Words from the Rock
When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
John 8:7–11 NIV
The religious leaders are at it again, plotting and planning, and now they think they have Jesus between a rock and a hard place. They’ve caught a woman in the act of adultery. They drag her to where Jesus is teaching and throw her down in front of him and everyone else.
The Pharisees know Jewish law requires this woman to be put to death by the throwing of stones. They also know that Jesus teaches forgiveness. But how can he break Jewish law by forgiving an obviously guilty woman? To these men, it seems a cut-and-dried case, so they demand an answer from him: “What do you say?” (v. 5 NIV).
Jesus just stoops down and writes on the ground with his finger. They keep hammering at him, demanding that the woman be stoned. So he stands and says those unforgettable words: “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Then he stoops down again, and one by one everyone slips away. No rocks are thrown. Because, after all, who hasn’t sinned? And how gracious was Jesus? He didn’t stare or point an accusing finger at the people. Yet he makes his point. Everyone has sinned.
So what gives one person the right to condemn another? Jesus didn’t condemn anyone. He just told the woman to leave her life of sin behind. What a lesson that is for us—to be willing to admit that sin does exist, but without condemning a person for being a sinner. And if you think about it, when are you most eager to toss an accusation at someone else—could it be those times when you don’t want someone else to accuse you?
My Prayer
Dear God,
Remind me that it’s not my job to point the finger at someone else’s mistakes. Let me imitate you in how you love and forgive others.
Amen.
Final Word
There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?
James 4:12 NIV
Stone for the Journey
I will deal with my own faults instead of pointing out faults in others.