The Supreme Judgment
There is a strange story in the New Testament (John 8) about a woman brought to Jesus, accused of adultery. Her accusers wait for Jesus to do what the law says he must do...namely condemn her to stoning. Instead, he tells them, "He who is without sin, go ahead and throw the 1st stone." And then he stoops to write in the sand.
Did Jesus actually write something that day? We have no record of any writings by Jesus. Some say that he wrote each man's besetting sin in the sand, and as they saw it, they were stricken by guilt and left.
Perhaps he wrote in the sand simply to cool his anger against the Pharisees. How they irked him! But the sand was more than likely his way of letting them ponder a bit. But the woman too, saw the scribblings in the sand. Here she stood, condemned to die. At any moment, a stone could come hurtling through the air. The law was on their side. Who was this person before whom they had brought her?...a judge...and yet he wasn't judging her.
If Jesus had condemned her...had he said, "You sinful, unregenerate woman!", then she might have justified herself. "It wasn't my fault...he forced me into it. Why don't they bring him? A person has to live...you have to eat!."
But Jesus wasn't condemning her. Could she run away? And yet her sins would run with her. Sin does that! You can run away from the person you have sinned against, but you cannot run away from the sin itself.
What an amazing thing...the wages of sin for this woman, were death. The law said so. But Jesus insists that grace is always greater than the law, and that forgiveness of sins, brings a person from death into salvation.
Whereas others condemn, we who are Christian must learn to forgive. Forgiveness in our world is so limited, so partial, so arbitrary. But God does not dole out forgiveness by degrees, or piece meal, but through Christ, He blots out our whole debt.
Each of us stands before Christ, condemned. Our accusers are on every hand. Our own memories arise up to speak of our shortcomings. We are worthy of death. There is a spiritual law that says so. But what a marvelous release from the guilt which fills us as we look into the wonderful eyes of Jesus, and hear him say, "Neither do I condemn you...go and sin no more."
If you would like some of Guither's
books, a free call to 1-888-280-7715
and you can place your order. They
will be at your door in a few days.
Did Jesus actually write something that day? We have no record of any writings by Jesus. Some say that he wrote each man's besetting sin in the sand, and as they saw it, they were stricken by guilt and left.
Perhaps he wrote in the sand simply to cool his anger against the Pharisees. How they irked him! But the sand was more than likely his way of letting them ponder a bit. But the woman too, saw the scribblings in the sand. Here she stood, condemned to die. At any moment, a stone could come hurtling through the air. The law was on their side. Who was this person before whom they had brought her?...a judge...and yet he wasn't judging her.
If Jesus had condemned her...had he said, "You sinful, unregenerate woman!", then she might have justified herself. "It wasn't my fault...he forced me into it. Why don't they bring him? A person has to live...you have to eat!."
But Jesus wasn't condemning her. Could she run away? And yet her sins would run with her. Sin does that! You can run away from the person you have sinned against, but you cannot run away from the sin itself.
What an amazing thing...the wages of sin for this woman, were death. The law said so. But Jesus insists that grace is always greater than the law, and that forgiveness of sins, brings a person from death into salvation.
Whereas others condemn, we who are Christian must learn to forgive. Forgiveness in our world is so limited, so partial, so arbitrary. But God does not dole out forgiveness by degrees, or piece meal, but through Christ, He blots out our whole debt.
Each of us stands before Christ, condemned. Our accusers are on every hand. Our own memories arise up to speak of our shortcomings. We are worthy of death. There is a spiritual law that says so. But what a marvelous release from the guilt which fills us as we look into the wonderful eyes of Jesus, and hear him say, "Neither do I condemn you...go and sin no more."
If you would like some of Guither's
books, a free call to 1-888-280-7715
and you can place your order. They
will be at your door in a few days.
posted by Francis Geo. Guither at 6:44 AM
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