Point of Inspiration
Trapped!
Posted by Robert D. Pace in
Wednesday, September 22nd at 2:14 pm (Permalink)
The Pharisees finally thought they had trapped Christ! They seized an adulterous woman and would use her to show His contempt for Moses' Law. There was no need for a trial because the evidence had convicted her. The Pharisees had caught her "in the act" (John 8:4). If Jesus corroborated with the Law they would accuse Him of hypocrisy, because He had made His reputation as being the "friend of sinners." If He acquitted her, the Pharisees could accuse Him of breaking Moses' Law and place Him on trial. But Jesus discerned their duplicity; He knew this was an ambush.
When the Pharisees plied for an answer, Jesus simply said, "whoever is without sin can throw a stone" (8:7). In one phrase, His words pierced their hearts, unloaded their hands, dismayed their thinking, and dispersed them. Yet, Jesus did this without excusing this woman's sin. He had "captured the wise in their craft and thwarted the scheme of the cunning" (Job 5:13). What an answer! This man, whose words were parsed and scrutinized, was no ordinary man. He was the eternal Word of God (John 1:1). Once He spoke, His words were settled in the heavens. It's interesting to note how John discloses this.
When the Pharisees brought this woman before Christ, He "bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger" (8:6). Had the content of His writing mattered, John would have preserved it; what's important is, Jesus wrote! The significance of Him writing goes back 4000 years to Exodus 31:18 where we read, "When the LORD finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God." The finger that wrote in Jerusalem's sand had written on Sinai's stone tablets! Thank God, this Lawgiver was writing a new law-the Law of Grace!
Have you been ambushed or trapped? Have your words been used against you? While your enemies may never excuse your misstatements or misdeeds, Jesus is different! As the eternal Word of God, He fully knows your story. But as the sovereign God of grace and mercy, He is ready to acquit and renew you.
When the Pharisees plied for an answer, Jesus simply said, "whoever is without sin can throw a stone" (8:7). In one phrase, His words pierced their hearts, unloaded their hands, dismayed their thinking, and dispersed them. Yet, Jesus did this without excusing this woman's sin. He had "captured the wise in their craft and thwarted the scheme of the cunning" (Job 5:13). What an answer! This man, whose words were parsed and scrutinized, was no ordinary man. He was the eternal Word of God (John 1:1). Once He spoke, His words were settled in the heavens. It's interesting to note how John discloses this.
When the Pharisees brought this woman before Christ, He "bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger" (8:6). Had the content of His writing mattered, John would have preserved it; what's important is, Jesus wrote! The significance of Him writing goes back 4000 years to Exodus 31:18 where we read, "When the LORD finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God." The finger that wrote in Jerusalem's sand had written on Sinai's stone tablets! Thank God, this Lawgiver was writing a new law-the Law of Grace!
Have you been ambushed or trapped? Have your words been used against you? While your enemies may never excuse your misstatements or misdeeds, Jesus is different! As the eternal Word of God, He fully knows your story. But as the sovereign God of grace and mercy, He is ready to acquit and renew you.