The Gospel of John, 5/1/15
John 8:1-30. Jesus had been left out in the cold after the Feast of Tabernacles, so He went to the Mount of Olives, to pray most likely. That's where we need to be going, by the way. We need to have the courage to go to our Father to pray.
Then, He's right back to teaching in the temple early the next morning. The Pharisees rudely interrupt Him by bringing the woman caught in adultery to Him to judge. Where was the man caught in the act? They either let him go or they were protecting him. Turns out, it might be possible he was one of them. Jesus ignores their trap and bends down to write in the dirt. Three different sources of commentary say He was possibly writing names, dates, and/or places of encounters with women the Pharisees had from their past. Check out Jer. 17:12-13. He was writing against their past sins, so they were shocked how He could know their past and how they had committed the same sins as this woman. Instead of Jesus being trapped into breaking the law, the Pharisees were exposed and the woman experienced grace. Jesus gave the requirements for being a judge: sinlessness. That counts me out, y'all. That's why I shouldn't judge or throw stones at others. That doesn't exclude my responsibilities to lead, correct, and discipline. But I can do so with grace and humility. Notice He did not excuse the woman's sins, but instructed her to go and leave that lifestyle of sin.
We can expect similar Satanic accusations from people throwing stones at us. We can actually agree with them, admitting that we are actually a lot worse than they even realize. They don't know the half of what we think or do in the dark and all alone. And this should make us love the Lord all the more for His grace. We should remember Jesus never retaliated when attacked-not even a bad word.
Jesus makes His biggest claim thus far in verse 12. "I am the light of the world." A lifestyle of sin means walking in darkness. Following Jesus brings light and life. We believe He is who He claimed to be so we will not die in our sins as described in verse 24. We are fortunate to be on this side of the cross, where we know that it happened and what it means. We can now do what the Father is teaching us as in verse 28. We should realize He is with us and will not leave us alone. Oh, and I can truly hope to always do what pleases Him, even going to Him for mercy, grace, and forgiveness when I fall.
