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Reading:          Jn.8:1-30

Text:                Jn.8:10 "Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”"

There are times when we are in real danger but we know nothing about it at all. We're out for a walk along the cliffs and we are unaware that the sea has been eating away lower down and we're not really walking on anything solid at all. Or we might be out driving in a car unaware of the serious failure in the braking system. And in these situations we carry on blissfully ignorant of what might happen from one moment to the next.

Then there are other times when we are only too aware of the dangers before us.

And yet there seems to be something in all of us that makes us like to imagine that somehow we will be able to get away with it. The dieter, for example, will quickly gobble down that bun – no one is watching, no one will know – but the scales won't lie. The motorist, in a hurry to get home, puts his foot down on the empty road and a few days later the fine drops through the letterbox – caught on camera!

For the unnamed woman of this story she probably thought that she could enjoy the forbidden fruit of adultery and get away with it – no one would know, or so she foolishly convinced herself. But she was discovered! We don't know whether that discovery was a pure accident or whether she had aroused suspicions by her earlier behaviour and ultimately it doesn't really matter. She was now in a real predicament.

Make no mistake about it – she was in very serious danger indeed. Why is it that we so often behave as though we can do wrong with impunity? Why is it that we repeatedly tried to fool ourselves that our little peccadilloes are invisible to an all seeing God?

After all, the Bible tells us again and again that we can't get away with it. Listen to just a selection of verses that address this subject:

Num.32:23 "But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out."

Job 34:21 "For his eyes are on the ways of a man, and he sees all his steps."

Ps.10:11 the wicked "says in his heart, “God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”"

Ps.90:8 "You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence."

Eccl. 12:14 "For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil."

Jer.16:17 "For my eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from me, nor is their iniquity concealed from my eyes."

Jer.23:24 "'Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him?' declares the Lord."

Lk.12:2 "Nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be made known."

Rom.2:14 "on the day… God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus."

Hebrews 4:13 "And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account."

Just think for a moment about the awful situation in which the woman now found herself.

Caught in the very act of adultery, her life was hanging in the balance! Although the Jews generally did not have the power of execution under the Romans when it came to such "insignificant" matters of social convention the Romans were quite happy to allow the Jewish authorities to manage their own affairs. And after all, it was only a woman, nobody important.

In fact in this particular episode the woman was not treated by the Jewish authorities as though she were a person in any case. Rather she was being used as a pawn, and means to entrap Jesus, a way of catching him out.

But the fact that she was a pawn did not in any way minimise the danger that she was in. Let us look a little more closely at this story before we turn to consider the questions that Jesus put to her.

There is not the slightest hint anywhere in the entire account that this woman was anything other than guilty. She had in fact been taken in the very act of adultery. There was no way in which she could plead that it was a case of mistaken identity, she couldn't argue that she hadn't been there and nor is there any indication that there might have been any mitigating circumstances. No, she was guilty, she had been found out, and now she was liable to death, the horrible death by stoning.

What could she hope for? Could she expect to be treated with compassion by those who had seized her? I don't think so. The scribes and Pharisees who had brought her to Jesus were not interested in any deep form of godliness – they were perfectly happy to remain with outward appearances and with an apparent conformity to what was right. They were in fact morally corrupt themselves and under the pretence of maintaining respect for the law of Moses they were acting in the most hypocritical and unjust manner.

I do not wish to suggest in any way that this particular woman was anything but guilty – at the end of the episode Jesus himself speaks to her and says "go and sin no more" leaving us in absolutely no doubt as to his assessment of her lifestyle up to this point. But it is so easy to lay claims to the moral high ground while being shot through with one's own inconsistencies.

It's take note of two things:

1.      This event took place in the Temple!

For the Jews the Temple was the place where God made his presence known. The whole sacrificial system focused upon the Temple. The sacrifices constantly recalled to those who offered them and to those who participated in any way with them the fact of personal sin. It reminded the worshipper, or at least it should have done, of the immense gulf that existed between himself and a Holy God. The judge of all the world will always do that which is right!

The Temple, where this Holy God's presence was made known, should have called forth the response of righteousness and justice in all those who went there. Never should it have been a place where plotting and scheming occurred, the type of plotting and scheming that the scribes and Pharisees were actually involved in.

In that very place where the righteousness of God was most clearly proclaimed before their eyes they were plotting as to how to lay traps to trip up the Lord Jesus. In the very presence of God they were hatching dishonest plans whereby they might destroy the reputation of another.

2.      While the woman was central to it all, they did not treat her as a person so much as an object. And they were doing this in the name of the law of Moses. Now the law of Moses was in fact God's law which he had revealed through Moses for the benefit of the people. The primary truths that the Lord taught men by means of this law were that they were to love God and to love their neighbour. However these men were not using the law for either of those purposes but as a means to an end: they wanted to put Jesus to the test. And it's not as though that test was neutral either: they were not looking for proof of his wisdom and righteousness, no no, they only wanted to find some grounds whereby they might lay an accusation against him, that they might be able to discredit him in the eyes of the people, or that they might stir up the Roman authorities against him, or both.

One of the things I think we can learn on this passage is that our own situation is in many ways highly similar to that of this poor woman.

Before God our own sin has been discovered, our own culpability has been established beyond the slightest doubt, and our sin has rendered us liable to judgement, the judgement of eternal death.

As the woman was brought before Jesus she must have thought that she was living on borrowed time, that she was merely enjoying a stay of execution, the execution that must surely soon follow.

We too, before we come to faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, are living on borrowed time. As unbelievers we live under the shadow of God's judgement, being already condemned – in a very real sense every unbeliever is living on death row.

John 3:18 "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God."

However the clear teaching of this passage is that there is hope. The woman's dire predicament is radically transformed as she's brought to Jesus Christ. Similarly, the dire predicament that we are in as unbelievers can also be radically transformed if only we would come to the Lord Jesus Christ.

This woman was brought against her will and yet found nevertheless in the Lord Jesus Christ the gracious help of the Saviour she needed. For some of us we too may feel that we have come to the Lord Jesus Christ with a great deal of reluctance – C.S.Lewis described himself as the most reluctant convert in Christendom for example yet convert he was – while others amongst us will have embraced him willingly. How we come does not matter. What does matter that we come to him and humbly receive from him the pardon and the grace of which we stand in need.

This woman had been brought into the presence of Jesus Christ and she could claim nothing at all, she deserved nothing at all apart from the punishment laid down in the law. She couldn't pass the buck, no more than Adam and Eve many years before had been unable to do so. She couldn't cover her guilt with a dismissive wave of a hand as Cain had tried to do when God confronted him over his murder of his brother Abel.

It is interesting to note that as we read this section the woman has not one word which she can speak to try to clear herself. The same will be true of the judgement on the Last Day – every mouth will be stopped on that occasion, no one will be found to be "not guilty" and no innocent victim will be condemned unjustly: the judgement of that great day will be unmistakably open and just. Condemnation is indeed the common lot of humanity because like the woman we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. Just like the woman, we will live under a temporary stay of execution: if nothing changes we are lost!

When the woman is brought in before Jesus and her accusers press him with their questions concerning this guilty woman, Jesus appears to be in no hurry to respond. He bends down and writes in the sand (the only occasion in the Bible where Jesus is said to have written anything). We don't know what he wrote even though much ink has been spilt in making various suggestions!

I want to suggest to you this evening that this behaviour is in complete harmony with what is revealed concerning God in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament God declares that he is not eager to condemn:

Ezek.18:23 "Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord GOD, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?"

Or again:

Ezek.18: 31-32 "Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD, so turn, and live."

How we dishonour the Lord GOD when we imagine that he is somehow itching to find a reason to punish and to destroy! He is the one who has found out the way whereby he may maintain his own justice while at the same time justifying the ungodly! God is indeed for us!!

Under the pressure of the continued questioning by the scribes and Pharisees Jesus at last breaks his silence. As far as he is concerned this is not simply a matter of the woman's guilt, the bubble of the proud self-righteousness of her accusers must also be pricked for they too are guilty and equally deserving of judgement. His words are but gentle yet piercing – they discerned the thoughts and intentions with the hearts of those present:

John 8:7 "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her."

One by one all of her accusers slip away leaving the scene.

And now it is time for Jesus to turn speak to the woman. He asked her two questions, they are found in our text:

John 8:10 "Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”"

Those who had been itching for her execution are no longer present – but she's still guilty, how is it all to end?

Well with none left to condemn Jesus acts graciously. Neither will he condemn her. But is that not unjust? Is not her sin merely being set aside and so minimised?

Well, the way in which God does justify a person is not by pretending that sin is not really sin, he does not sweep it under the carpet, as it were, but deals finally with it. Jesus' procedure with the woman in this story is identical. He fully recognises the guilt of her sin – when he will send her away it will be with the command to change her lifestyle. Jesus is able to do this because he knows that shortly he will himself bear her guilt along with the guilt of all his people as he gives his life a ransom for many on the cross of Calvary!

Condemnation and judgement are awful things. To be on death row knowing that all the charges against you are just and that you are indeed guilty must be absolutely dreadful. It is the reality of every sinner's existence whether admitted or not.

But there is good news!

The gospel, that is the good news, of the Lord Jesus Christ declares that there is indeed now no condemnation for them that are in Christ Jesus by faith union with him. (Romans 8:1) the Scriptures are indeed full of such declarations and such pictures. Listen to just a few of them as we close:

Zech.3:1-4 "Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, O Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?” Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.”"

John 5:24 "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life."

Romans 8:33-35 "Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died––more than that, who was raised––who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?"

Rev.12:10 "And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God."

This is all gloriously good news! Has it become good news for you? Rejoice in it! Exult in it! Think often of it! Return to it again and again! Marvel at the goodness of God's grace that you were once on death row are now justified – not only are there no charges to be laid against you any longer but in union with Jesus Christ through faith the righteousness of his own life is credited to your account! This is extraordinary! Because God is extraordinarily good to his people!

Sometimes though we are troubled by thoughts that this is simply too good to be true. In one sense, this is a good reaction for it does at least show that something of the amazing nature of grace has been understood. But grace really is that good! When we have trouble holding onto it we need to remind ourselves of what the apostle John wrote:

1 John 3:20 "for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything."

Believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, rejoice in your salvation! Delight in your deliverance from condemnation! And carry on your living your Christian life without compromise and without sin in the energy of the Holy Spirit.

To God be the glory!