John 7:53-8:11
53Then each went to his own home.
John 8
1But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" 6They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." 8Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"
11"No one, sir," she said.
"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."
Questions
1. What is Jesus saying about our attitudes toward sin?
a) In our lives?
b) In the lives of others?
2. What does Jesus, the Only Sinless One, teach us about forgiveness?
3. What kind of lives are we called to live as Christians?
3 comments:
I haven't visited the B.G.O.site for what seems like forever, in fact in my busyness, I'd sadly almost forgotten about it! It has changed quite a bit, but on thing that hasn't changed is what a blessing it is! My thoughts on the first question of the current line of discussion is that we are all sinners by virtue of our humanity, and that we are too quick to judge and condemn others.
I think that He teaches us that to reflect His nature we must always try to find a way to forgive others.
As Christians I believe that we are called to reflect His lovingkindness and to love and forgive as unconditionally as we possibly can and to pray for the ability to do this.
1. This is an interesting passage. In Leviticus (the Old Testament), God says that the adulterer and adulteress is to be put to death (Leviticus 20:10). While this may seem harsh, the purpose of this is to purge out sin from among the Jewish people, to whom the Law has been given. This is, however, based on the premise of Holiness. GOD says, "And you shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy, and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine" Leviticus 20:26.
Why then would Jesus stop the stoning of the adulterer and ask each man to look into his own heart first?
I humbly put forth the following theory: Jesus came to fulfill the very heart of the law by causing us each to address our own sin first.
I believe that the harshness of the Old Testament Law is to: 1) Teach us of the seriousness of sin 2) reveal to us our need of a saviour 3) set the stage for the coming of our Redeemer Jesus Christ.
Jesus treats our sinfulness in love, but with the justice that holiness demands.
"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:21
a) Our own attitude toward personal sin should involve: humility and repentance. Humility to realize that we are fallen and continue to sin. We should regularly take on the attitude of repentance. 1 John 1:8-9, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
b) Our attitude towards others sin should be: We are admonished not to judge, but to look at our own sins. Once we have done so, then we could instruct/help others (Matthew 7:1-5). We are not ever to condemn anyone, only the JUDGE can do that. If we see our brothers/sisters in sin, we are to counsel them in the way of holiness (James 5:19, 2 Timothy 4:2) that they would repent and be restored. As Jesus says:
"Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"
11"No one, sir," she said.
"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin." John 8:10-11
2. Jesus teaches us that we are to forgive one another just as He forgives us. Forgiveness does not mean encouraging and condoning sin, but acknowledging it and exchanging grace for hurt. He tells the woman caught in adultery that He does not condemn her (that could read, He has forgiven her). He also instructs her to go-be free from that sin and to no longer continue in it.
3. As Christians we are called to live holy and humble lives. We are called to holiness, grace, mercy and love. The Apostle Paul encourages us to 'work out our salvation with fear and trembling' Philippians 2:12.
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