The Gospel of St. John, Chapter Eight, begins with what is one of the more familiar stories of Jesus told in the New Testament. I have to say that this story, and the truth it tells, have touched me more in the past few months than at any time in my life. Yet nothing in the story has changed...it is that I now think it just might apply to me. Imagine that!
Now, I (as have most of us) have been familiar with this story - a true story, by the way - since I was a small child. What happened is that early one morning the "scribes and Pharisees" dragged a woman before Jesus. This particular woman was caught in adultery, "in the very act!" says verse 4. The scribes and the Pharisees, of course, knew Jesus well enough by now to know that He would probably have mercy on this woman, and they were right; but, they were not prepared for what Jesus did when they threw the woman at His feet. Before I get to that, however, I would like to point out a tidbit that escaped my attention every time I heard or read these scriptures.
You see, Jesus was teaching people at the time all this commotion began. BUT...He was not just teaching people at a river bank or at someone's home. He was in the very Temple of Jerusalem, and I am sure it was no accident that the scribes and Pharisees chose this most public location to confront Jesus. In fact, it would not be a real stretch to believe that these men knew well the woman they had caught in adultery, knew that she frequently engaged in adultery, and even knew when and where to find her. I would not be too surprised if some of these men had personal experience with this woman. So, instead of bringing this woman to the Lord in a more private setting, they quite intentionally exposed her adultery in the Temple.
After explaining to the Good Shepherd that they had caught the woman in adultery (um...where was the MAN, by the way?) the scribes and Pharisees then (stupidly) challenged Our Lord by stating to Him what He knew already; that the Law of Moses called for the adulterer to be stoned. As I remember, the Law of Moses made no differentiation between the two adulterers, male and female. BOTH were to be stoned. Nonetheless, the scribes and Pharisees, knowing that Jesus would surely not call for the woman to be stoned, intended to use this incident as a way to both discredit the Good Shepherd and to gain evidence to stone Him as a false prophet. I can only imagine their surprise at what the Lord did next.
Instead of answering the men, Jesus bent down and began writing with his finger in the dirt. How strange? I wonder if some of the men thought Jesus had lost his reason for the moment. Jesus continued writing, and the scribes and Pharisees continued to ask Him what He would have done with this adulterous woman. Verse 7 tells us that Jesus "straightened up," then said, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” Jesus bent down again and continued writing. We all know that one by one the accusers walked away. But here is another point I have missed many times as I read those scriptures. The OLDEST man there walked away FIRST. Why?
I am not certain why the oldest man left the group first. It may have been because he was the wisest man there, or maybe it was that, plus something much deeper. It may have been that this older man had gotten a look at the words Jesus wrote in the dust. You see, many scholars and preachers believe that Jesus, who is God on Earth, knew all these men's names, and all their sins. Our Lord knew that each and every man there had sinned at least ONCE in his life. And, many believe, the Good Shepherd wrote each man's name there in the dust, along with maybe just one, or maybe just a few, of the sins each had committed. If this is the case, it may well have been that Jesus wrote down the elder's name first, and some long lost and, he thought, hidden sin, a sin not known to those younger men he had no doubt mentored in the ways of the Pharisee. But nothing is hidden from the Good Shepherd, neither then nor today. The old man, pricked in his heart, according to Verse 9, left the group first, followed in turn by the next eldest person, all the way down to the youngest new recruit to the sect.
In just a few minutes there was not a single scribe or Pharisee in sight. In one of the most beautiful moments in the New Testament, the Good Shepherd shines His love and mercy on this humiliated woman. I know the Bible does not tell us this, but in my mind, even as a child, I have always pictured the Good Shepherd reaching down to this woman who lay in shame in the dust, taking her hand in His own, and raising her to her feet to stand beside Him. I do not know if St. John recorded every word Jesus and the woman said to each other, but I believe this must have been a tender, yet miraculous moment in her life, and an inspirational message for you and me. Yes, I believe the Lord lifted this woman, took her hand in His, and touched her heart with His words and His spirit. He told her then to go, yes, to go in peace, and to sin no more. Some say this woman followed Jesus from then on, some even believe the woman to be Mary of Magdalene. The Bible does not tell us and it really does not matter. She was a woman, judged by sinners, and lifted up by the Lord.
Then I am roused out of my reverie, and forced to think back on my own life. I know that I have been judgmental in many ways over the years, just as the "scribes and the Pharisees" were in their day. I think back over my life, and I have to wonder how many times there was some person along the way who was caught by people, or just by life, in some disgrace or unfortunate circumstance, some person condemned by others, by sinners, who just needed someone to take him or her by the hand, to lift the person so that he or she could stand up again. How many times was I that "scribe" or that "Pharisee" who outwardly served the Lord, but when another was down, joined with the other sinners in condemning this person and dragging this person's life out for others to see and to put down. How much better it would have been to stretch out my hand, lift this person up, and stand with this person before others, to help bear this person's burdens without judgment.
So I read St. John's words again today, and I resolved to no longer be a self-appointed judge of people who are struggling in some way, as most of us are, and do. Today I will begin looking for that opportunity to lift up someone who has fallen, to help this person to stand again, not that I am the Good Shepherd, but that I can follow His lead and stand side by side with those whom I once looked down on, I can lift that person to stand shoulder to shoulder with me...because I know my name and my sins were written in the dust that day over 2000 years ago, just as surely was were those of the "scribes and Pharisees."
God Bless You
Now, I (as have most of us) have been familiar with this story - a true story, by the way - since I was a small child. What happened is that early one morning the "scribes and Pharisees" dragged a woman before Jesus. This particular woman was caught in adultery, "in the very act!" says verse 4. The scribes and the Pharisees, of course, knew Jesus well enough by now to know that He would probably have mercy on this woman, and they were right; but, they were not prepared for what Jesus did when they threw the woman at His feet. Before I get to that, however, I would like to point out a tidbit that escaped my attention every time I heard or read these scriptures.
You see, Jesus was teaching people at the time all this commotion began. BUT...He was not just teaching people at a river bank or at someone's home. He was in the very Temple of Jerusalem, and I am sure it was no accident that the scribes and Pharisees chose this most public location to confront Jesus. In fact, it would not be a real stretch to believe that these men knew well the woman they had caught in adultery, knew that she frequently engaged in adultery, and even knew when and where to find her. I would not be too surprised if some of these men had personal experience with this woman. So, instead of bringing this woman to the Lord in a more private setting, they quite intentionally exposed her adultery in the Temple.
After explaining to the Good Shepherd that they had caught the woman in adultery (um...where was the MAN, by the way?) the scribes and Pharisees then (stupidly) challenged Our Lord by stating to Him what He knew already; that the Law of Moses called for the adulterer to be stoned. As I remember, the Law of Moses made no differentiation between the two adulterers, male and female. BOTH were to be stoned. Nonetheless, the scribes and Pharisees, knowing that Jesus would surely not call for the woman to be stoned, intended to use this incident as a way to both discredit the Good Shepherd and to gain evidence to stone Him as a false prophet. I can only imagine their surprise at what the Lord did next.
Instead of answering the men, Jesus bent down and began writing with his finger in the dirt. How strange? I wonder if some of the men thought Jesus had lost his reason for the moment. Jesus continued writing, and the scribes and Pharisees continued to ask Him what He would have done with this adulterous woman. Verse 7 tells us that Jesus "straightened up," then said, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” Jesus bent down again and continued writing. We all know that one by one the accusers walked away. But here is another point I have missed many times as I read those scriptures. The OLDEST man there walked away FIRST. Why?
I am not certain why the oldest man left the group first. It may have been because he was the wisest man there, or maybe it was that, plus something much deeper. It may have been that this older man had gotten a look at the words Jesus wrote in the dust. You see, many scholars and preachers believe that Jesus, who is God on Earth, knew all these men's names, and all their sins. Our Lord knew that each and every man there had sinned at least ONCE in his life. And, many believe, the Good Shepherd wrote each man's name there in the dust, along with maybe just one, or maybe just a few, of the sins each had committed. If this is the case, it may well have been that Jesus wrote down the elder's name first, and some long lost and, he thought, hidden sin, a sin not known to those younger men he had no doubt mentored in the ways of the Pharisee. But nothing is hidden from the Good Shepherd, neither then nor today. The old man, pricked in his heart, according to Verse 9, left the group first, followed in turn by the next eldest person, all the way down to the youngest new recruit to the sect.
In just a few minutes there was not a single scribe or Pharisee in sight. In one of the most beautiful moments in the New Testament, the Good Shepherd shines His love and mercy on this humiliated woman. I know the Bible does not tell us this, but in my mind, even as a child, I have always pictured the Good Shepherd reaching down to this woman who lay in shame in the dust, taking her hand in His own, and raising her to her feet to stand beside Him. I do not know if St. John recorded every word Jesus and the woman said to each other, but I believe this must have been a tender, yet miraculous moment in her life, and an inspirational message for you and me. Yes, I believe the Lord lifted this woman, took her hand in His, and touched her heart with His words and His spirit. He told her then to go, yes, to go in peace, and to sin no more. Some say this woman followed Jesus from then on, some even believe the woman to be Mary of Magdalene. The Bible does not tell us and it really does not matter. She was a woman, judged by sinners, and lifted up by the Lord.
Then I am roused out of my reverie, and forced to think back on my own life. I know that I have been judgmental in many ways over the years, just as the "scribes and the Pharisees" were in their day. I think back over my life, and I have to wonder how many times there was some person along the way who was caught by people, or just by life, in some disgrace or unfortunate circumstance, some person condemned by others, by sinners, who just needed someone to take him or her by the hand, to lift the person so that he or she could stand up again. How many times was I that "scribe" or that "Pharisee" who outwardly served the Lord, but when another was down, joined with the other sinners in condemning this person and dragging this person's life out for others to see and to put down. How much better it would have been to stretch out my hand, lift this person up, and stand with this person before others, to help bear this person's burdens without judgment.
So I read St. John's words again today, and I resolved to no longer be a self-appointed judge of people who are struggling in some way, as most of us are, and do. Today I will begin looking for that opportunity to lift up someone who has fallen, to help this person to stand again, not that I am the Good Shepherd, but that I can follow His lead and stand side by side with those whom I once looked down on, I can lift that person to stand shoulder to shoulder with me...because I know my name and my sins were written in the dust that day over 2000 years ago, just as surely was were those of the "scribes and Pharisees."
God Bless You
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