Caught in the act

John 8:1-11. You know the story. A woman. Caught in the act of adultery. Forced out into the light of day. Into the light of the Temple of all places! Utter humiliation. Deep shame. Surrounded by highly respected religious leaders in the Jewish community. And Jesus.

“Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”

He was silent. But their questions would not cease. They wanted to trap him. To catch him doing something contrary to the Law. And boy, did they…

“Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Stunned silence.

As sinners saved by grace, this story leaves us shouting for joy or weeping with gratitude - or both - for the amazing love of our Savior. But I don’t believe for a minute those who came spouting accusations departed with softened hearts and a new understanding of grace. After all, it was the Jewish religious leaders who later sought to have Jesus killed; and eventually succeeded. And it was surely encounters like this that persistently fueled their self-righteous indignation and hatred of him. In one fell swoop, Jesus unequivocally placed himself above the Law.

We have the benefit of hindsight, but would we really have reacted so differently to this man Jesus?

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Here in the 21st century, imagine you are caught in the act of murder. Caught in the very act. As a result, you are aggressively hauled into the police station where you are shoved into a chair directly across from the Chief of Police. While sitting there, head hung low, your angry accusers recount the depravity of your sinful act. There is no denying what you’ve done and the crowd takes pleasure in reminding the Chief of the required punishment by law. You deserve death. But something strange happens. As everyone waits with knowing expectation, including you, the Police Chief rises and says, “Let the one who has never despised, hated, or withheld forgiveness take her to the death chamber.”
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Jesus waited until one by one, they all simply ... left.

“Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

“No one, sir.”

“Then neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Outrageous. So … wrong. Can we really blame the religious leaders for their outrage? The Law – God’s law – was clear. The response of Jesus was truly extreme. Can you imagine the Chief of Police saying, “Well, you know, everyone here has refused to forgive someone; or hated someone at one time or another, and that’s like committing murder in your heart. I’m not going to enforce the punishment required by law on her, but you can enforce it yourself if you are free of sin.” But that’s not all. Imagine the completely innocent Chief of Police then taking your death sentence upon himself. It wouldn’t make sense.

But that’s exactly what Jesus did. He stepped in and took your deserved punishment. He took my deserved punishment. He suffered a cruel, torturous death. The wild and crazy declaration Jesus made to the woman, “Neither do I condemn you,” boils down to one fantastic, overwhelming truth: Jesus LOVES you.

And don't miss this: Jesus didn't stick up for the woman after she cleaned up her act and chose a relationship with him. We don't know if she ever did. Jesus extended grace right when she was caught red-handed in humiliating sin - he didn't even ask if she was sorry. That's the Gospel message! Get to know this God-man Jesus. He isn't religious. He's radical. He's relationship-driven. And he will ASTOUND you!

I like to believe that woman's life was never the same. I like to believe she followed Jesus, wept at his crucifixion and rejoiced at his Resurrection. I like to believe she loved Jesus and loved others - because when she was caught in the act, Jesus didn't condemn her; he loved her.

Loving Jesus and loving others sets you free. That’s what you are, friend. You are free…from sin, from death…to live, to love.

Love is what was missing in the hearts and minds of the religious leaders. The big question is…is it missing in yours? Don't get caught in the act of religious superiority. Do get caught in the act of loving others. Every. single. day.