Radical Faith (#1)

John 8:1-11

Andy Stanley tells a story in his book, “Deep and Wide,” about an incident that occurred at First Baptist Church of Atlanta when he was a young Assistant Pastor under his dad’s leadership.

He writes,  “For some reason that nobody can remember, our church got crossways with the gay community in Atlanta. This was back when nobody really talked about that kind of thing in church. So I’m not sure what created all the hoopla. But for whatever reason, the organizers of the Gay Pride Day march, which always took place on a Sunday, decided to adjust their schedule so the parade would be passing in front of our church around noon — the approximate time we would be dismissing our congregation from our eleven o’clock worship service. Well, when our church leaders got word of this, they went on the defensive. They decided to let church out early and send everybody out the back so that by the time the parade was in front of our church, all us good church people would be on our way back to the ‘burbs! What happened instead was that they let us out in time to line the streets to watch the parade. After all, the best way to ensure that people look at something is to tell them not to look. So there we were, gawking at the show as it slowly made its way down Peachtree Street. Two circumstances associated with this event made it a defining moment for me. The first thing was what took place directly across the street from our church. St. Mark United Methodist Church had their members standing along the street handing out cups of water to parade participants. While some handed out water, others held up posters that read, Everybody Welcomed! Come Worship with Us! God Is Love!” Andy said, “The contrast could not have been more pronounced...” (Stanley, Andy [2012-09-25]. Deep & Wide: Creating Churches Unchurched People Love to Attend [Kindle Locations 723-734]. Zondervan. Kindle Edition.)

He goes on to tell about asking his dad if he could address what happened that day in the evening service, since he was to be the preacher for that service. For our purposes, though, his story begs the question: How should we treat those living in open sin?

The best answer to that question is to treat sinners just like Jesus treated them. He is our perfect example!

How did he respond to the immoral, blasphemers and thieves, dishonest business people and idolaters, gossips and slanderers, and others caught in deep sin? And, what can we learn from His response on these occasions?

There’s a story tucked away in John’s Gospel that shows us the attitude/approach of Jesus toward those that practice sin. It’s the story of a woman caught in adultery and Jesus’ response to her is remarkable.

• The setting of this story is the Temple area where crowds of people are coming and going (John 8:2; cf. John 7:14, 8:20, 59).
• The religious establishment (“Scribes and Pharisees”) drag a woman into Jesus’ presence that has been caught in the act of adultery in order to see what Jesus will do with her.
• The reason for their action wasn’t concern for the Law of God or righteousness. It was a test for Jesus in hopes of discrediting Him before the people.
• When they addressed Him as “Teacher” (8:4), it’s possible that they did so with a tone of sarcasm.
• The religious elite had a system for qualifying as a Rabbi. Jesus had not followed their path to accreditation and approval, so He was not viewed as a legitimate “Teacher” to them.
• Consequently, they needed to prove His lack of qualification and this was their opportunity to do so.
• If Jesus condemned the woman, He would be violating His stated mission to seek and save sinners (Luke 19:10), which would be used to discredit Him. It would also bring Him into conflict with the Roman government that alone had the authority to condemn someone to death.
• If He failed to condemn her, He would violate the Law of God, which would also be used to discredit Him.
• Either way, they thought Jesus was trapped and this situation would lead to the loss of His credibility.
• As the woman is standing before Him, they begin referencing the Law (8:5) and wanting to know how He was going to handle her sin.
• What happens next is stunning...Jesus seemingly ignores them and stoops down to write on the ground. Think about how your wife feels when you are watching the TV and don’t act like you hear her. That must be how the Scribes and Pharisees felt.
• No one today knows for certain what He wrote on the ground, if anything at all. It’s been conjectured that He was writing the sins of the religious elite, which they thought were secret. Others think He was writing as a fulfillment of Jeremiah 17:13, exposing their departure from the Lord. Still others see a connection between God’s finger, writing the Law on tablets of stone in the OT (Deuteronomy 9:10) and Jesus writing on the ground in the NT. In other words, it’s a symbolic gesture showing Jesus is God.
• It’s my opinion, He wrote on the ground as if to ignore her accusers, thus demonstrating their unworthiness to bring such charges.
• Besides, this whole situation looks like a set up to catch this woman for their own nefarious purposes. It doesn't appear that the religious elite were guileless in these proceedings.

“Jewish law carefully stipulated what evidence needed to be in hand. No execution was possible without a solid case...This extensive demand for evidence made adultery charges rare in Judaism since couples would naturally take precautionary measures to conceal themselves. However, the law was aware of men who, rather than divorce their wives for an illicit affair, chose to have them “set up” with witnesses for execution. (If a man thus executed his wife, he became heir to her property; but not if he divorced her.) But this self-interest was deemed morally wrong. If witnesses viewed preliminary coition they were obliged to interrupt the act and prevent the greater crime. If, as we suspect, a man has discharged his wife thus and engineered testimony (“caught in the act,” v. 4) to execute her without warning her, the entire affair may appear legal but reeks of injustice. In Jesus’ eyes the entire situation would have been reprehensible.” (Walter A. Elwell, vol. 3, Evangelical Commentary on the Bible, Baker reference library [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1996, c1989], Jn 8:11.)

• The Law required at least two or three eye witnesses before a person could be condemned. How could this have happened had they not set up this woman?
• And, where is the man that was equally involved in this adulterous affair?
• When the religious elite quote the Law’s requirement for punishment, they conveniently misstated its full implications. (cf. Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22-24)

The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death. (Leviticus 20:10)

If a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then both of them shall die—the man that lay with the woman, and the woman; so you shall put away the evil from Israel. (Deuteronomy 22:22)

• When Jesus finally responds to their continual requests (8:7) they quickly learn that He isn’t trapped by this situation at all.
• Jesus proceeds to enforce the Law even more stringently than these men had requested.
• They appealed to Deuteronomy 17 & 23 (dealing with immorality/stoning), but Jesus appealed to Deuteronomy 19 (dealing with the motivation of the accusing witnesses).
• In other words, Jesus demonstrates that He knows all the Law and not just the portions cited by the religious elite.
• Deuteronomy 19:16-19 & 21 indicates that those bringing accusations must not be malevolent witnesses with ulterior motives.
• Jesus knew that these men testifying against her had been malicious in their quest to trap Him.
• The Law required that the witnesses of an act worthy of death be the first ones to cast stones at the offending party, though they had to be “without sin.” (Not sinless, but without guile or malice in the proceedings.)

• However, these particular eye witnesses had evil motives in bringing this woman before Jesus.
• Jesus stoops down to continue writing on the ground and one by one, from the oldest to the youngest, these accusers leave the proceedings.
• When Jesus stands up only the woman is left and the One that rightfully could have condemned her did not do so.
• The way Jesus handled this challenge was to issue the command for the Law to be obeyed, including the portions dealing with the hypocrisy of the Scribes and Pharisees.
• If they were malevolent (as they were), a penalty should be executed against them, too.
• This is one of the great stories of God’s grace in the NT. She did not get what she deserved, but received God’s divine favor instead. She received pardon and hope for the future!

There is an amazing turn of events in this story. A woman is dragged through the crowd into the presence of Jesus, overcome with guilt and shame, and the object of unwanted attention. Her sin that was a private matter only moments earlier is now public knowledge. Her accusers virtually dare Jesus to disagree with their verdict. He agrees with them and takes the law even further than they do, exposing their sin in the process. When it ends, her accusers leave, their heads hung in shame...silenced by the Master. This woman leaves a different person never to be the same again.

What does this story teach us about dealing with those practicing sins against God?

1. It does not teach that we should never deal with sin or discipline the sinner. There are too many other passages that teach us how to deal with people in sin to take that view (Matthew 18:15-20; Acts 5:1-11; Romans 12:9; 15:14; 1 Corinthians 5:1-13; 2 Corinthians 13:1-10; Galatians 6:1-5; 1 Thessalonians 5:14; 2 Thessalonians 3:14; Titus 3:10-11). The thing is that in this story Jesus upheld the Law and its requirements. But, He applied it to all parties present, not just the woman caught in adultery.

Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. (Romans 3:19-20)

2. It does not teach that God isn’t concerned about people's sins or that sin will never be condemned. Clearly, Jesus tells this woman to “...go and sin no more.”

3. It teaches that our attitude/approach matter when dealing with people’s sin. We are sinners, too, and must be prepared to deal with our own sin first.

4. It also teaches that some of the most egregious sins are committed by “religious people” in the name of promoting righteousness. A prime example of this type of conduct is the Westboro Baptist Church (Topeka, KS) and Fred Phelps who are known for their outrageous and egregious ideologies. The sad part is that some people are thinking what groups like this are saying even though they aren’t willing to say what they are thinking out loud.

5. Most importantly, it teaches that the reason Jesus did not condemn this woman was because He had come to take her punishment on Himself. It’s people that are guilty, helpless sinners, deserving God’s wrath, that are precisely the ones He came to save.

A little boy visiting his grandparents was given his first slingshot. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit his target. As he came back to Grandma’s back yard, he spied her pet duck. On an impulse he took aim and let the rock fly. The stone hit, and the duck fell dead.

The boy panicked. Desperately he hid the dead duck in the woodpile, only to look up and see his sister watching. Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing. After lunch that day, Grandma said, "Sally, let’s wash the dishes." But Sally said, "Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen today. Didn’t you, Johnny?" And she whispered to him, "Remember the duck!” So Johnny did the dishes.

Later Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing. Grandma said, "I’m sorry, but I need Sally to help make supper." Sally smiled and said, "That’s all taken care of. Johnny wants to do it." Again she whispered, "Remember the duck." Johnny stayed while Sally went fishing. After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally’s, finally he couldn’t stand it. He confessed to Grandma that he’d killed the duck. She said, "I know, Johnny," as she gave him a hug. "I was standing at the window and saw the whole thing. Because I love you, I forgave you. I wondered how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.”

No matter your sin, Jesus paid the price for you. He didn’t go to the cross so that He could hold it over your head, but so that He could release you from it’s bondage.

Closing:

So, how do we treat people in egregious sin? We treat them just like Jesus treated this woman.

It’s worth noting that in the Gospels Jesus did not condemn bad people. Whether it was a prostitute, a tax collector, or an outcast...Jesus reached out to them. It was a rather motley crew that followed Jesus, but it never embarrassed Him or made Him feel uncomfortable. One of the most radical statements Jesus ever made is found in Matthew 9: ...He said to them, Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  But go and learn what this means: “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. (Matthew 9:12-13)

Instead of throwing rocks at people that are trapped in sin, we need to reach out to them with the compassion of Christ. Jesus did not condemn this woman. He did not condone her sin. He did not compromise the Law. Instead, He offered her compassion and hope. It takes a radical faith to respond to people in this fashion.