Humanity has a sin problem. If we fail to recognize this fundamental truth of the human condition, all the evil that we see in this world will not make sense. However, part of recognizing that humanity has a sin problem is also recognizing that we – each one of us – have a sin problem. The Russian writer and survivor of the Soviet Union’s gulag prison camps, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, recognized this well when he wrote the following words:
If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.
While all of us are created in the image of God and have the capacity for good, due to Adam and Eve’s disobedience, we are also corrupted by sin and have the capacity for evil. And this is why Jesus came into this world. His Kingdom proclaims liberation from sin, to set us free from its shackles and to have the hope of a renewed heart transformed by His righteousness through the work of His Holy Spirit.
The Pharisees did not recognize that they had a sin problem. Their spiritual pride blinded them to their need for a Saviour and Jesus’ claim that He had the power to forgive sin offended them, because the Pharisees believed that they were flawless in their observance of the Law and that they were without sin. When the Pharisees brought out the woman caught in adultery, note how little they cared for the woman. Rather, they used her sin and shame to make two points: one to prove their own self-righteousness and the second to trap Jesus into saying or doing something that they could use against Him.
But Jesus knew what was in their hearts, and His concern was for the woman. The Law called for a woman caught in adultery to be stoned to death. But as the Pharisees ask Jesus what should be done with the woman, Jesus does something peculiar. He writes on the ground. Scholars and commentators have varying views on what was Jesus possibly writing. A commonly held view is that Jesus was writing the sins of the Pharisees and the crowd that had gathered to stone the woman. However, a more likely explanation comes from Jeremiah 17:13:
O Lord, the hope of Israel,
All who forsake You shall be ashamed.
“Those who depart from Me
Shall be written in the earth,
Because they have forsaken the Lord,
The fountain of living waters.”
In writing on the ground, Jesus was fulfilling the prophecy of Jeremiah about Himself. When Jesus said to the Pharisees and the crowd, “Let he who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” He exposed the hypocrisy of all who were gathered. All of them knew deep in their hearts of hearts that they were guilty of sin, and yet they could neither follow through with stoning the woman, nor could they bring themselves to accept Jesus’ gift of salvation. So all that they could do is simply drop their stones and walk away. Jesus’ response to the woman in verses 10-11 both acknowledged the gravity of her sin, and yet lovingly restored her dignity:
“Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”
She said, “No one, Lord.”
And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
Read the passage prayerfully a few times over and then answer the questions: John 8:1-36
Questions:
- What contrasts do you observe in way that the Pharisees treated the woman caught in adultery versus how Jesus treated her? (v.1-12)
- What is the difference between man’s judgement and God’s judgement? (v.13 – 20)
- How does Jesus point to the significance of His death and resurrection in this passage? What does it mean to be free and alive in Christ? (v. 21-36, cf. Romans 6, Ephesians 2:1-10, Galatians 5)
Application:
- How can you avoid the temptation of self-righteousness? What would this require of you?
- How have you experienced freedom in Christ?
Conclusion & Heart Prayer:
Lord, what are You saying to me? And what are You calling me to do about it?
