Our Righteous Lord in the World of Injustice (John 7:53-8:1-11)

We only think of great criminals and big scandals but why do we spit or smoke in public places or buses? Why do we tear page from library book? Why our public toilet, bus stand or railway station or government hospitals stinking? Why do we cross red light traffic signal, and bypass the speed breaker? What do you think? Is it not a sick society that we live in? We condemned great criminals but we forget the universal truth that “…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23)

Around 2000 years ago, our Lord Jesus Christ began HIS earthly ministry in such sick society, where religion had become a business, and a means of oppression of weak and poor. “… Crowds were astonished at his teaching” (Matt. 7:28) and HIS teaching and performing miracles became difficult to digest for some especially religious groups of Jewish society because HE pointed out their hypocrisy. John 7:40-52 tells us that there was division among them about Jesus. They had been looking for to trap and accused HIM, but they couldn’t success on their conspiracy.  In other words, Jesus Christ has started HIS journey under the shadow of the cross. Once again the scribes and the Pharisees came together and brought a woman caught in adultery to Jesus to test him that they might have some charges to bring against HIM (vs. 6)

OUR LORD A GENTLE GOD (vs. 7:53-8:2)

“They went each to his own house, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives” (vs. 7:53-8:1) Jesus had been teaching in the temple and crowd was listening HIM eagerly. But as the evening fell, crowd went to their own home. And our Lord Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives is out of the city of Jerusalem. It is possible that HE has no friend or no one has courage enough to grant him lodging for a night because the religious leaders in Jerusalem was looking for an opportunity to trap HIM. But our gentle Lord Jesus Christ calmly withdrew HIMSELF and went to the Mount of Olives where HE spent the night in communion with God the Father. Apostle Paul writes in Romans 11:36, “For from him, and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”  All things have its origin (from him), its being (through him) and its end (to him) in Jesus Christ. In Colossians 1:16 – “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rules or authorities – all things were created through him and for him.”  In Hebrews 1:2-3 – “…through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power …” There was no house for Jesus Christ who created all things. Luke writes in the Gospel – “And she gave birth to her firstborn son (that was Jesus Christ) and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:7)

“Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them.” (vs. 2) There was a breaking news in Jerusalem with this headline that “Jesus in the temple again.” Whole city ran to temple to listen his teaching. He didn’t complain or grumble on anyone although no one had called him to rest at their house. He was gentle and humble. Unlike Jesus Christ, no one is in the world either among religious teachers or leaders who could pray saying “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34) while he was being crucified by his opponents.

On 25^th August 2017, a special CBI Court in Punchkula, Haryana found guilty Gurmeet Ram Rahim, the religious leader of Dera Sacha Sauda in a 2002 rape case and he was taken into custody. Following the conviction, followers of Ram Rahim rioted and it is reported that 36 people were killed in police firing. The riot beginning from Punchkula spread to others parts of Haryana, Punjab and New Delhi. While Jesus who was God (Creator, Sustainer and Savior) was falsely accused, condemned and crucified, there was peace in Jerusalem. In other words, our Lord Jesus Christ is a humble and gentle God.

THE RELIGIOUS CROWD (vs. 8:3-6)

“The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst …” (vs. 3) Scribes were well educated community while Pharisees were well respected and popular community in Jewish society. They both came together to Jesus Christ bringing a woman caught in the act of adultery. The scribes and the Pharisees both was expert in the Law. “…they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such woman so what do you say?” (vs. 4-5) It is said, “Every Jew must die before he will commit idolatry, murder or adultery.” Adultery was the one of three gravest sins and was punished by death. In Leviticus 20:10, it is written – “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.” In Deuteronomy 22:22 – “If a man is found lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman. So you shall purge the evil from Israel.” According to Moses Law, the penalty in the case of adultery was death and the scribes and the Pharisees were correct that this woman was liable to death by stoning. But they brought only the woman and not the man who was also guilty of similar sin. The Law has clearly said that both the adulterer (man) and the adulteress (woman) shall surely be put to death. Who was this Mr. X? It could be possible that man who committed adultery was one of them or a powerful man in the society. There should be a witness to testify the crime, but there is no witness. Even they have not given a chance to woman to speak to defend herself. They followed the woman dominating religion.

In the medieval period of Indian history, there was a time when girls were not allowed to go to school and most of girls were married in their minor age. Sati was observed Hindu where a widow immolates herself on her husband’s pyre or commits suicide shortly after her husband’s death. In some cases it was voluntarily, but most of time it is observed forcefully. In south region of India, there was a religious practice called ‘devdasi’ in which girl was devoted to the service of goddess. They were trained to dance and singing. But they were used by the temple priests to satisfy their lust. Actually these devdasi were holy prostitutes. It was taboo for women to be touched by another male except their husbands. Every year, thousands of women were died during labor because male doctors were not allowed to provide them medical help. Therefore we all should be grateful to Christian missionaries like William Carey who opposed ‘Sati’ and worked hard along with Raja Ram Mohan Roy to ban it, Pandita Ramabai served the widows, women and girls by providing them shelter and education, Alexander Duff opened schools for girls, Amy Carmichael worked among devdasis to uplift their status, Dr. Ida Scudder opened hospital in Vellore in 1902 for women. Our society was also similar Jewish society where women were regarded as an object, not as a person.  Still in Phulbari village among Nepali community women were regarded impure during their menstrual cycle and no one takes anything from her hands. She is not allowed to enter into kitchen or touch anything else. It is disgrace for a woman to have no children. The status of women in the family is determined by producing children preferably sons. So in order to have son, determination of gender in the womb and abortion is so common among them; although both are illegal. Therefore we should know that we live a sick society, even we all have been talking about ‘NEW INDIA’. These all religious leaders – scribes and Pharisees came to Jesus asking his suggestion while referring the Law of Moses. It is not that they had great reverend to God’s Law or had broken their heart that she had broken the Law of Moses by committing adultery. But they had planned to use her to eliminate Jesus Christ.

“This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.” (vs. 6) Religious leaders brought this adulteress to Jesus to trap HIM. They were using this woman to fulfill their own political agendas that they could bring charge to Jesus. She was a pawn for them in the game whereby they sought to destroy the credibility of Jesus Christ. Jesus already knew what was in their heart and had planned. Therefore Jesus bent down and began to write with his finger on the ground. Jesus didn’t reply them immediately, but stooped down and began to write with his finger on the ground. Why did he do so?  For HE seized with an intolerable sense of pain, He knew the heart of each one who had brought the stone in their hands to kill the woman who had committed the sin which each one of them in the crowd also had committed or had been committed every day.  Such kind of feeling had troubled the heart of our Lord so he stooped down. 

THE RIGHTEOUS LORD (vs. 8:7-11)

“And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” (vs. 8) The dilemma in which they sought to put Jesus was this: When Jesus was taken before Pilate and he said to Jewish leaders, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” The Jews said to Pilate, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone on death.” (John 18:31) There was an autonomous council called ‘Sanhedrin’ which acted as the Supreme Court for Jewish community. They could pass judgment and punish according the Moses’ Law, but Roman government had not granted the power to them pass or carry death sentence. Therefore if Jesus would say that the woman should to be stoned to death, it would be against the Roman law and they could easily prove his guilty before Pilate. And other side, if he would say that woman should be released, they would charged him that he was teaching people to break the Law of Moses.

Jesus was silent but religious crowd was asking him continue. They were expecting the success of their plan as they saw Jesus bent down silently. Finally Jesus broke the silence saying, “let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” The word ‘without sin’ was translated from the Greek word ‘anamartetos’ [ἀναμάρτητος] which means of one who cannot sin. It demonstrates the inability to sin and only God alone cannot sin. And Jesus was challenging the religious crowd that is there anyone who cannot sin as God. They had forgotten the universal truth that all have sinned. They were also equally sinners with this woman, although they would not commit the adultery. James writes in the epistle, “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. For he who said, “Do not commit adultery”, also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.” (James 2:10-11) To God committing any sin is equal to adultery. Jesus therefore lifted her as a dignified person by saying, ““let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” The righteous Lord our Jesus Christ is different from the religious crowd because He wanted no partiality, but equality.

“And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 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.” (vs. 8-9) There is no description of what Jesus was writing with the finger on the ground. Two different Greek terms are used for the word ‘to write’ in vs. 6 and vs. 8. In vs. 8, it is the Greek word ‘grapho’ [γράφω] which is a normal Greek work for to write, but in vs. 6, it is ‘katagraphein’ (κατέγραφεν) which means ‘to write down a record against someone’. It may be that Jesus was writing on the dust the sins of very men who were accusing the woman and as each came to Jesus to see what HE was writing, he would see the record of his sins. Then slowly crowd drifted away one by one leaving woman alone there. 

“Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemned you; go, and from now on sin no more.”  (vs. 10-11) For Jesus Christ, transformation of a person’s life is more important than following dead tradition. Jesus didn’t pass on a judgment on her, but he forgave her. Our Lord gently calmed the crowd and settled the matter, but HE didn’t compromise with the sin, but with the fairness he said to her, “… go, and from now on sin no more.”  In other words that crowd who came to condemned you, has went away without stoning you, does not prove you blameless, but your sins are forgiven, therefore go, but from now on don’t sin anymore.

CONCLUSION

Our Lord Jesus Christ stood alone against the crowd and transformed the one who was condemned by the religious crowd. Jesus demonstrates no partiality, but equality, while he said, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” (vs. 8); no judgment, but forgiveness while he said, ““Neither do I condemned you ...” (vs. 11) and no compromise, but fairness while he said, “… go, and from now on sin no more.” (vs. 11) Jesus lifted up as dignified person and transformed her by forgiving. We must remember that passing new law is not the solution of crime, but forgiveness and love bring the peace and transformation in the society.

In same way, God desires to transform our society where injustice, discrimination in the term of religion, caste, color, class, gender, superstition, corruption, fake news in social media, politics criminalization, communal riots, lynching are growing rapidly. If you have experienced the forgiveness of sin, surely God will use you to transform the society. If not, this is the hour for you to acknowledge your sin before the Lord, to plead HIS forgiveness and to decide to follow Jesus Christ. Who knows that you will the person through whom God wants to transform our society?

Let’s pray together!

(This Sermon is delivered on 15th July 2018 in Lekabali Town Baptist Church, Arunachal Pradesh)