SCRIPTURE: John 8:3-5 – The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”
COMMENTARY: Let’s review the scene with a modernization – Jesus is in the middle of his sermon at church. Suddenly the back doors are thrown open and in march a group of lawyers and theology professors. They have with them a woman who is barely clothed and with her hair a mess. She is guilty of a crime punishable by death. According to the law of the land, not only is it worthy of capital punishment, but it is to be done immediately and in public.
Jesus could have gone along with the demands of the people. She deserved death. He gave her grace.
After other examples of sin that deserved death had been put up on the PowerPoint screen there was no one left there to throw the first stone, except Jesus. He did not excuse her sin, but he did offer grace and instructed her to leave the path that led to her sin. Jesus doesn’t minimize it and say, “It wasn’t that bad.” He gracefully looks at sin in the face with all its ugliness … and forgives. This woman and each one of us deserve condemnation. We deserve the righteous wrath of God to be poured out on us with all the fury that The Revelation imagery can throw at us. That’s what makes grace so wonderful! We deserve the opposite of what we get!
REFLECTION: Describe this woman’s thoughts and feelings at the beginning of this encounter. … at the end. When have you felt the grace of God most strongly and clearly. Describe that time. What do you typically believe about God’s grace on your worst days? … on your best days? Finish this prayer: Lord Jesus, I want to experience your grace much more because…
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