This portion of scripture is awesome. Jesus was in the temple courts and all through the feast Jesus is being judged by the religious leaders or His naysayers. They say that He has never studied as he was too young in age - Jewish culture has it that the age of wisdom is 50 years of age, yet there Jesus was teaching anyway, these leaders/naysayers claim that Jesus has a demon, and even that He has come from or was born from the wrong place to be the Messiah. They have already claimed and will later claim that His witness is not true, that He is a Samaritan, and they have repeatedly sought to kill Him since he healed the lame man at the Pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath.
Yet among all of this, what a lovely witness we have here in Jesus as He shows His caring love for one lonely, frightened sinner! You see, there were those who caught a woman in the act of adultery. They brought her before Jesus, there was nothing that she could say, she was guilty! Have you ever done something that you are not proud of? Have you ever done something wrong and have been caught "red-handed"? Have you ever lied, cheated, stole, wanted something that someone else had...wanted someone that somebody else had or lusted after something that was not yours? I know that a couple of those sounded the same but they are quite different. Anyway, have you ever just been plain CAUGHT IN THE ACT?
Well, this woman was CAUGHT IN THE ACT, yet Jesus' only response to her accusers was, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." Now her accusers who were seeking to cast judgment on her had to look inwardly to judge themselves. Question: Who among any of us is without sin? Who has never made a mistake? Who has never lied, cheated, stole, lusted, struggled with jealousy, drank too much, partied too hard, smoked too much...who among you has never done anything contrary to the will of God?
This is exactly why I like this scripture...those who were judging were now being judged by the true Judge. They couldn't bear to cast judgement after reviewing deep within themselves their own faults. So, ONE BY ONE they dropped their stones...from the oldest - those who have heaped up more sins/wrongs to the youngest...each of them dropped their stones and walked away.
Today, you may be feeling accused. Today, you may be struggling with acceptance. Today, Jesus is wanting and waiting for you to come to Him. When you come to Jesus, it really doesn't matter who accuses you of anything. Jesus will accept you and those that are His are His...no one can stand to accuse you any longer! Watch your naysayers and your accusers go away...ONE BY ONE!
For those of us who are "in" the church but are not "BEING" the church...drop your stones, each one of you...from the oldest to the youngest...let the stones drop!!!
"Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?" This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "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." (John 8:2-11 NKJV)
