:03.950 to back him into a corner. And Jesus' response 00:20:03.950 --> 00:20:13.000 in this? He bends down, and he starts writing 00:20:13.000 --> 00:20:17.279 in the dirt with his finger. Kind of interesting. 00:20:19.200 --> 00:20:25.720 So here we are. They're laying this accusation 00:20:25.720 --> 00:20:30.380 with a very public entrance and scene, and they're 00:20:30.380 --> 00:20:34.259 asking Jesus to render judgment. And he just 00:20:34.259 --> 00:20:40.240 bends down and starts drawing in the dirt. Verse 00:20:40.240 --> 00:20:45.200 7 of chapter 8 says this, when they persisted 00:20:45.200 --> 00:20:48.799 in questioning him, he stood up and said to them, 00:20:48.900 --> 00:20:52.579 the one without sin among you should be the first 00:20:52.579 --> 00:20:56.640 to throw a stone at her. Verse 8 says, then he 00:20:56.640 --> 00:21:02.420 stooped down again and continued writing. Stooped 00:21:02.420 --> 00:21:03.900 down again and continued writing on the ground. 00:21:04.980 --> 00:21:07.690 So here we are, all the crowd. all the religious 00:21:07.690 --> 00:21:10.549 leaders, the condemned woman watching and waiting 00:21:10.549 --> 00:21:12.230 while Jesus bent over riding in the dirt with 00:21:12.230 --> 00:21:15.450 his finger. Everybody's craning their heads to 00:21:15.450 --> 00:21:17.930 see what's going on. You can hear a pin drop. 00:21:18.170 --> 00:21:21.390 Uncle Ron is still awake. He has not started 00:21:21.390 --> 00:21:25.289 snoring again through this whole deal. Everybody's 00:21:25.289 --> 00:21:29.309 locked in. And Jesus is here, drawing in the 00:21:29.309 --> 00:21:33.910 dirt, right in the way. The religious leaders, 00:21:34.009 --> 00:21:36.690 though, are not letting them off the hook. Maybe 00:21:36.690 --> 00:21:40.690 at first they're like, what's he writing? But 00:21:40.690 --> 00:21:46.470 eventually they're like, hey, Jesus. So? Jesus, 00:21:46.609 --> 00:21:49.529 we asked you a question. Jesus, what should we 00:21:49.529 --> 00:21:51.730 do in this? Come on, Jesus, come on. What are 00:21:51.730 --> 00:21:56.289 you doing here? Answer. And so they persisted 00:21:56.289 --> 00:22:01.450 in questioning him. And Jesus had stooped down 00:22:01.450 --> 00:22:07.359 and there's, There's a lot of speculation to 00:22:07.359 --> 00:22:11.619 the posture here of what Jesus did. Scripture 00:22:11.619 --> 00:22:15.859 doesn't say it, but it's interesting. The fact 00:22:15.859 --> 00:22:18.759 that he stoops down and he draws the attention 00:22:18.759 --> 00:22:23.819 of the condemnation towards this woman. And the 00:22:23.819 --> 00:22:27.119 attention comes away from her. as he stoops. 00:22:27.160 --> 00:22:29.539 Maybe that's why. I don't know. That's interesting 00:22:29.539 --> 00:22:31.400 to think about. Scripture doesn't explicitly 00:22:31.400 --> 00:22:33.980 lay that out, so I'm not going to read something 00:22:33.980 --> 00:22:37.680 into Scripture that's not there. But when they're 00:22:37.680 --> 00:22:40.000 persisting in questioning him, then Jesus stands 00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:45.619 back up, and he looks at them, and his response 00:22:45.619 --> 00:22:48.339 is, the one without sin among you should be the 00:22:48.339 --> 00:22:52.960 first to throw a stone at her. This is really 00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:56.859 commonly quoted. especially by non -Christians 00:22:56.859 --> 00:22:59.400 towards Christians. Well, you who are without 00:22:59.400 --> 00:23:03.579 sin, throw the first stone. Basically saying, 00:23:03.680 --> 00:23:07.079 hey, you judgy person, you messed up too, so 00:23:07.079 --> 00:23:09.519 you can't throw anything at me. Who are you? 00:23:09.619 --> 00:23:13.740 You're a sinner too. That's not what Jesus is 00:23:13.740 --> 00:23:19.480 saying here. As Jesus responds, he doesn't deny 00:23:19.480 --> 00:23:23.920 the woman's guilt. He doesn't downplay that. 00:23:25.960 --> 00:23:28.819 But he does expose the guilt of the people who 00:23:28.819 --> 00:23:33.160 have come and put her on this kangaroo court 00:23:33.160 --> 00:23:35.559 trial. Normally, things of this nature would 00:23:35.559 --> 00:23:38.180 have been done separately according to the law. 00:23:41.200 --> 00:23:44.400 But he exposes the guilt of the people condemning 00:23:44.400 --> 00:23:46.680 her by saying, hey, the one who's without sin 00:23:46.680 --> 00:23:49.240 among you should be the first one to throw a 00:23:49.240 --> 00:23:52.740 stone at her. See, the accusers believe the woman 00:23:52.740 --> 00:23:54.940 was on trial and Jesus is caught in their trap. 00:23:59.059 --> 00:24:01.960 Jesus shows them that they stand before God as 00:24:01.960 --> 00:24:05.599 sinners too. We shouldn't read this story only 00:24:05.599 --> 00:24:08.900 asking, hey, what's wrong with them? We need 00:24:08.900 --> 00:24:11.099 to be careful not to stand at a safe distance 00:24:11.099 --> 00:24:14.960 and then also look at the sin of the woman as 00:24:14.960 --> 00:24:18.180 if this is a different level than ours. Jesus 00:24:18.180 --> 00:24:21.279 in Matthew chapter 5 talks about how adultery 00:24:21.279 --> 00:24:26.099 is not only an external act. He says that lust 00:24:26.099 --> 00:24:29.599 reveals an adulterous heart. Whether that's lusting 00:24:29.599 --> 00:24:33.079 after someone or lusting to be desired by others. 00:24:34.960 --> 00:24:40.440 We walk in those things. And this is sexual immorality. 00:24:40.599 --> 00:24:45.680 Jesus kind of elevates from the external act 00:24:45.680 --> 00:24:50.140 to, no, that even happens in our hearts. And 00:24:50.140 --> 00:24:53.309 according to Jesus' standard, We're not merely 00:24:53.309 --> 00:24:56.329 watching the woman who was caught in the act 00:24:56.329 --> 00:24:59.630 of adultery. In one way or another, we are actually 00:24:59.630 --> 00:25:04.589 standing with her. The leaders, the Pharisees 00:25:04.589 --> 00:25:07.349 who endeavored and worked to keep the law and 00:25:07.349 --> 00:25:13.789 the scribes, were also standing on trial with 00:25:13.789 --> 00:25:18.170 her. Now, that doesn't erase meaningful consequences 00:25:18.170 --> 00:25:22.039 to our sin, but it does erase our right to be 00:25:22.039 --> 00:25:26.460 self -righteous, and to sit in judgment. Because 00:25:26.460 --> 00:25:30.480 we all come to Jesus guilty, exposed, and dependent 00:25:30.480 --> 00:25:33.799 upon grace. And that's what makes Jesus' response 00:25:33.799 --> 00:25:39.599 so remarkable. See, Jesus doesn't minimize anyone's 00:25:39.599 --> 00:25:42.259 guilt. He doesn't say, well, you know, your sin 00:25:42.259 --> 00:25:45.920 is not actually sin. It's really not that bad. 00:25:47.880 --> 00:25:51.859 That's not the response. But also, Jesus doesn't 00:25:51.859 --> 00:25:59.039 join in the condemnation where he says, oh, how 00:25:59.039 --> 00:26:06.339 dare you? You are rotten. You are not fit for 00:26:06.339 --> 00:26:16.819 use. That is not what Jesus does. He looks and 00:26:16.819 --> 00:26:23.240 he extends grace. and mercy. And Jesus' response 00:26:23.240 --> 00:26:26.019 to the Pharisees here, I believe is actually 00:26:26.019 --> 00:26:29.680 an act of mercy toward them as well. When he 00:26:29.680 --> 00:26:31.339 says, the one without sin among you should be 00:26:31.339 --> 00:26:34.839 the first one to throw a stone at her. He's not 00:26:34.839 --> 00:26:38.339 joining in the condemnation, but he's calling 00:26:38.339 --> 00:26:41.400 them to examine their own hearts, even as they're 00:26:41.400 --> 00:26:43.559 condemning this woman who's before them. See, 00:26:43.680 --> 00:26:47.650 God is extending grace through his son. Jesus 00:26:47.650 --> 00:26:52.549 Christ. See, grace doesn't call evil good. Grace 00:26:52.549 --> 00:26:55.289 tells the whole truth. And according to God's 00:26:55.289 --> 00:26:59.269 law, the woman was guilty and the accusers were 00:26:59.269 --> 00:27:05.750 also guilty. We're all guilty and the wages of 00:27:05.750 --> 00:27:14.029 sin are death. It was only Jesus that was without 00:27:14.029 --> 00:27:18.920 sin. Jesus was actually the only person in that 00:27:18.920 --> 00:27:23.420 entire circle, in the entire world, who actually 00:27:23.420 --> 00:27:26.920 had a right to throw the stone at the woman. 00:27:27.819 --> 00:27:31.000 But the sinless one doesn't join in the condemnation 00:27:31.000 --> 00:27:37.200 of sinful people. I mentioned earlier how that 00:27:37.200 --> 00:27:40.380 you who is without sin, it's commonly thrown 00:27:40.380 --> 00:27:43.839 around. See, this passage doesn't prohibit justice. 00:27:44.700 --> 00:27:48.460 This passage is not licensed to say, well, you 00:27:48.460 --> 00:27:54.039 can't judge me. It's a reminder that we are all 00:27:54.039 --> 00:27:58.119 sinners in need of a Savior. And that Savior 00:27:58.119 --> 00:28:01.819 is Jesus. He is the one who is moving toward 00:28:01.819 --> 00:28:04.640 the cross where he is going to take the sin and 00:28:04.640 --> 00:28:08.460 the condemnation of this woman upon himself. 00:28:10.059 --> 00:28:13.619 And he will bear that sin. And that's grace. 00:28:14.319 --> 00:28:20.019 Grace is unmerited favor. And as he moves towards 00:28:20.019 --> 00:28:24.339 that cross, in Romans chapter 8, verses 1 through 00:28:24.339 --> 00:28:29.480 2, Paul writes this to the church in Rome, Therefore 00:28:29.480 --> 00:28:32.619 there is now no condemnation for those in Christ 00:28:32.619 --> 00:28:36.019 Jesus, because the law of the Spirit of life 00:28:36.019 --> 00:28:38.819 in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law. 00:28:39.289 --> 00:28:43.990 of sin and death. Christ's work on the cross 00:28:43.990 --> 00:28:48.869 accomplished that. That there's no condemnation 00:28:48.869 --> 00:28:52.390 in Christ Jesus because of what he has done. 00:28:53.269 --> 00:28:58.569 See guys, grace is not God overlooking sin. Grace 00:28:58.569 --> 00:29:02.049 was not just Jesus taking judgment upon himself. 00:29:02.390 --> 00:29:06.039 The only one who was qualified to condemn to 00:29:06.039 --> 00:29:08.920 condemn will instead be condemned in the place 00:29:08.920 --> 00:29:13.220 of sinners. Jesus, God's own son, sent as man, 00:29:13.400 --> 00:29:17.980 fully God, fully man, the only one who lived 00:29:17.980 --> 00:29:23.440 a sinless life, the only one who had the right 00:29:23.440 --> 00:29:28.500 to condemn, crucified on the cross, paid the 00:29:28.500 --> 00:29:32.670 penalty that our sin deserves, wipes that penalty 00:29:32.670 --> 00:29:35.170 out through his blood and through his grace, 00:29:35.269 --> 00:29:38.869 then was risen again and now calls us sons and 00:29:38.869 --> 00:29:41.849 daughters when we give our lives to him as Lord 00:29:41.849 --> 00:29:48.390 and as Savior. If that's true, spoiler alert, 00:29:48.569 --> 00:29:54.710 it is, then we also have to let God's verdict 00:29:54.710 --> 00:29:59.000 be greater than our own. Because some of us might 00:29:59.000 --> 00:30:01.960 say, I know God forgives me, but I can't forgive 00:30:01.960 --> 00:30:07.240 myself. I condemn myself. You might say, Jared, 00:30:07.339 --> 00:30:10.000 Jared, you don't understand. You don't know what 00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:13.119 I've done. Doesn't need to be a bunch of Pharisees 00:30:13.119 --> 00:30:15.819 that put me on trial. I'll put myself on trial. 00:30:18.279 --> 00:30:24.019 And we say, hey, you know, I know God forgives 00:30:24.019 --> 00:30:28.119 me. I just. I need to do more. I can't forgive 00:30:28.119 --> 00:30:34.400 myself. And in that, it might sound humble. It's 00:30:34.400 --> 00:30:37.039 actually spiritual pride. Because who do we think 00:30:37.039 --> 00:30:40.240 we are? Are your standards higher than the standards 00:30:40.240 --> 00:30:42.960 of a holy God? Do you believe the cross wasn't 00:30:42.960 --> 00:30:47.180 enough for what you've done? Our hope is not 00:30:47.180 --> 00:30:49.460 that we've punished ourself enough to deserve 00:30:49.460 --> 00:30:55.000 peace. Our hope is that Jesus has bore our condemnation 00:30:55.000 --> 00:31:00.299 completely. And if we're in Christ, God's verdict 00:31:00.299 --> 00:31:04.240 is more authoritative than yours. And it's like 00:31:04.240 --> 00:31:08.059 the reminder that God gives to Paul in 2 Corinthians 00:31:08.059 --> 00:31:11.799 12 verse 9. Paul, who is struggling with health 00:31:11.799 --> 00:31:15.319 and with weakness, Jesus says, my grace is sufficient 00:31:15.319 --> 00:31:17.759 for you, for my power is perfected in weakness. 00:31:18.359 --> 00:31:21.640 See, through all of this, grace does not condemn. 00:31:23.789 --> 00:31:27.190 So Jesus has stooped back down and he's writing 00:31:27.190 --> 00:31:35.029 in the dirt again. We don't know what he wrote. 00:31:35.470 --> 00:31:38.609 Scripture doesn't record that. There's a lot 00:31:38.609 --> 00:31:42.069 of people that speculate about this. Well, maybe 00:31:42.069 --> 00:31:44.509 he was writing the sins of the Pharisees. Maybe 00:31:44.509 --> 00:31:46.990 he was writing the Ten Commandments. Maybe it 00:31:46.990 --> 00:31:49.349 was a picture of his hand just like God's hand 00:31:49.349 --> 00:31:55.470 on the wall in Babylon before it fell. We don't 00:31:55.470 --> 00:32:01.589 know. But honestly, I don't think it's that important 00:32:01.589 --> 00:32:11.960 that we know because we see the result. See, 00:32:11.960 --> 00:32:16.980 the accusers, they left. So John chapter 8 verse 00:32:16.980 --> 00:32:19.680 9 through 11 says this, when they heard this, 00:32:19.940 --> 00:32:24.200 they left one by one, starting with the older 00:32:24.200 --> 00:32:27.960 men. Only he was left with the woman in the center. 00:32:28.599 --> 00:32:31.799 And when Jesus stood up, he said to her, woman, 00:32:31.880 --> 00:32:38.180 where are they? Has no one condemned you? No 00:32:38.180 --> 00:32:41.740 one, Lord, she answered. Neither do I condemn 00:32:41.740 --> 00:32:45.500 you, said Jesus. Go and from now on, do not sin 00:32:45.500 --> 00:32:50.539 anymore. It says, starting with the oldest of 00:32:50.539 --> 00:32:54.539 them. Maybe these were the guys who had enough 00:32:54.539 --> 00:32:58.259 life experience to realize, oh, I'm picking up 00:32:58.259 --> 00:33:01.980 what Jesus is putting down. I've come here in 00:33:01.980 --> 00:33:06.980 condemnation, and I'm accusing this woman. And 00:33:06.980 --> 00:33:09.480 he's saying, hey, if you're without sin, then 00:33:09.480 --> 00:33:13.059 absolutely. The law says this. If you are not 00:33:13.059 --> 00:33:20.799 guilty of the same sin, go ahead. And the guys 00:33:20.799 --> 00:33:24.000 who have walked through life a little more and 00:33:24.000 --> 00:33:27.819 have realized, okay, maybe I'm not as great as 00:33:27.819 --> 00:33:31.619 I think, they're the first ones to leave. These 00:33:31.619 --> 00:33:33.880 guys who are like, ha ha, we've got Jesus between 00:33:33.880 --> 00:33:38.319 a rock and a hard place on this one, are watching. 00:33:39.039 --> 00:33:42.859 And listening. And Jesus is just still there 00:33:42.859 --> 00:33:45.119 in the dirt. He's not looking at them. They're 00:33:45.119 --> 00:33:49.220 all standing around. And they start to walk away. 00:33:49.259 --> 00:33:51.259 The oldest all the way to the youngest. Until 00:33:51.259 --> 00:33:54.200 no one who was there in accusation was left. 00:33:54.819 --> 00:33:58.140 And it's just Jesus and the woman at the center. 00:33:58.240 --> 00:34:02.200 The crowd was most likely still there. And then 00:34:02.200 --> 00:34:05.240 he gets up and he stands and he looks at her. 00:34:08.230 --> 00:34:13.670 And he says, hey, woman, where are they? Has 00:34:13.670 --> 00:34:16.769 no one condemned you? He's not saying like, woman! 00:34:17.489 --> 00:34:22.070 The term here actually is kind of a term of endearment. 00:34:23.889 --> 00:34:28.389 And he's saying, has no one condemned you? See, 00:34:28.510 --> 00:34:34.030 I think the Pharisees and the scribes realized 00:34:34.030 --> 00:34:40.699 that they had, all sinned. We're reminded in 00:34:40.699 --> 00:34:46.619 Romans 3 .23, and this is not a text that was 00:34:46.619 --> 00:34:49.960 written quite yet, but is directly applicable 00:34:49.960 --> 00:34:53.800 because Paul is sharing with the church in Rome. 00:34:54.579 --> 00:34:58.039 A later time in Romans 3 .23 when he says this, 00:34:58.159 --> 00:35:01.039 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory 00:35:01.039 --> 00:35:04.179 of God. The Pharisees knew that. The law was 00:35:04.179 --> 00:35:05.980 there to show them that they couldn't do it on 00:35:05.980 --> 00:35:09.480 their own. and that they needed the Messiah to 00:35:09.480 --> 00:35:13.079 be the perfect atonement. They got twisted in 00:35:13.079 --> 00:35:16.219 religion and pushed to a, well, you know, if 00:35:16.219 --> 00:35:17.800 we do the right things, say the right things, 00:35:17.840 --> 00:35:20.159 we can be the holiest people, and then we stand 00:35:20.159 --> 00:35:23.139 in the right to judge because we're better than 00:35:23.139 --> 00:35:25.920 the other people. We don't sin quite so badly. 00:35:26.199 --> 00:35:29.559 Maybe they did. Whatever the narrative was that 00:35:29.559 --> 00:35:34.380 they were believing, all have sinned. And they 00:35:34.380 --> 00:35:37.380 realize that, and now we're left with this central 00:35:37.380 --> 00:35:42.539 image of this passage. The woman knows she has 00:35:42.539 --> 00:35:47.079 sinned. Her accusers are gone, but now she is 00:35:47.079 --> 00:35:49.440 standing before the only person who fully knows 00:35:49.440 --> 00:35:59.739 her and has the authority to condemn her. And 00:35:59.739 --> 00:36:01.500 he says, woman, where are they? Has no one condemned 00:36:01.500 --> 00:36:06.130 you? She says, no one, Lord. And then Jesus says, 00:36:06.190 --> 00:36:10.170 neither do I condemn you. Going from now on, 00:36:10.210 --> 00:36:13.789 do not sin anymore. Think the order that Jesus 00:36:13.789 --> 00:36:18.969 speaks to her in verse 11 is important. Because 00:36:18.969 --> 00:36:25.489 we see that grace precedes transformation. Jesus 00:36:25.489 --> 00:36:31.449 doesn't say to her, hey, clean your life up. 00:36:32.090 --> 00:36:36.130 Change your life, stop sinning, and then come 00:36:36.130 --> 00:36:41.710 back and I won't condemn you. Jesus says, look, 00:36:41.849 --> 00:36:45.250 I do not stand here and look at you and say, 00:36:45.309 --> 00:36:51.949 because of your sin, you are unfit for use. He 00:36:51.949 --> 00:36:57.789 also doesn't negate that she has sinned. But 00:36:57.789 --> 00:37:02.469 he says, I don't. weaponize that sin against 00:37:02.469 --> 00:37:10.610 you. I am extending grace. He gives unmerited 00:37:10.610 --> 00:37:13.849 favor, and then he calls her towards transformation. 00:37:15.550 --> 00:37:19.289 He says, go and from now on do not sin anymore. 00:37:20.250 --> 00:37:24.929 We'll talk about that in a minute. But this grace 00:37:24.929 --> 00:37:30.960 that he extends, isn't licensed to keep on sinning. 00:37:32.619 --> 00:37:37.539 He's not calling her to a different life and 00:37:37.539 --> 00:37:41.599 saying, now you got this get out of jail free 00:37:41.599 --> 00:37:44.159 card, right? I'm not going to condemn you. So 00:37:44.159 --> 00:37:46.460 do whatever makes you feel good. Do whatever 00:37:46.460 --> 00:37:48.860 feels right. And I'm not going to condemn you. 00:37:51.469 --> 00:37:54.210 He wasn't imperiously saying, you who are without 00:37:54.210 --> 00:37:56.849 sin, throw the first stone. He's literally the 00:37:56.849 --> 00:38:00.269 only one who could throw the stone. And he doesn't. 00:38:00.369 --> 00:38:02.690 Not because he's afraid of the trap that the 00:38:02.690 --> 00:38:05.550 leaders set, but because he knows he's going 00:38:05.550 --> 00:38:08.289 to the cross where he will bear her guilt, her 00:38:08.289 --> 00:38:12.230 shame, and her condemnation on himself. He frees 00:38:12.230 --> 00:38:15.750 her from condemnation and calls her away from 00:38:15.750 --> 00:38:18.900 the sin that's destroying her. See, this particular 00:38:18.900 --> 00:38:21.320 sin that's brought before Jesus here in this 00:38:21.320 --> 00:38:25.980 passage, it falls within a broader category of 00:38:25.980 --> 00:38:31.019 sexual immorality. And that doesn't mean that 00:38:31.019 --> 00:38:34.920 sexual sin is the only sin that destroys. Sexual 00:38:34.920 --> 00:38:40.260 sin is not the only sin that grace can transform, 00:38:40.460 --> 00:38:43.780 but it's a specific category that's before us 00:38:43.780 --> 00:38:46.869 in the text. So I want to address that honestly 00:38:46.869 --> 00:38:51.789 this morning. Sexual immorality is broader than 00:38:51.789 --> 00:38:55.349 just the particular sin of sleeping with somebody 00:38:55.349 --> 00:38:57.530 who wasn't the husband committed by this woman. 00:38:57.849 --> 00:39:03.130 Scripture includes lust. It includes sex outside 00:39:03.130 --> 00:39:05.650 of covenant marriage, adulterous relationships, 00:39:06.150 --> 00:39:10.059 same -sex sexual and romantic practices. every 00:39:10.059 --> 00:39:14.500 single attempt to take God's good gift of sexuality 00:39:14.500 --> 00:39:17.960 outside the boundaries he has established of 00:39:17.960 --> 00:39:23.800 one man and one woman in covenant marriage and 00:39:23.800 --> 00:39:26.460 to twist it for our own hearts and our own desires. 00:39:26.659 --> 00:39:30.079 It includes pornography. Sexual immorality is 00:39:30.079 --> 00:39:35.119 not a harmless private choice or habit. It trains 00:39:35.119 --> 00:39:39.000 us to consume rather than to love. It damages 00:39:39.000 --> 00:39:43.039 intimacy. It brings secrecy and comparison, distorted 00:39:43.039 --> 00:39:47.920 expectations. It often carries with it guilt 00:39:47.920 --> 00:39:55.780 and shame. And this woman is now brought, and 00:39:55.780 --> 00:39:59.920 this is blasted out publicly in front of everybody. 00:40:03.920 --> 00:40:07.460 But Jesus doesn't expose sinners to destroy them 00:40:07.460 --> 00:40:10.900 like the religious leaders did. Jesus calls us 00:40:10.900 --> 00:40:13.219 into the light and doesn't condemn and gives 00:40:13.219 --> 00:40:17.119 grace so that there can be transformation, so 00:40:17.119 --> 00:40:21.139 that his grace can transform us. See, we might 00:40:21.139 --> 00:40:23.420 not be dragged in front of a group of people 00:40:23.420 --> 00:40:26.619 with your sin on full display. Maybe there is 00:40:26.619 --> 00:40:29.059 some type of hidden sin that you've buried and 00:40:29.059 --> 00:40:32.750 are working hard to keep under wraps. But we 00:40:32.750 --> 00:40:35.670 can confess it and bring it to the light because 00:40:35.670 --> 00:40:41.849 his grace is sufficient. He doesn't condemn. 00:40:42.210 --> 00:40:45.889 You can't say, no, I'm too far gone for Jesus 00:40:45.889 --> 00:40:49.570 to transform my heart and my life. And that extends 00:40:49.570 --> 00:40:53.130 outside of just this category of sexual immorality. 00:40:53.210 --> 00:40:56.889 There is no sin that is too great that it doesn't 00:40:56.889 --> 00:41:00.690 fall at the feet of the one whose blood was shed 00:41:00.690 --> 00:41:06.380 on the cross. for all sins. Jesus calls us into 00:41:06.380 --> 00:41:08.420 the light so that his grace can transform us. 00:41:11.780 --> 00:41:14.260 But in verse 11, he doesn't call her to a life 00:41:14.260 --> 00:41:17.260 of perfection. When he says, go and from now 00:41:17.260 --> 00:41:20.340 on, do not sin anymore. He's not saying, hey, 00:41:20.519 --> 00:41:22.599 I'm not going to condemn you, but if you sin 00:41:22.599 --> 00:41:27.880 again, I guess I have to condemn you then. He's 00:41:27.880 --> 00:41:33.530 saying, go and have your life Walk away from 00:41:33.530 --> 00:41:36.170 the sin that you are pursuing because look at 00:41:36.170 --> 00:41:38.929 the grace that has been extended to you. You 00:41:38.929 --> 00:41:45.070 are not unfit for use. I will take your sin on 00:41:45.070 --> 00:41:50.110 myself, on the cross, and bear it. And there 00:41:50.110 --> 00:41:57.170 is no condemnation that is in Christ Jesus. When 00:41:57.170 --> 00:42:02.329 we looked at Romans 3 .23, There's also verse 00:42:02.329 --> 00:42:11.030 24, which says this, Romans 3 .23 and 24, See, 00:42:15.909 --> 00:42:20.110 that is what would be extended to this woman. 00:42:20.570 --> 00:42:26.150 That's what's extended to us. So the question 00:42:26.150 --> 00:42:30.800 is, where are we at in this scene, right? Scripture 00:42:30.800 --> 00:42:33.639 is not meant to just be pulled out so we can 00:42:33.639 --> 00:42:36.619 look at ourselves. But when we walk through God's 00:42:36.619 --> 00:42:39.500 word, we also can't walk away from that saying, 00:42:39.599 --> 00:42:43.760 well, that was good. Glad I'm not that woman. 00:42:44.500 --> 00:42:47.059 Glad I wasn't a knucklehead like the Pharisees 00:42:47.059 --> 00:42:49.960 and trying to overdo it. Glad I've got grace. 00:42:50.699 --> 00:42:55.460 And then go on through our week. Who God is and 00:42:55.460 --> 00:42:58.710 what he has done calls us. to look at ourselves 00:42:58.710 --> 00:43:02.929 and say, who are we and how are we to live? So 00:43:02.929 --> 00:43:06.570 I do want to ask, where are we? Where do we see 00:43:06.570 --> 00:43:13.309 our tendencies in light of this passage? For 00:43:13.309 --> 00:43:14.869 some of us, are we standing with the religious 00:43:14.869 --> 00:43:17.510 leaders where we can see everyone else's sin 00:43:17.510 --> 00:43:21.679 real clearly? We're carrying stones of comparison 00:43:21.679 --> 00:43:25.360 and contempt, gossip, self -righteousness, yet 00:43:25.360 --> 00:43:27.119 we're still sinners who don't have the right 00:43:27.119 --> 00:43:29.519 to condemn and call someone else unfit for use 00:43:29.519 --> 00:43:32.119 because there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus. 00:43:32.760 --> 00:43:36.179 Jesus calls us to drop those stones, not because 00:43:36.179 --> 00:43:39.059 sin doesn't matter. It does. That's not to say, 00:43:39.159 --> 00:43:42.980 well, there should never be encouragement to 00:43:42.980 --> 00:43:44.920 walk away from sin and to be church discipline 00:43:44.920 --> 00:43:48.949 or civil discipline when there is sin that requires 00:43:48.949 --> 00:43:53.050 that, but there doesn't need to be condemnation. 00:43:54.409 --> 00:43:57.969 We hope for people to turn to the grace that 00:43:57.969 --> 00:44:00.349 is extended through Jesus and to see their lives 00:44:00.349 --> 00:44:07.289 changed in Him. It's because, again, it's not 00:44:07.289 --> 00:44:09.050 that sin doesn't matter, but it's because we 00:44:09.050 --> 00:44:11.730 are a sinner who lives by grace, and there is 00:44:11.730 --> 00:44:14.710 no condemnation in Christ Jesus. But maybe some 00:44:14.710 --> 00:44:17.280 of us are standing where the woman stood. Our 00:44:17.280 --> 00:44:19.579 sin on full display. Or maybe you're standing 00:44:19.579 --> 00:44:21.719 in a place where your sins are kind of safely 00:44:21.719 --> 00:44:25.119 hidden and you're worried about being outed and 00:44:25.119 --> 00:44:28.260 on full display. You might not be looking at 00:44:28.260 --> 00:44:30.019 and condemning others, but you have condemned 00:44:30.019 --> 00:44:35.880 yourself. Maybe your sin has brought shame, secrecy, 00:44:35.880 --> 00:44:37.800 and fear. Maybe no one else knows. Maybe it involves 00:44:37.800 --> 00:44:40.360 adultery, sex outside of marriage, pornography, 00:44:40.760 --> 00:44:45.800 something else entirely. Jesus does not call 00:44:45.800 --> 00:44:52.440 your sin good. However, he also doesn't condemn 00:44:52.440 --> 00:44:58.400 you because of it. He does receive sinners who 00:44:58.400 --> 00:45:01.219 come to him. So step into the light, confess 00:45:01.219 --> 00:45:05.519 it, trust him, receive his grace, and begin to 00:45:05.519 --> 00:45:08.960 walk away from the sin that is destroying you. 00:45:09.679 --> 00:45:12.960 It's not that you will never sin anymore, but 00:45:12.960 --> 00:45:15.679 it's that you will allow the work of Jesus Christ 00:45:15.679 --> 00:45:18.599 to change your heart and to transform you as 00:45:18.599 --> 00:45:23.159 you walk and seek after him. Some of us are still 00:45:23.159 --> 00:45:25.380 condemning ourselves for what Jesus has already 00:45:25.380 --> 00:45:29.139 carried. You believe the cross is sufficient 00:45:29.139 --> 00:45:32.159 for everyone else except for what you've done. 00:45:33.780 --> 00:45:36.679 The sin you've committed is too great to be possibly 00:45:36.679 --> 00:45:40.480 forgiven. Stop placing your verdict above God's. 00:45:41.280 --> 00:45:45.380 If you are in Christ, there is no condemnation 00:45:45.380 --> 00:45:48.559 remaining for you. And there might be some here 00:45:48.559 --> 00:45:52.679 who don't know Jesus as Lord and as Savior. And 00:45:52.679 --> 00:45:56.860 one day, you will be standing before the one 00:45:56.860 --> 00:46:04.599 who fully knows everything about you and who 00:46:04.599 --> 00:46:09.079 has the right and the authority to condemn you. 00:46:11.239 --> 00:46:15.219 But the good news is, the only one who is qualified 00:46:15.219 --> 00:46:19.559 to condemn sinners willingly took the condemnation 00:46:19.559 --> 00:46:24.099 of sinners upon himself in his work on the cross. 00:46:25.659 --> 00:46:28.960 Turn from your sin. Trust in Jesus because he 00:46:28.960 --> 00:46:33.360 offers forgiveness. He offers freedom. He offers 00:46:33.360 --> 00:46:38.469 new life. So drop the stones we're carrying. 00:46:38.610 --> 00:46:41.909 Step into the light. Receive the grace of Jesus. 00:46:42.650 --> 00:46:48.150 Walk away from the sin that he paid for on the 00:46:48.150 --> 00:46:54.769 cross. Because grace does not condemn. Grace 00:46:54.769 --> 00:47:00.849 transforms. And that grace is given freely in 00:47:00.849 --> 00:47:06.920 Jesus Christ. Let's pray and thank him for that. 00:47:10.860 --> 00:47:16.699 God, it is amazing that you loved us so much 00:47:16.699 --> 00:47:22.619 that despite our rebellion, despite our choice 00:47:22.619 --> 00:47:27.820 of the pursuit of our own desires and sin, you 00:47:27.820 --> 00:47:32.840 sent your son, Jesus Christ. to be born as a 00:47:32.840 --> 00:47:37.340 baby, to live the life that we cannot, to bear 00:47:37.340 --> 00:47:41.940 our sins on the cross, to wash us as white as 00:47:41.940 --> 00:47:48.840 snow, to be buried, to then be risen again, and 00:47:48.840 --> 00:47:51.480 now to intercede for us at the right hand of 00:47:51.480 --> 00:47:56.719 God. Lord, if there are any this morning who 00:47:56.719 --> 00:48:03.730 are struggling, I pray that you would just draw 00:48:03.730 --> 00:48:07.449 them close, help them to see your grace. Lord, 00:48:07.469 --> 00:48:10.510 help them not to feel the condemnation of the 00:48:10.510 --> 00:48:13.230 enemy of others, but that they would look to 00:48:13.230 --> 00:48:17.670 you. They would look to Jesus. And that that 00:48:17.670 --> 00:48:23.650 unmerited favor would change and shape our hearts. 00:48:26.090 --> 00:48:32.179 Father, you are so worthy. of honor, of praise, 00:48:32.300 --> 00:48:36.639 and of glory. We praise you. We pray this in 00:48:36.639 --> 00:48:38.059 Jesus' name. Amen.