Our text today comes to us on the heels of Jesus’ most recent infuriation of the Pharisees. They have had enough of this man, and are continuing to try and find a way to deal with the problem that is the person of Jesus. Their last attempt to arrest him resulted in one of their own, Nicodemus, reminding them that Jesus hadn’t even done anything wrong. In addition to that, the guards who were sent to arrest him not only failed in completing their task, but they never even laid a hand on him. However, this time they have come up with a plan that they are sure will work. They will trick Jesus into answering a question that either contradicts the law of Moses or lands him in trouble with the civil authorities, and this will provide them with all the reason they need to have him arrested. Now, I don’t want to oversimplify things too much here, but the Pharisees have a somewhat cartoonesque quality about them to me here. They remind me of the character Wile E. Coyote from The Coyote and The Roadrunner cartoons. Do you remember those short little cartoons, the coyote would always come up with these “can’t fail” traps from the ACME company to catch the roadrunner, but they would never work. It wasn’t that the roadrunner would do anything special to get out of them. He would just continue to be exactly who he was, and by doing so would never fall into any of the coyote’s traps. Despite the numerous traps that we see all throughout Jesus’ life set by the Pharisees, Jesus never falls into one simply by being who he is. He never has to think his way out of anything or act hastily to avoid their snares; he simply stays the course and stays on the path that his Father has set before him.
This particular trap or test set up by the Pharisees has to do with a woman who has committed adultery. We see that the Pharisees even go so far as to tell Jesus that “this woman has been caught in the act of adultery.” Now, forgetting the question of where her, we might say, co-conspirator is in all of this, we have to look at it from the perspective of those living during this day. You see, adultery still exists in many forms today and is unfortunately all too common. However, the penalty that exists for committing such an offense today is not what it once was. I have known numerous couples who have struggled with adultery on the part of one or both of the parties in a marriage who have been able to reconcile and in fact nurture and strengthen their relationships to an even greater union. However, at the time of our text, adultery was a crime the required that all offending parties be put to death, which was usually accomplished by stoning.
Now, when the Pharisees ask Jesus how they should handle this matter they are asking him a question that from their perspective has no right answer. On the one hand, if Jesus says that they should stone this woman, and thus put her to death, then Jesus is guilty from a civil perspective. You see, Israel was under Roman occupation at this time. That being the case, Israel, or any of her citizens, didn’t have the authority to sentence anyone to death regardless of how guilty they may be. That’s the reason why Jesus was sentenced by Pontius Pilate later on instead of Caiaphas handing down the punishment himself. So if Jesus were to condemn this woman to death, then the Pharisees could run the Roman headquarters and tell them that this man was advocating capital punishment outside of the Roman system. They could tell the Romans that Jesus was trying to go around their authority and thus ignore their rule. Now, on the other hand, if Jesus would have said that this woman should not be stoned to death, then he would be seen as a heretic. The Pharisees could run to the Sanhedrin, the ruling council, and tell them that this man was denying the law of Moses. This man was denying the law that regulated the lives of all the citizens within Israel. So you see, there is seemingly no way that Jesus could answer this question without finding himself in trouble with at least one of the major authorities of this time.
At first, Jesus seems to give the ol’ cold shoulder and act as if he’s not hearing them. Many wives among us may have referred to this practice as selective hearing. While not answering their question, Jesus begins writing on the ground. As the Pharisees continued to ask Jesus what they should do and how he thought they should handle this woman who is without question guilty of the crime and the sin that she has been charged with, Jesus stops his writing in the sand like kids drawing up a backyard football play, and responds to them. He says, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And then he goes right back to his writing in the sand.
You may not realize it yet, but this Sunday is virtually my one year anniversary as your pastor. On Tuesday, the 15th, it will be exactly one full calendar year since I began serving as the pastor of this wonderful congregation. Over the past year, I have gotten to known all of you a little bit better and I hope that you have all gotten to know me somewhat as well. Now, in case you haven’t learned these things about me, I’m going to tell you about two character traits that I have that I cannot even begin to deny. The first is that I am very opinionated. I have my own opinions about things, although they may not be voiced at all times, but they very much do exist. I’m not afraid to share my opinions with anyone; I just know most people don’t really care what I think. Amy can tell you with certainty, that many times when someone asks for my opinion on a certain matter I usually ask them before I respond, “Are you really sure that you want my opinion?” because I can promise you that it will not be “sugar-coated.” The second thing that you may or may not know about me is that I tend to just find trouble without even trying. I don’t go looking for it, but I am always finding myself in predicaments. Many times it is because of that first trait that I shared with you a moment ago. I can’t help it; it’s been that way all of my life. When I was a kid, I didn’t purposefully act up; it was just my natural inclination to do whatever was an undesired behavior from the perspective of my parents, teachers, or other authority figures. Unfortunately, that trait seems to be genetic and I see each and every day in my little boy Thomas.
I bring up these traits because if you are like me, then the words of Jesus found in verse 7 here have been recited to you a number of times. When I would get angry and upset over an injustice that I felt had been done to me, I would quickly want to point out all of the flaws and the wrongdoings of the person or persons that had offended me. My grandmother would always say these words to me at such times. She knew me. She knew I was anything but angelic when it came to the behavior department. She would remind me that there is no such thing as the perfect person, so I should be very cautious when handing out accusations. She would remind me that my opinionated speech and proclivity for finding trouble erased all doubt that I was worthy of throwing such stones.
You see, Jesus is not exactly answering the question of the Pharisees as to whether or not to stone this adulterous woman. He is however saying that if there is someone among them who has not sinned, then they should by all means be the first to begin the stoning of this woman. We see that as the words of Christ take root within the minds of those around him, that the crowd, many of whom are there just waiting for Jesus to slip up, begins to dissipate one-by-one. Eventually, there is only Jesus and this woman left standing there together. Jesus, somewhat comically I assume, asks the woman where those who are condemning her have gone; sort of a “where’d everybody go” type of moment. Then, we find the only words spoken by this woman, “No one, Lord.” In other words, she is saying, “there is no one here to condemn me.”
Finally, Jesus responds to her by saying, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” As brilliant biblical scholar RC Sproul puts it, “If you can’t relate to those words, then your heart is hardened, because each one of us comes to God like this woman, guilty, ashamed, naked, and exposed. But Christ clothes us with the cloak of righteousness, covering our nakedness and shame, and says to us, ‘Neither do I condemn you.’” In his telling her to go, Christ is telling her to live life anew. That she should go forth and conquer and overcome the sin that she has found herself committing. She has found forgiveness from God Himself, and she should gladly put aside her sinful ways and walk in the newness of life.
Although I may have learned a very valuable lesson from my grandmother as a result of the words that Jesus spoke during this passage, it means so much more to all of us. When we look and see the acknowledgment on the part of Jesus that no one is without sin and without error, yet there is also no condemnation, we must celebrate. Just as we remind ourselves with our call to confession that everyone has sinned, yet there is forgiveness in Christ Jesus. I have messed up a lot in my life. Some of my mistakes have been minor, some have been comical after the fact, but some have been egregious. Some have been unforgiveable from my perspective, and maybe you have felt this way too. Maybe you have found yourself in a situation or committing an action so unworthy of the name Christian that you shudder to even think about it. But the good news is found in those sweet, sweet words of Jesus, “Neither do I condemn you.” Friends, there is peace and understanding and most of all forgiveness to be found in our Savior Jesus Christ. Yes, we should forgive others just as we hope to be forgiven, but I know that this can sometimes be a difficult thing. However, just know, that when it comes to our Father in Heaven, there is complete and total forgiveness because of Jesus Christ. There is complete forgiveness because of the saving death and resurrection of Jesus Christ; the very same thing with we will commemorate in just a few moments with the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. Let us all come to Christ, for he is the one true forgiveness of sins. Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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