Sermon for Wednesday
December 12, 2018
By John Anderson
The Pharisees in this
story cared nothing for this woman. They didn’t care that she be reformed and
given a new chance at life. They cared nothing for the situation in her
life that may have led to her instance of committing adultery. They
probably didn’t even know her name. And neither do we. Some old traditions
declared that she was Mary Magdalene but there is no biblical evidence to prove
that. Whoever she was, this woman was accused of adultery and these men
wanted to use her to their advantage.
Some groups of
Pharisees and scribes were threatened by Jesus and the crowds he was stirring
up. They often looked for opportunities to back him into a legal or theological
corner so they might find a charge against him. This woman could be the
perfect tool. So they drag her into the temple while Jesus was teaching a
crowd.
These men knew the
dilemma for Jesus. If he agreed that the woman should be stoned to death he
would betray his reputation as “a friend of sinners.” If he insisted that
the men let her go he would be accused of blatantly breaking God’s Law. These
lawyers felt they had Jesus where they wanted him. They recite the law of
Moses which condemns an adulterer to be put to death. They wanted his
opinion. They press him for an answer. Jesus doesn’t respond right away.
Oddly, he bends down
and begins writing with his finger on the ground. Tradition has long taught us
that he was perhaps writing a list of the sins of these men accusing the woman.
Some even suggested that the man who committed adultery with the woman was
among her accusers. Fascinating!
But there was another
custom in the ancient Mediterranean culture I find just as fascinating. For one
to drop down and start writing in the dirt while being pressed with questions,
was an act of disengagement, an act of refusal to participate in the line of
questioning. It was like Jesus was saying, “I am not going to play this game
with you.” They kept pushing.
Finally Jesus rises
and utters the classic line that echoes still though history, literature, art,
ethics, politics, pop culture, playgrounds, boardrooms… “He that is without
sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” KJV (I like the King
James wording). Then he bends down again and resumes writing in the sand.
It was the first century version of the “mic drop.” Jesus was done
with that conversation. And the Pharisees walked away one by one.
I love this story
for many reasons.
Jesus is so clever.
We like to see Jesus at work in these kind of significant teaching
opportunities.
It reminds us that
we are all sinners; it invites introspection and humility. It helps us to be
merciful in our own judgments of others. At another time he told people to
remove the logs from their own eyes before pointing out the speck in others’
eyes (Matthew 7:5).
It teaches empathy
and thoughtfulness. It helps us see people as human beings with histories
and contexts with the ability to grow and change, not tools to be used to
advance one’s plans, motives, arguments…
This story
demonstrates how Jesus did not reject the Law of Moses but reinterpreted it. He
injected mercy into the justice and legal system. He did this at other
times when he broke the Sabbath laws about healing (Luke 13; Mark 3…).
This story ends
with a wonderful challenge. When Jesus sends the woman on her way he
tells her not to sin again. He wasn’t being sarcastic. He wasn’t
taunting her. He meant it. This woman had just experienced a first hand
account of the grace and love of Jesus Christ. Her life had been spared.
When people experience profound grace their lives are changed. With
Jesus’ love and encouragement people can go on to be saints, or at least come
close. Did this woman sin again? Probably. But perhaps not the sin of
adultery, which is likely the sin Jesus had in mind.
And when the
Pharisees went on their way I believe Jesus had hopes for them, as well.
Perhaps some of those Pharisees who walked away were thinking “I have never
considered that point of view. Jesus makes a good point.” We tend to
always see the Pharisees as the bad guys, the hypocrites (the Bible surely
presents them that way). And we assume that Jesus thought that way, too.
And we assume that Jesus liked winning arguments against them and putting them
in their place.
But maybe that is
not the way it was. It is more likely that Jesus loved those Pharisees as
much as he loved the woman. And it wasn’t about winning an argument with
them that mattered. It was his hope that they might learn something. It was his
hope that they, like the woman, would be transformed by his teachings.
Jesus always said
what he needed to say, and a lot of people didn’t like it. But many did listen,
and continue to listen today. I want to believe that it was his hope that all
who heard him would be transformed, saved, healed. It was his hope that
all who heard his voice would become merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and
abounding in steadfast love (Psalm 103:8).
May we be
transformed by the words he spoke. May we be merciful in our judgments of
others as we examine our own lives. Amen.
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