Introduction: In his book Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis says, "If anyone thinks that Christians regard unchasity (sexual sin) as the supreme vice, he is quite wrong. The sins of the flesh are bad, but they are the least bad of all sins. All the worst pleasures are purely spiritual. The pleasure of putting other people in the wrong, of bossing and patronizing and spoiling sport, and backbiting; the pleasures of power, of hatred. For there are two things inside me… they are the animal self and the diabolical self; and the diabolical self is the worst of the two. That is why a cold, self-righteous prig, who goes regularly to church, may be far nearer to hell than a prostitute. But of course it’s better to be neither!"

In this story found in John 8, Jesus confronts a band of cold, self-righteous prigs and a woman who was found guilty of open sexual sin, and handles both with such wisdom and grace that this story has become the favorite of many. You are familiar with this story and yet this morning I want us to approach it from a surprising standpoint. Most often in this story the focus is more on the love and grace of Jesus dealing with a sinful person. Yet today the surprising truth I want us to see is that the woman is really a mirror reflecting only what the Scribes and Pharisees have in their own conscience.

What is our conscience? Webster’s defines it as a power or ability that people have to be aware of their own thoughts or actions. It is a natural ability that belongs to every person that evaluates their own actions and the actions of others. In other words, as sinful as we are God has taken the time and care to leave within every person a voice that will be heard. Our conscience will not lead us to salvation or to repentance. It will accuse us—sometimes rightly and wrongly. It will prick our emotions and it will tell us we have broken with what we know to be right.

Our conscience is a powerful thing. When it is clear we are filled with courage and confidence able to tackle anything. Yet when our conscience is guilty it will not let us rest. No matter what we do it will not be silent. Shakespeare’s character Macbeth says to the physicians: "Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased, pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow, raze out the written troubles of the brain…?" The answer is no, no one can clear the conscience but God.

When the Pharisee’s brought this woman to Jesus they expected to see Jesus squirm in confusion. Instead, they only looked at the reflection of their own heart. You see Jesus taught them that they were incapable of condemning the woman because of their own guilty conscience. What I want us to see is that we are incapable of condemning anyone else because of our own guilty conscience.

Our story as we said is found in the gospel of John, the eighth chapter, starting with verse 1 "Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives but early the next morning He was back again at the temple. A crowd soon gathered and He sat down and taught them." The Bible tells us that everywhere Jesus went there was a crowd. People wanted to hear Him teach, people wanted to be around Him, they wanted to see Him. This crowd adds to the melodrama of everything that’s happening here. With this event, the more people that are around, the juicier it gets.

Verse 3, "As He was speaking the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman they had caught in the act of adultery and they put her in front of the crowd." So he’s teaching in the temple, there’s a crowd, the religious leaders and Pharisees walk in and they drop this woman off who had been caught in the act of adultery. The religious leaders and Pharisees at that time kept everything the letter of the law. They really were into looking good on the outside and fulfilling every dot of the law. That is why there was tension often with Jesus and the religious elite. They were so concerned about the external and Jesus was concerned about the internal. These religious leaders weren’t excited about who Jesus was and what He was teaching. Then they drop this woman at the feet of Jesus who had been caught in the act of adultery. Now two thousand years ago, things haven’t changed all that much. When it comes to adultery basically there’s got to be two involved. She’s by herself. Where’s her partner in this story? Why isn’t he there?

It really doesn’t matter. The religious leaders who brought this woman really weren’t concerned about justice at all. If they were concerned about justice it would have been man and woman. That was the Law. As a matter of fact, this woman was meaningless. She was merely an object, a pawn. She was bait to catch a bigger fish. She was well chosen bait too because Jesus had a reputation among the Pharisees of being the champion of women.

They said in verse 4 "’Teacher,’ they said to Jesus. ‘ This woman was caught in the very act of adultery. The Law of Moses says to stone her.’ Verse 6 says they were trying to trap him. This is really the backbone of this event. If He says "No," He loses; if He says, "Yes," He loses. That’s the trap. The Law of Moses says to stone her. If He says, "No," He violates Mosaic law. You just didn’t go against this. People would say, "He’s going against Moses. He must not be of God." So if He says "No" He loses. If He says, "Yes" He violates Roman law. The bottom line of that was Romans said Jews could not have execution in their jurisdiction. So either way – if He says "Yes" He loses, if He says, "No," He loses.

I’ve got to imagine these religious leaders were pretty smug, pretty prideful at this point. "We’ve got Him!" They’re probably high-fiving each other. The tension is building as people are now beginning to see, "Oh-oh, we’ve got it. Something’s going to explode right here." But you can feel this is going on, this tension that there’s going to be something exciting.

The Bible says, "Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with His finger." We don’t know why. He just stooped down and wrote in the dust. Maybe in a very non-verbal way He was turning His back to the religious elite. Maybe He knew He was 100% God and 100% man, that He knew what was going on in the hearts of everybody there. That as He stooped down there was some of that anger and disappointment. The Bible doesn’t tell us what He wrote. We don’t know. Some people think maybe He wrote the sins of the people… and then drew arrows to where they were standing or something.

We are left with some ambiguity of what He wrote but what He says is very, very clear. Verse 7, "They kept demanding an answer. So He stood up again and said, ‘All right, stone her. But let those who have never sinned throw the first stone." Surprise! Notice, it would have been very easy for Jesus to move into the role of judge but He doesn’t. He avoids that role. I don’t think the religious leaders and the Pharisees counted on the fact that Jesus was putting people before practices. They hadn’t got their arms around His central message yet which was to love one another, not to law one another. His brilliant response broke the dilemma. Yet at the same time he held up Jewish morality because He didn’t say that what she did was right. He is saying,"I will not judge her. That’s not why I'm here." Capable? Oh, yes. Willing? No.

Why do you think no one threw? He said stone her! "Those of you without sin, throw the first stone." Because I think even in moments when our hearts are hard we know the depravity of our own lives. Even two thousand years later we know right now there’s not a person in here without sin in their life. In verse 8 it says, "He stooped down again and wrote in the dust." Again we don’t know why. Part of me thinks, knowing the character of God, He didn’t want to add to the shame the people were feeling already. It makes me think how very different I am than God. If I was in that situation I would have made eye contact with everybody. Before people even left I’d been going, "Hey you in the back! We’re talking about sin! Yours is unbelievable lately. Don’t you leave now you’ve got some wild things going." I’d have done that.

Jesus doesn’t do that. Maybe as He’s down for that second time, maybe He’s imaging what this woman was created to do and to be. Maybe He was looking at her and thinking that this creation was created to enjoy life, to have right relationships with one another and with God, to be loved. The same dream that He has for all of us.

The result is in verse 9. "When the accusers heard this they slipped away one by one beginning with the oldest (maybe those who were most aware of their own sin) until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman." As they walked away what they were doing in reality was admitting their sins. Verse 10 "When Jesus stood up again and said to her, ‘Woman, where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?’" The word "woman" is a word of affection. This is the same word that Jesus used when He addressed His mother. Imagine how this woman must have felt about herself. It wasn’t a name of affection. Maybe some of those things that she’d been called by those people around or what she was thinking about herself at that time, it wasn’t one of pleasure or relationship. Yet Jesus said, "Woman."

Verse 11 "She answered, ‘No one, Sir.’ [to the question of who’s left to condemn you] Then Jesus said, ‘I also don’t judge you guilty.’" Think hard about those words. Jesus doesn’t step into the role of judge. He steps into the role of Savior, Friend. The only one who could have thrown the stone didn’t even pick one up. Jesus alone could pronounce her, "Not guilty." Why? Because in a little it He was going to go to the cross and He was going to take all of her sin with Him as a payment for what she had done wrong, so He could say to her, "Not guilty." Then He says these incredible five words, "Go and sin no more." Do you see this picture of a pardon? Do you see this picture of "Not guilty, enjoy your freedom." What’s important to understand about the character of God is that Jesus accepts the woman without approving of the sin. He accepts the woman but He doesn’t approve of the sin. The focus of Jesus is more future oriented. He doesn’t bring up the act. He doesn’t give her a lecture about adultery. He says, "Go and sin no more. You’re forgiven. Now, go act like it." A paraphrase could be, "You did wrong. But I will pay for your sins. You matter to Me. I want you. I will not give up on you. I value your life. Don’t let it end here."

The Bible doesn’t tell us what happened to her. We don’t know. We don’t know if she went back to her way of living. We don’t know if that infidelity turned into devotion. We don’t know if her lust was transformed to love. We don’t know if her sin became a sincere desire to follow the one who said, "I also don’t judge you guilty." We don’t know. But we do know this event reveals the character of God and the conscience of the Pharisees. The Scribes and Pharisees came to condemn. They soon discovered that only one who was sinless could make a judgment upon punishment of the sin of another. They came to expose the woman but Jesus made them look at themselves!

Well, this story says something to those who are eager to condemn someone else and it says something to those who are condemned by their own conscience. Let me clarify something here: There is a difference in judging as a Christian and condemning as a Christian. The sin of others will become obvious in time and it is not our task to be the prosecution, judge and jury upon someone. (Romans 1-2)

What does this say to us who are often guilty of being eager to condemn another’s actions? It is possible to be concerned about another’s actions only to condemn. The Scribes and Pharisees had no intention of helping, seeking for purity. They only wanted a judgment upon the woman. Are we guilty of pretending to be "concerned" about others only to build up ourselves and condemn others?

The only one qualified to condemn the sin of another is someone who is innocent. There has been only one sinless person—Jesus. "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21). Those quickest to condemn may only be pointing to their own guilt. Think of the sins of the men who might have been there. Their accusations only mirrored themselves. How true it is that when we point to condemn others we expose ourselves.

While in Brazil I was reading daily sections from Paul’s letter to the Romans. At the close of Chapter 1 Paul clearly defines the depravity of humanity regarding the sin of immorality, homosexuality and other blatant sins against God. He concludes the chapter with these words, " They are fully aware of God's death penalty for those who do these things, yet they go right ahead and do them anyway. And, worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too. (Romans 1:32) Now it would be pretty easy to feel smug and self righteous but Paul doesn’t let them off the hook. For he says, " You may be saying, ‘What terrible people you have been talking about!’ But you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you do these very same things. And we know that God, in his justice, will punish anyone who does such things. Do you think that God will judge and condemn others for doing them and not judge you when you do them, too? Don't you realize how kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Or don't you care? Can't you see how kind he has been in giving you time to turn from your sin? (Romans 2:1-4) Paul’s are a stinging rebuke to those who desire only to condemn and offer no grace to those disobedient to God.

There is also a word here to those who are condemned by their own conscience. Just as this woman faced Jesus with her sinful condition, so each of us must face the Lord with our own conscience. Not someone else’s but my own! "He knows about everyone, everywhere. Everything about us is bare and wide open to the al-seeing eyes of our living God; nothing can be hidden from Him to whom we must explain all that we have done" (Heb. 4:13 Phillips).

But what are we to do once we face Him? What did Jesus tell the woman? "Go your way and sin no more." Change your lifestyle, turn from this way. Don’t go back to this way again. The only way you can be free from a guilty conscience is by facing the Lord with the truth and repenting, turning, forsaking that sin!

Conclusion: Which word do you need to hear today? The word to the condemning? Then let the words of Jesus, "…let those who have never sinned throw the first stones!" (John 8:7) bring to mind your own sin. When our girls were growing up a favorite movie of theirs was The Never Ending Story, a fairytale story about a boy on a journey. In the tests the boy faces the hardest test is "The Wall of Mirrors." The "Wall of Mirrors" required him to always see himself. That is the hardest test for us as well.

Do you need to hear the word to the one condemned by your own conscience? Then face the Lord and leave that sin behind. One has written: "How I wish that there was some wonderful place , Called the "Land of Beginning Again," Where all our mistakes and all our heartaches And all our poor selfish griefs Could be dropped like a shabby old coat at the door, And never be put on again."

Today, for both the condemning and the condemned is this gloriously possible. Yet it only starts when we look in the mirror of our own conscience. Have you looked in the mirror lately? You might be surprised by what you see.

Sunday, July 29, 2001

Dr. Bruce Tippit, Pastor

First Baptist Church

Jonesboro, Arkansas

btippit@fbcjonesboro.org