Prayer
Briefly prepare your heart in silence, and ask the Holy Spirit to awaken your sense of anticipation that God is about to speak to you through His Word. Then, before you read, I invite you to pray this prayer based on Psalm 73:24-26,
Lord, whom have I in heaven but you? No one!
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and heart may fail me,
but You give Life to my body and soul.
Guide me with Your counsel now, I pray. Amen.
Reading
So much has been written about this short passage, for various reasons, but one thing is abundantly clear. At its very heart, this account of Jesus’ interaction with the woman caught in adultery reveals that our Lord expects us to apply His teaching in Matthew 7:3-4 in even the toughest situations:
‘Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?
Jesus saw right through the despicable motives of these religious leaders, who were shamelessly using this woman’s sin to further their own agenda. They cared nothing for her. She was simply a means to the end of trapping Jesus.
He saw through their flagrant disregard for justice. Where, after all, was the male party to this liaison? And had they really witnessed the act in the sort of detail required to meet the high standard of proof in a capital case under Mosaic Law? They cared nothing for justice. She was simply a pawn in their wicked game of chess.
So, while the woman’s sin of adultery was very serious indeed, so too was their sin.
Loving them all, and wanting all to come to repentance (see 2 Peter 3:9) Jesus slowed everything down, wrote something in the dust, and challenged the one without sin to throw the first stone. There is great speculation about what Jesus wrote in the dust. Personally I think it most likely that Jesus wrote the Ten Commandments in the dust, just as His Father had done on the stone tablets centuries before. Then, after they had all gone away shame-faced at how far short they themselves fell of God’s standard, Jesus commanded the woman (and us by implication), ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.’
Today, let’s be less concerned about the shortcomings and sins of others. Like the Father in Exodus 34:6 and Jesus in John 8, let’s be slow to judge and quick to forgive, full of mercy and compassion. And let’s focus instead on allowing the Holy Spirit to purify our own hearts, motives, words and behaviour, to make us more like Jesus.
Contemplation
Please take time to ponder what Jesus has commanded us. Turn these declarations over and over in your mind. Keep them in mind throughout the day and live in step with Your King, Jesus.
As a disciple of Jesus Christ:
- I will be slow to judge and quick to forgive.
- Empowered by the Holy Spirit, I will focus my attention on leaving my life of sin.
Holy Spirit, change my heart and empower me to change my behaviour. Amen.
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