AUG 13

John 8:1-11
Memorise John 7:24
“Judge not according to the appearance but judge righteous judgment”

Jesus detests prideful self-righteousness. This account in John 8:1-11 not only illustrates how He deals sternly with the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees but also how He deals mercifully with repentant sinners.

Here, the scribes and Pharisees identify a woman guilty of adultery and bring her to Jesus’s attention. They did this not because they were genuinely concerned that the woman had sinned and that God’s laws had been transgressed. Rather, they wanted to make use of the woman whom they caught in the act of adultery to trap and discredit Jesus publicly.

The scribes and Pharisees knew that the law clearly called for the woman to be stoned. They wanted to see Jesus Himself make that decree, and if he did not, they would be the first to accuse Him of being a lawbreaker. However Jesus gave a most wise reply. He said that only those who were sinless would be allowed to stone the woman. Not one stepped forward, for not one of them could claim to be sinless. Jesus’ point was that the scribes and Pharisees were every bit as guilty of sin as the woman, but demanded that she be harshly dealt with while being blind to that fact that they were just as deserving of punishment as the woman. In the end, the scribes and Pharisees quietly disappeared to avoid embarrassment, and Jesus forgave her, seeing that she had repented and believed.

Indeed, the only person who had the right to cast stones upon the woman in clear conscience was Jesus Himself, but He chose to be merciful while not condoning sin in any way. While we must never turn a blind eye to sin or regard it casually, we are at the same time no better than those who commit gross acts of wrongdoing and are in need of forgiveness as much as they. Hence, we do not react to the sin of others by self-righteously demanding that punishment be meted out. Rather we should speak the truth about a person’s sin in love to him, counsel him and pray for him to repent while considering disciplinary action only as a last resort to turn him away from sin.

Thought: If we saw ourselves the way God actually sees us there would not be a shred of spiritual pride left in us.
Prayer: Lord, give me the wisdom to judge righteously that I may turn someone away from sin and to turn him to Christ.