Early In The Morning

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John 8:1-6 (KJV) Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. [2] And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. [3] And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, [4] They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. [5] Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? [6] This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.

Nothing hurts worst than to do the right thing and to be maligned for it.
Nothing hurts worst than to have your family turn on you.
I’ve been there, done that, bought the T Shirt.
It hurts. And I’m sure Jesus got hurt.
Jesus did the right things. He always did the right things. Jesus never sinned. We as humans have sin in our lives. The Bible says:

1 John 1:8 (KJV) If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

We sin. That doesn’t justify our sin, but as humans we are subject to failure. Not so the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says that that Jesus Christ as our High Priest:

Hebrews 4:15 (KJV) …. was in all points tempted like as we are, YET WITHOUT SIN.

Jesus Christ is the Redeemer, the Lamb of God Who was in all points sinless. We are the redeemed because He is holy and pure. We are redeemed by His precious and sinless sacrifice:

1 Peter 1:18-19 (KJV) Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; [19] But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

There is no sin in Christ. He does what the Father tells Him to do. He is pure, holy. Jesus started His day doing the right thing. We read:

Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.

The Mount of Olives was Jesus’ prayer room. The Mount of Olives is a mountain range east of Jerusalem named for the Olive Groves that once covered its slopes. Jesus often went up on a mountain to pray (Matthew 14:23; Luke 6:12) and to release the hurt that I’m sure He endured.

His brothers did not believe in Him. (John 7:5)
His sisters did not believe in Him.
His friends, the friends He grew up with,
did not believe in Him. (Mark 3:21)
One of His disciples was planning to betray Him (Luke 22:3)
And the leaders of Israel that Christ came to save
Were determined to destroy Him.

Oh Beloved, you can do everything right, and the world itself be against you. When you are overwhelmed with grief do as our Lord did. Find yourself a Mount of Olives, and go there and pray. Jesus had been praying. He had been praying early. We know this because:

John 8:2 (KJV) … And early in the morning he came again
into the temple

Jesus came to the Temple early in the morning, directly after being with the Father on the Mount of Olives. He started His day in prayer, then went to the Temple to fellowship and teach those whom He loved. Jesus didn’t chase after the people. The Bible says:

John 8:2 (KJV) … He came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.

The people came to Jesus. They came to Jesus early in the morning. They met Jesus where He was likely to be. Jesus sat down and taught them. He came and settled in, teaching those He loved the Word of God. The people came to Jesus to hear Him.

They were not in Church to start trouble.
They were in Church to learn.
They didn’t come to show off their new suits.
They came to hear the Author of the New Covenant.
They came to LISTEN, not to DIRECT.
They came focused on JESUS, not on themselves.
And I bet they were all learning something great!

Then Religion Comes In To Hijack The Class

John 8:3 (KJV) …. And the SCRIBES AND PHARISEES brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, [4] They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.

Now let me start out by saying that adultery is a horrible sin against God. In America we read about the woman taken in adultery and in our sex crazed society our first response is either:

So What?
Or
As Long As She Wasn’t Hurting Anybody.

Either response is wrong.
Adultery hurts someone.
The Adulterer invades and destroys a marriage.

This woman was “taken in adultery, in the very act”. I don’t believe that the Scribes and Pharisees were lying about this. The woman certainly didn’t protest. She was an adulterer from one of two positions:

She was either a wife who cheated on her husband, or
She was a single person who gave herself to a married man.

Adultery breaks the bonds of a marriage. Any sexual sin that disrupts or warps God’s design of marriage was considered by God to be a very grievous sin.

In the Law God addressed sexual sin and His attitude toward it. We read in:

Leviticus 20:10-15 (KJV) And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the ADULTERER AND THE ADULTERESS SHALL SURELY BE PUT TO DEATH. [11] And the man that lieth with his father’s wife hath uncovered his father’s nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. [12] And if a man lie with his daughter in law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon them. [13] If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. [14] And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you. [15] And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast.

People say “But Preacher, that was another time, another place”. The Scripture says that
God does not change.

James 1:17 (KJV) … the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

Malachi 3:6 (KJV) For I am the LORD, I change not …

We certainly do not in this day execute the sexual sinner. But we also do not execute most murderers. Regardless, we need to be aware that God’s attitude toward any sin that violates the covenant union of marriage is that He is NOT IN FAVOR OF IT. However,

The Scribes & Pharisees weren’t interested in God’s Word. This woman was taken in the very act. Now here is the first indication that these so called holy men are not on the up and up. If she was taken “in the very act” then where IS THE MAN? This is one of the great flaws of religions and self righteousness. It recognizes part of God’s standard … the part that it likes … but rejects the rest of the standard. God did not give us His Word so that we can cherry pick it, choosing what we like while disregarding the rest. This is hypocrisy. God gave us the Word for us to agree with, to trust, to obey. Furthermore,
The Scribes & Pharisees were trying to trick Jesus. They said:

John 8:5-6 (KJV) Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but WHAT SAYEST THOU? [6] This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him.

Religion is not concerned with God nor His righteous Law.
Religion is concerned with itself.
The Self Righteous doesn’t look up. They looks around.

Think about this for a moment. When Israel was an independent nation they could and should do as God’s Law said. But Israel at this point in history is under Roman dominion. The Law of Moses did indeed say that the woman AND HER COMPANION be stoned with stones until they were dead. However as a Roman conquered country they were all under the Roman laws. The Jews had no right to execute anyone! Period! The Scribes & Pharisees knew this.

If Jesus said “Yes, the Law says stone her”, then the Pharisees & Scribes could have reported Him to the Roman authorities, and Jesus could have been imprisoned for insurrection. But if Jesus said “But we are under Roman control” the Jews could accuse Him of colluding with the enemy, and the people would have turned against Him. Either way they figured that they had won.

They figured wrong.

Jesus Is Far Better Than Religion

John 8:6 (KJV) … But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.

Jesus shows us the best way to react when the foolishness of the world and religion comes. Too often I find myself saying something I wish I had never said. Jesus said nothing. He occupied Himself while He thought – and waited. He was not going to be forced into something foolish. Oh that we could all understand this.

John 8:7 (KJV) So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is WITHOUT SIN AMONG YOU, let him first cast a stone at her.

Jesus said “Let the one who is ἀναμάρτητος anamartētos” which means “sinless”. The word is only found HERE in the Greek New Testament. In the Law no one was executed for sin unless there were two witnesses to the fact of the sin. Once judgment was pronounced these two witnesses were to be the first ones to cast the stone at the guilty. We read:

Deuteronomy 17:6-7 (KJV) At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death. [7] The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you.

Jesus was asking for the two witnesses to step forward and do their duties according to the Law. Yet here’s the problem. First, if the two witnesses stepped forward and cast the stones, those men could be tried in Roman court for rioting and insurrection. Second, I don’t believe there was two guiltless witnesses in the bunch. Those who saw the woman in adultery were guilty of conspiracy, for they allowed her lover to flee. Both Adulterer and Adulteress were to be executed. These people either did not see the woman, or were guilty themselves.

Jesus looks at all of us who would be judgmental and self righteous and says:

He that is WITHOUT SIN AMONG YOU,
let him first cast a stone at her, him, or them!

The reality is we are all at heart sinners. We shouldn’t be chucking stones at one another. We should be pointing toward the Christ of Calvary, the One Who loved the world so much that He died for it.

John 8:8-9 (KJV) And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. [9] And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.

They all departed. Religion and self righteousness will stand up in the presence of Christ our Lord. Jesus and this woman are standing before Jesus’ Bible Class, but His eyes are on her and her alone.

John 8:10 (KJV) When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?

The woman replied “No man accuses me, Lord”. Notice that she calls Jesus “Lord”. Jesus tells her in front of His disciples:

Go And Sin No More

John 8:11 (KJV) … Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

I do not condemn you … but do not commit adultery again. Repent of that lifestyle. You are not to violate God’s standards, but to walk in love with Me.

But Jesus is not finished. He looks at His disciples – His Bible Class – and says:

John 8:12 (KJV) Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

To the person in sexual sin Jesus says “Go and sin no more”. Walk with Christ. When you follow Christ – Who is the Light of the world – you shall not walk in darkness. There are so many bound to sexual sin today who declare themselves to be Christian. You cannot be. Jesus said “the one that follows Me SHALL NOT WALK in darkness, but SHALL HAVE the light of life”. You cannot walk with Jesus and walk in darkness. He changes us. He moves us from dark to light. And when we err, when we sin, He draws us ever inexorability and absolutely into His Kingdom of light. The Scripture says that because of Christ:

Colossians 1:12-14 (KJV) … the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: [13] Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: [14] In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

This woman was changed by Christ. She came to Jesus an adulteress, and left a Child of God. She came to the Lord a sinner, but left a saint, marked by Christ. She was whole and clean because she gave herself to Him and He gave Himself for her. Thank God for His unspeakable gift! Thank God for Jesus! As that dear woman walked away from that encounter that day I can imagine her heart sing:

Jesus lifted me, Jesus lifted me
When no-one else would help
Jesus lifted me
Jesus lifted me, Jesus lifted me
When no one else could help
Jesus lifted me

I was sinking deep in sin, Far from the peaceful shore
Very deeply stained within, Sinking to rise no more
But the Master of the sea, Heard my despairing cry
From the waters lifted me, Now safe am I

All my heart to Him I give, Ever to Him I’ll cling
In His blessed presence live, Ever Christ’s praises sing
Love so mighty and so true, Merits my soul’s best songs
Faithful, loving service too, to Him belongs