John 8:1-11

Well, please turn with me in your Bibles if you have one with you, the 8th chapter of John's Gospel.

If you do so, allow me to say for a moment what a pleasure and privilege it's been for me to be with you these past few weeks.

I'm not sure if the pleasure exceeds the privilege or the privilege exceeds the pleasure.

But I want to thank you for your kindness, the warmth of your welcome.

Again, it's a sign of remarkable grace when English people in particular can welcome so warmly a Scot.

I'm not sure it's easily reciprocated, sadly.

It's lovely to be in a congregation so diverse as this.

When I ministered in Scotland, everyone in the congregation was like me, pasty white.

We had foreigners, but they came from Cheshire.

But in Cambridge, we had a United Nations.

We had about 14, 15 different nationalities.

And I loved that.

And I loved looking out and seeing people of different backgrounds, cultures, colours.

But confessing the one God, the one Saviour, the one Lord and the one baptism.

You'll notice there is an unusual heading to this passage if you have an ESV translation.

The earliest manuscripts do not include 7, verse 53 to 8, 11.

Well, and that's somewhat true.

It's a partial truth.

And often partial truths do not begin to reflect the whole truth.

So I don't intend to spend any time on textual criticism, seeking to vindicate why I think this passage is authentic to the Gospel of John.

You can take my word or you can go away and do some research on your own.

One caveat as we begin.

There is a never-present danger when Christian believers come to read the Bible.

And the danger is this.

We go to the Bible to find ourselves and not to find God.

What I mean by that is we can read a passage like this and we can come away from it and someone might say,

What were you hearing about this morning?

And you reply, well, we were hearing about a woman who had sinned greatly, but she experienced the mercy and kindness of God.

And the danger is that we remember the extremity of the woman and her sin.

And we somewhat downplay what actually is the great emphasis in this passage, which is not actually about the woman.

The great emphasis in the passage, and I hope you at least began to see that in the reading,

the whole emphasis in the passage is to set before us Jesus Christ.

Jesus had been scandalising the religious establishment.

This man, they said, welcomes sinners.

How can he really be the Messiah if he consorts with people like this woman?

And John wants to show us that Jesus Christ truly is the Saint-One of God.

That he is the one who has come from God.

To reveal to us the heart of God.

And so when we read the Bible, our first concern should always be,

Lord, show me yourself.

Show me your glory.

Show me your grace.

Show me your goodness.

Show me your kindness.

Show me your mercy.

Lord, show me yourself.

And so I hope this morning we will, in some measure at least,

begin to see the Lord Jesus Christ as he is set before us by John.

As I said in my introduction to the Bible reading,

the Gospel of John is really an evangelistic tract.

Of course, John is seeking to instruct believers in their faith in Jesus Christ.

But he specifically tells us at the end of chapter 20,

these things I have written that you might believe that Jesus truly is the Christ,

the Son of God,

and that by believing in him,

you will have life,

eternal life,

fullness of life,

with him.

So John is out here not simply to educate us

and instruct us,

he is out to get us.

He is out to persuade us.

He is out to win us to Jesus Christ.

It's a very dramatic encounter.

The Gospel of John is significant for any number of things,

but one of the significant features of John's Gospel

is the way that John shows us Jesus

in a number of dramatic encounters

all the way through.

You find him encountering Nathaniel

at the end of chapter 1

and disclosing to Nathaniel

that he knows what's going on in his heart.

In chapter 3 we find Jesus encountering Nicodemus.

Now Nicodemus is called by Jesus

in verse 10 of chapter 3,

the teacher of Israel,

the teacher of Israel,

the reverend professor,

Dr. Nicodemus.

But Jesus said to this man

with all his religion,

you must be born again

or born from above.

All your religion

does not make you right with God, Nicodemus.

You need a new heart.

You need a new beginning with God.

You need God to come

and make you new from the inside out.

And then in dramatic contrast

in chapter 4,

we find Jesus meeting

this woman,

this woman from Samaria

by the well of Sychar.

It's a remarkable picture

that's being painted for us

in John chapter 4

John 4 · chapter mention

because Jews

had no dealings with Samaritans.

But we find Jesus

breaking every conceivable convention.

He breaks religious convention

by meeting with the woman.

He breaks social convention

by meeting with her alone.

And he breaks moral convention.

This woman had five husbands

and she was now living with a six.

He was a live-in lover.

He was not her husband.

But Jesus was going to be

her seventh and last man.

And Jesus evangelizes her.

Not like the way he did

with Nicodemus.

His first words to Nicodemus were,

you must be born again

with the woman.

Jesus starts very gently.

He starts where she is.

He's there to draw water

and Jesus asks her for a drink.

It's a very remarkable

encounter that Jesus has.

And slowly but surely

he evangelizes the woman

and draws her to himself.

And John's gospel

proliferates with these encounters.

And here is another

of those remarkable,

dramatic encounters

that are intended

to do two things.

Number one, principally,

to set before us

the heart of God.

Behold your God.

Is what this passage

is saying to us.

Jesus Christ is the revelation

of God.

John chapter 1 verse 18.

John 1:18

Jesus is the exegesis of God.

He has come to make God known.

There is no un-Christ likeness

in God.

Behold your God.

And the second note

that is struck in these encounters

is no matter who you are,

no matter how badly you have failed

and fallen,

no matter how messed up

your life is,

no matter how miserable you are,

no matter how religious you are,

what you need,

Jesus Christ alone can give.

let not conscience make you linger,

nor of fitness fondly dream.

All the fitness

he requireth

is to feel

your need

of him.

So let me look with you

at this passage.

Notice

three very simple things

as we introduce

this sermon

focusing on this encounter.

Notice first of all

the human heartlessness

that confronts us.

These religious leaders,

these scribes

and Pharisees

find a woman

obviously

and the narrative

doesn't tell us this,

but this is very

peculiar

and peculiar

to Hebrew narrative.

These men

have been lying

in wait.

They've heard news,

it would seem,

that this woman,

and we don't know

about the man,

I'll come to that

in a moment,

they're lying in wait

and they,

instead of

stopping

this

illicit

encounter,

they let it happen

in order

to catch

the woman

in the very

act

of sexual

adultery.

There is a

human

heartlessness

about this

encounter

as John

introduces it

to us.

How cold

hearted

these men

must have been.

But then

there was

religious hypocrisy.

Where is the man?

Why are we not

bringing him

to Jesus?

Why are we dragging

this poor woman?

Where is the man?

There is a

selectivity

about these

religious leaders.

They're not only

humanly heartless,

they're religious

hypocrites.

They say

that they are

concerned about

honouring the

law of God.

But the law

of God

equally condemned

the man

as well as the

woman caught

in adultery.

Where is the

man?

And then we see

thirdly a

satanic

wickedness.

Human

heartlessness,

religious

hypocrisy

and satanic

wickedness.

What are they

doing?

They're out

to

entrap

Jesus.

They bring

the woman

to Jesus,

teach

of us

women to be

caught in the

act of

adultery.

now in the

law,

Moses

commanded us

to stone

such women.

Actually it

didn't.

It's probably

inferred,

but it doesn't

actually say

they were to

be stoned.

So what do

you say?

They said this

to test

him or

entrap

him that

they might

have some

charge to

bring against

him.

They're not

interested in

the woman.

they couldn't

care less

about the

breach of

the seventh

commandment,

you shall

not commit

adultery.

They were

out to

get Jesus.

They wanted

to place

Jesus on

the horns

of a

dilemma.

If Jesus

said,

yes,

take her

out,

stone her

to death,

they could

immediately

report him

to the

Roman

authorities,

who alone

had the

power and

the

authority

to put

anyone to

death.

But if

Jesus said,

no,

he is

not

worthy

of death,

they could

say,

well,

there you

go.

He's

denying

the plain

teaching

of the

Bible.

You see,

the Pharisees,

and the

word literally

means the

separated

ones,

the elite,

they believed

every word

in the

Bible.

They were

Bible

literalists.

But they

had sucked

the marrow

of grace

and mercy

out of the

Holy Scriptures

because they

didn't know

the God

who gave

the Holy

Scriptures.

They interpreted

the Scriptures

others apart

from the

character of

God.

And there

is a

satanic

wickedness

here.

They're out

to further

their own

aims and

ends.

They want

to get

Jesus at

all costs.

And so

they bring

this woman

to Jesus.

You don't

need much

imagination

to think

how

humiliated

she must

have felt.

Publicly

shamed.

Perhaps

in the

state of

some

undress.

Dragged

through

the dust.

humiliated

shamed

and now

brought

to

Jesus.

So this

morning I

want to

look with

you especially

at Jesus

response

and reaction

to

the

events

that

unfolded.

There are

four things

to notice

first of

all.

Number

one

noticed

Jesus

silence.

So they

say to

Jesus

the

law of

Moses

commanded

us to

stone

such

women.

What

do you

say?

Jesus

bent

down

and

wrote

with

his

finger

on

the

ground.

Initially

he's

silent.

Why

is he

silent?

well we're

not told

are we?

Again that's

very

Hebrew

narrative.

We're

left to

infer.

Was he

stunned

by the

heartlessness

and the

wickedness

of these

religious

leaders?

Was he

speechless

at their

heartlessness,

their

wickedness,

their

hypocrisy?

Well we're

not told.

What he

does is to

bend down

and write

on the

ground.

And again

we might

ask, well

what was he

writing?

If you

can read

that

passage and

not ask

yourself,

what exactly

was he

writing?

Well we're

not told.

But again

this is the

way Hebrew

narrative

operates.

It's a

Greek text but

it's very

Hebraic.

We're

expected to

join up the

dots, we're

expected to

know our

Bibles well

enough to

think perhaps

this, ah,

ah,

ah.

That's

Jeremiah 17.

isn't it?

That's what

you're all

thinking.

That's

Jeremiah 17.

Listen to

these words,

O Lord,

the hope of

Israel, all

who forsake

you shall be

put to

shame.

Those who

turn away

from you

shall be

written on

the earth.

For they

have forsaken

the Lord,

the fountain

of living

water.

O Lord,

the hope of

Israel, all

who forsake

you shall be

put to

shame.

They

brought this

woman and

shamed her.

And what

Jesus is now

doing is

shaming them.

Now I

don't know for

certain that

that's what the

Lord was

doing.

There are

other

interpretations

but I

think perhaps

the Lord was

saying to

them, so

you want to

quote the

Bible?

Well let's

quote the

Bible.

what do

you make

of Jeremiah

1710?

All who

forsake me

the fountain

of living

water shall

have their

names written

in the dust.

Some

commentators

think as

Jesus goes

on and

they continue

asking him

and he

continues to

write.

Some even

suggest that

he's writing

their names.

I don't

know that.

sometimes

silence is

the only

fitting

response to

human

heartlessness

and religious

hypocrisy.

One of the

things I

would often

tell my

assistants in

Cambridge

and the

students that

I teach

is that

you can't

quantify it

but I

would often

say 90%

of pastoral

ministry is

learning to

cultivate the

art of

silence.

But here

our Lord

his initial

response is

one of

silence.

But then

secondly

notice Jesus

challenge.

They continue

to ask him.

They're

pressing

Jesus and

so he

stands up

and says

to them

let him

who is

without sin

among you

be the

first to

throw a

stone at

her.

You want

to throw

stones?

Well what

does the

law say?

Well in

the book of

Leviticus it

says that

when you

accuse someone

of adultery

and it was a

capital charge

because adultery

was not

simply conceived

of as an

illicit

physical act

it was

seen to be

stabbing a

dagger into

the very

heart of

society

breaking

asunder

families

destroying

lives

dismembering

children

and those

who brought

the charge

they were

to be the

ones to

throw the

first stone.

And so

Jesus says

okay

let him

who is

without sin

cast the

first stone.

Now Jesus

could hardly

be saying

you can

only judge

other people

when you're

sinless.

He's not

saying that

otherwise

there will

be no

law courts

no judges

no anything.

Jesus is

putting his

finger on

their

consciences.

He's

probing

their

hearts.

He's

seeking to

bring the

law of

God to

bear

upon

their

heartlessness

and

inhumanity.

Some

suggest

the way

the language

is

constructed

that Jesus

is saying

you want

to talk

about adultery?

Okay

let's talk

about adultery.

You remember

earlier

in the

gospel

accounts

Matthew 5

Jesus says

when a man

looks at a

woman

lustfully

and mentally

copulates

with her

that's as

bad in

God's

sight as

the physical

act itself

and some

suggest

Jesus is

saying to

these men

so this

woman's been

caught in

the act of

adultery

what about

you?

God has

caught you

many a

time in

the act

of adultery

I'm not

sure about

that I

think it's

simply more

likely Jesus

is probing

their

consciences

and he's

challenging

them

and remarkably

once more

he bends

down and

writes on

the ground

some

commentators

think he

was actually

doodling

and you

know that's

not fanciful

sometimes

life can

be so

surreal

sometimes

religious

behaviour

can be

so

tragic

tragic

comedic

almost

that you

just

think

are you

serious?

I can't

get my

head around

this

you know

I don't

think he

was doodling

but

when they

heard it

they went

away

one

by one

beginning

with the

older ones

and Jesus

was left

alone

with the

woman

standing

before him

conviction

of sin

had begun

to afflict

their

consciences

but notice

this

conviction

of sin

is not

conversion

from sin

were any

of these

men

later

converted

were not

told

wouldn't

it be

wonderful

to discover

in heaven's

glory

that some

or at

least one

of these

men

would be

around the

throne of

God

saying I

bless God

for the

day

that the

son of

God

said

those of

you without

sin

cast the

first stone

but you

can be

convicted

of sin

and have

your conscience

afflict you

of the

reality of

sin and

not be

converted

from sin

we're told

in the

letter to

the Hebrews

about Esau

Esau was

beside himself

when he

sold his

birthright

for a

mess of

pottage

as the

King James

version puts

it and he

was sorry

he was very

sorry and he

wept tears

but he wasn't

converted

he didn't

come and

prostrate

himself and

say God

be merciful

to me

the sinner

being convicted

of sin

of being a

sinner before

God

it doesn't

even take you

halfway there

you can end

up living all

your life

aware you're

a sinner

and never

yet fly to

Jesus Christ

for mercy

forgiveness

and for

salvation

and so

Jesus

challenge

results in

the men

going away

one by one

and then

thirdly we

have Jesus

mercy

we're seeing

Jesus

silence

Jesus

challenge

and then

Jesus

mercy

Jesus

was left

alone

with the

woman

standing

before him

can you

imagine

what that

woman

must have

been wondering

she's been

dragged

unceremoniously

shamelessly

publicly

she's been

humiliated

the threat

of death

was hanging

over her

and now

all her

accusers

have

vanished

she must

have been

absolutely

bewildered

just

what

what's

what's

happening

what

on earth

is happening

to me

Jesus

was left

alone

with the

woman

Jesus

stood up

and said

to her

woman

where are

they

has no one

condemned

you

she said

no one

Lord

no one

and Jesus

said to her

neither do I

condemn you

Augustine

great early

church father

has a

wonderful

wonderful

statement

I know

someone here

is a

Latin

so I'm

going to

tell you

Latin

and I

translate it

so you're

okay

he comments

in this

passage

and he

says

relicti

sunt

duo

miserat

et misericordia

there remained

but two

misery

and mercy

neither do I

condemn you

how could

Jesus say

that to

her

she

committed

an

altering

and that

was just

if you

like the

the

efflorescence

the

flowering

the

outward

observation

of her

sinful

life

how could

Jesus

just say

well

I

don't

condemn

you

because

he had

come into

the world

to be a

sin

bearing

sin

atoning

saviour

he knew

the day

would come

when he

would bear

the condemnation

of her

adultery

on himself

the day

would come

when God

would lay

on him

the iniquity

of us

all

Isaiah

53

he

wasn't

sweeping

her sin

under the

carpet

he wasn't

turning a

blind eye

he wasn't

just

saying

well

let's

bygones

be

bygones

in those

words

of

Jesus

Christ

he

was

in

effect

saying

the

woman

wouldn't

know

it

later

she

would

I'm

going

to pay

the price

for that

sin

I'm

going

to die

the death

that sin

and all

your sins

deserved

neither

do I

condemn

you

you see

the great

first movement

of the

gospel

is to

set before

us

the love

of God

John Owen

the English

Puritan

said

many

Christians

find it

hard to

believe

there is

any

sweetness

in God

except

what was

purchased

at the

high cost

of Jesus

blood

but the

Bible

tells us

that God

so loved

the world

that he

gave

Jesus

didn't

come

to

procure

the

love

of

God

he

came

as

the

evidence

and

gift

of

the

love

of

God

the

first

great

movement

of

the

gospel

is

God

so

loved

the

world

that

he

gave

and

that

has

to

be

the

primary

note

in

Christian

worship

in

Christian

preaching

in

Christian

serving

and so

Jesus

shows

this

woman

great

mercy

because

he

himself

would

bear

the

price

of her

sin

but then

fourthly

notice

Jesus

command

Jesus

silence

Jesus

challenge

Jesus

mercy

and then

Jesus

command

neither

do I

condemn

you

go

it's an

imperative

there

go

as a

command

and

from

now

on

sin

no

more

this

woman

was being

forgiven

she

was being

shown

mercy

that

she

might

now

live

a new

life

that

the

dominant

note

in her

life

will

no

longer

be

sin

and

rebellion

against

God

transgression

of his

law

but from

now

on

she

would

be

living

unto

God

she

would

be

a

hater

of

sin

and

a

lover

of

righteousness

you

see

God

doesn't

save

us

to

leave

us

as

we

are

he

saves

us

and

restores

us

to

himself

to

change

us

and

make

us

new

and

fit

us

for

his

fellowship

in

heaven's

glory

if

this

morning

you

are

simply

continuing

!

sin

no

matter

how

eloquent

your

evangelical

testimony

is

it's

a

charade

because

when

we

are

united

to

Jesus

Christ

new

creation

we

begin

to

hate

sin

and

when

we

do

sin

we

are

shamed

by

it

we

are

humbled

by

it

and

we

unceasingly

cry

to

the

Lord

to

forgive

us

for

Jesus

sake

because

of

it

go

and

sin

no

more

that's

that's

the

calling

of

every

Christian

you

see

is

this

not

an

unrealistic

calling

obviously

not

Jesus

Christ

said

go

and

sin

no

more

does

that

mean

it's

possible

that

I

won't

sin

anymore

do

you

know

your

own

heart

at

all

no

we

sin

but

that's

our

calling

to

sin

no

more

to

have

done

with

sin

to

be

quit

with

sin

every

sin

every

sin

you

and

I

commit

is

a

rebellion

against

God

a

transgression

of his

mercy

and love

every

sin

if it

had

its

own

way

would

un

god

god

the

puritans

would

often

say

sin

is

god

killing

sin

is

god

killing

if sin

could

have

its

way

it

would

kill

god

every

sin

what we

call

little

sins

if sin

had

its

way

at the

heart

of

every

sin

there is

the

desire

to

kill

god

and so

the

christian

who has

been

forgiven

and who

has

received

mercy

has set

before

them

a new

life

to love

god's

commandments

and to

love the

god who

gave the

commandments

so let

me try

and just

in a

moment or

two

highlight

three

great

truths

that this

encounter

highlights

for us

number

one

it shows

us the

gospel

is glorious

good news

that we

can go

to men

and women

whose

lives

have been

utterly

disfigured

and dismembered

by sin

you know

we live

in a

culture

today

in

Britain

where

people

are

three

four

almost

five

generations

many of

them

removed

from

anything

christian

life

is

dysfunctional

someone

maybe one

day will

wake up

and say

have we

ever asked

the question

why

is our

society

so

socially

and morally

dysfunctional

people with

broken lives

broken homes

broken

relationships

partners by

the dozen

life has

just been

a succession

of

miserable

encounters

and the

gospel of

God says

I've got good

news for you

no matter

how mangled

your life

no matter

whether you've

had five

husbands

and are

living with

a six

live-in

lover

here's good

news for

you

God sent

his son

into the

world

not to

condemn

the world

but to

save the

world

through him

there is

forgiveness

with God

that he

might be

feared

there are

new beginnings

to be

had

if you

would have

them

good news

good news

secondly

beware of

being strict

about other

people's sins

and soft

about your

own

these

religious

leaders

they were

strict

about this

woman's

sin

but they

were

soft

on their

own

sins

of human

heartlessness

and religious

hypocrisy

remember

Jesus'

words in

Matthew 11

it will be

better for

Sodom

Sodom

notorious

for

flagrant

egregious

immorality

sodomy

it will be

better for

Sodom

than for

covenant

privilege

Capernaum

on the

day of

judgment

beware of

being strict

about other

people's

sins

and soft

about your

own sins

remember

Jesus spoke

about people

who are

very acutely

observant

at seeing

specks

in other

people

that they

are blind

to the

sins

in their

own

life

and Jesus

gives this

comedic

word picture

of someone

with a

big tree

sticking out

of their

eye

and saying

to someone

I think

there's a

little speck

somewhere in

your eye

you need to

help me

get it

out

there's

this big

tree

sticking out

of their

eye

we're meant

to see

the absurdity

of it

it's much

easier to

see the

sins of

others

than to

see your

own

sins

to be

strict

about

other

people's

sins

and

soft

and

your

own

beware

of

that

and the