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i was blessed today by John 8.3-12. it is a very familiar passage to most of us, but it was fresh and exciting for me today, so i thought i’d share a bit of that with you.
the scribes and pharisees come to Jesus with an excellently (as far as humans are capable of that is) constructed paradox for Jesus to solve. it seems as if they interrupt His teaching in order to put this woman caught in adultery before Him. the result is one of the most beautiful stories of all time which reveals the Divinity and mercy of Jesus Christ.
starting from the end, Jesus says “I AM the light of the world…” now, i often take for granted that Jesus always has a purpose for the things He said. and it came to me that the scribes and pharisees had come and forcibly brought this woman caught in adultery to Jesus in an effort to bring her sin to light…to bring her imperfection to light. to expose her.
of course, we know they didn’t really care about her righteousness. it seems pretty obvious that they either orchestrated her wooing or that they had foreknowledge of her sin and had previously done nothing.
we also know they didn’t really care about God’s law. obviously they were concerned with rules and regulations, but look at what they said in vs.5: “Now Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stoned…” i think moses would be quick to say that it was the Lord God Almighty who commanded the law, not he himself. in fact, the scribes followed a whole host of man-made traditions that seemed to make logical sense, but in fact were contrary to the character and heart of Yahweh.
so after all of this, Jesus calls Himself the light of the world. He’s showing us that real light reveals the heart. And when the heart of a man is revealed by the Light it is not a damning thing. in fact, in that Light one can find the grace and mercy and forgiveness of the Son of God.
most importantly, when Jesus shines Himself onto a heart, there is no one left. just He and the heart. no one can condemn (vs.11) because that power only belongs to the Lord.
i was blessed. blessed by Jesus’ gentle mercy. blessed by His patience to deal with the sadly argumentative intellect of the scribes and pharisees then to deal with the woman. blessed by the playful way He spoke to her. blessed by His quick and thorough forgiveness.
if Jesus’ influence in my life (and through my life) isn’t a blessing…there is something wrong. if my Jesus condemns or batters or antagonizes, there is something wrong.
blessings and maranatha
