For our Scripture reading this morning, turn with me to John 8. John 8. We read together the verses 2 through 11, which will also serve as our text this morning. John chapter 8. And as you turn there, in a few Bibles you will see just two verses previously that there's been an insertion there with this note, the earliest and most reliable manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have John 7, 53 through 8, 11, which includes our text. One thing I think we need to take note of, however, is that the majority of the Greek manuscripts that are existent today include this portion of Scripture. And I believe that it fits quite well with the context that we find here. In chapter 7, for example, we find that Jesus in one verse is condemning the people or the leaders for their disobedience to the law. And now here in this particular portion of Scripture, the law scholars, as we'll call them, are challenging Him with regard to the law. As well, verse 12, in that verse, Jesus says He is the light of the world and we have a beautiful display in this text of the light of the world, Jesus Christ exposing the darkness and the falseness of the sin of the religious experts of that day. We read together verses 2-11 as we give our attention to the reading of God's Word. At dawn He appeared again in the temple courts where all the people gathered around Him and He sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to 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? They were using this question as a trap in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 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. Dear people of God, have you ever had something in your life that you wanted to keep secret? Something that you really didn't want your friends to know or the world around you to know? Sometimes when a family moves to a new location, the boys and girls have that, that maybe there's a weakness in themselves that they don't want their new friends to find out, at least not right away. Because, you know, the truth hurts when that truth comes out. It can hurt very deeply. Because when something that you want to remain hidden, something that might reveal something negative about you, becomes open, it becomes public knowledge, it's embarrassing. And it can be degrading. Because others find out something about you that you didn't want them to find out. The truth hurts. Scribes and Pharisees had been hurt by the truth. but the truth is, the fact is, it was more than a hurt. It was a downright sting for them. The scribes, they're called teachers of the law here in our text, the scribes whose major role or function it was to preserve the law of Moses and to instruct others in this law, as well as the Pharisees who were considered religious experts and they were considered to be those who were faithful to the letter of the law. These law scholars, as I would like to call them, on a number of occasions had been exposed by this Jesus for their mishandling of the law. They did not understand, nor did they believe, that this man was himself very God of very God. And therefore, he was himself the lawgiver. They did not understand that they were doing battle with the very one whose law they claimed to defend. Whose law they claimed to uphold in every aspect. And therefore, they kept coming back again and again to test this Jesus. But on this particular occasion, the lawgiver turns the sinful motive of the law scholars into self-examination. That's the Word of God that we consider this morning. The lawgiver turns the sinful motive of the law scholars into self-examination. Jesus Christ turned the light of the law against them, thereby revealing the darkness of their spiritual condition. Now, we want to consider three things this morning. First of all, the incidental test case. Secondly, the convicting challenge. And finally, the gracious pardon. Now, it was not uncommon to find different teachers teaching in the temple square. Those who were considered wise and those who were apt to teach easily filled their temple classrooms with students and followers. And the same was true with Jesus. By this time, He had been busy in ministry. He had done many signs and wonders before the eyes of the people, such as raising Jairus' daughter from the dead, casting out demons, healing the sick, making the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the lame to walk, as well feeding the multitudes. All kinds of wonderful things. And because of this, as the text points out in verse 2, all the people gathered around Him. But on this particular morning, the Bible lesson of Jesus was rudely interrupted. The scribes and Pharisees, as I mentioned a moment ago, had first-hand experience with Jesus. They had confronted Him before on many occasions and they didn't like what they had seen or what they had heard because it always came back against them. But they were constantly questioning Jesus about matters of the law and matters with regard to keeping the law. For example, in Matthew 15, verse 2, we read that the scribes and Pharisees asked Jesus, Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread. In Luke 6, when the disciples of Jesus, as we read, plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them their hands, then some of the Pharisees said to them, Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath? Every time these law scholars questioned Jesus with regard to the law, He would answer with authority. He would answer as one having wisdom and knowledge in the law. And every single time, these law scholars could not out-debate Him. Therefore, they didn't like Him. Actually, that's putting it mildly. They hated Him. He was stepping on their turf. They were supposed to be the experts in the law and in matters of interpreting the law and teaching the people how to keep the law. They were the law professors at the local seminary, but no doubt some of their students had transferred to the Messiah's University. In their minds, they should have been instructing Jesus in the law, telling Him what is wrong and what is right according to the law and not the other way around. He was uneducated. He was just the son of a carpenter. But they wouldn't give up. They wouldn't believe in Him. So on this day, here they come again. But this time is different. This time they come parading in confidently, disrupting His teaching, most likely standing and placing this woman right between Him and His listeners, those who gather to hear Him. And they put this lady on public display. Mockingly, they call Him Teacher. Oh, 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? Now, I think we need to understand here that as law conscious as these men were, there's no doubt that she was indeed guilty. That's not the question. And in Deuteronomy 19, verse 15, it specifies that one witness was not enough, but as the text says, By the mouth of two or three witnesses, the matter shall be established. And no doubt these law scholars had two or three witnesses who were credible. In fact, Jesus Himself, if you noticed, also condemns her sin. Look at the very last phrase of verse 11. He says to her, Go now and leave your life of sin. But in the same way, their appeal to the law of Moses was correct. In Leviticus 20, verse 10, we read, The man who commits adultery with another man's wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death. Then in Deuteronomy 22, we read, If a man is found lying with a woman, married to a husband, then both of them shall die, the man that lay with the woman and the woman, so you shall put away the evil from Israel. If a young woman who is a virgin is betrothed to a husband, and a man finds her in the city and lies with her, then you shall bring both of them out to the gate of that city and you shall stone them to death with stones. Now, congregation, we have to ask what is going on here? After all, the scribes and Pharisees had what seemed to be an open and shut case against this woman. So why are they bothering Jesus? Why didn't they go directly to the Sanhedrin with this case and be done with it and maybe take care of it quietly for the sake of this woman? And another question, where is the adulterer? Where is the man she was with? The law commanded that he also be put to death. Why did they want the advice and the opinion of Jesus on this particular occasion? Well, look at the first part of verse 6. They were using this question as a trap in order to have a basis for accusing Him. There you have it. The rest of the story. These law scholars didn't really care about this woman's conduct. They weren't concerned about justice being served in the case of her sin. They certainly were not grieved that God's law had been broken. This whole situation was just a setup to get Jesus. Their entire motivation was completely sinful and this adulteress was just incidental to their whole scheme. She was just bait in their trap to catch Jesus. But why did they want to trap Him and how would this particular occasion be a trick? Remember, they hated Him. He had discredited them on many occasions. In Matthew 15, Jesus verbally attacked them when He questioned their keeping of the laws and in the same passage, he applies to them the prophecy of Isaiah 29 where the Lord says that the people draw near to Me with their mouth, they honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in Matthew 16, He warns His disciples about the doctrine of these so-called law scholars. Every time, this lawgiver was teaching these law scholars a thing or two about the law which they claimed to know perfectly and keep perfectly. As well, already in Matthew 12, verse 14, it becomes clear that they wanted Him dead. We read there, Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him how they might destroy Him. And even the very day before this event, the scribes and Pharisees had failed to arrest Jesus. You can read that in verse 45 of chapter 7. All of their previous attempts to trap Him and give them a reason to arrest Him had failed. But not this time. This time, they thought they had Him. This time was going to be different. You see, beloved, this question about what Moses commanded surely would put Jesus in a no-win situation and therefore put them in a no-lose situation. And the setting couldn't be better. Jesus would go down right before the eyes of His faithful followers. These law scholars wanted nothing more than to destroy His credibility. but how was this to be a no-win situation for Jesus? Well, you see, by appealing to the law of Moses, these law scholars naturally thought, they naturally expected Jesus to either support the law or speak against the law. Simple as that. One way or the other. If Jesus said that she should not be stoned, then they could place an official charge against Him for not keeping the law which He so often upheld in other situations. He Himself said that He did not come to destroy the law, but to fulfill the law. But if Jesus said that she should be stoned, then He would also be contradicting what He had been doing all along. He had become well known for His compassion for sinners and disreputable people and He was quick to forgive and restore. And by His own word, He says that He came that the world through Him might be saved and that He came to seek and save the lost. And another problem if Jesus upheld the death penalty in this situation was that He would be placing Himself against the Roman authorities. You may recall that during this time, Rome had ultimate control over the world, over Palestine, and although Rome let the Sanhedrin, the Jewish Supreme Court, if you will, have a certain amount of power and authority and control, especially when it came to Jewish laws, yet the Roman authorities kept control over the death penalty. No one could be put to death without Rome's consent. This was a very big day for the scribes and Pharisees. They smelled victory at the expense of this woman. She was just incidental to their plan. She was, as we might say, in the wrong place for her at the right time for them. And their object was to use her and exploit her sin in order to advance their own evil agenda. This was the day that they would publicly discredit Jesus. They finally would have Him right where they wanted Him and they would be one step closer to being rid of Him. Not only did evil rule in the hearts of these law scholars, but they sought to use this particular woman and Scripture to their own evil advantage. They may have sought to keep the letter of the law in practice, but they were totally ignorant when it came to the spirit of the law. They did not love God above all and there certainly was no room for love for their neighbor as themselves. They loved themselves. And as Jesus pointed out at other times, they were only concerned about their outward reputations. For example, in Luke 20, Jesus says, Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. Congregation, how often don't wicked men use and abuse others to get what they want? How many don't make it a practice, a way of life, of stepping on others to get what they want, to climb the corporate ladder or whatever? How often don't wicked men quote the Scriptures when they think that it will work out for their good, to their advantage? Satan did that, didn't he, when he tempted Christ? In essence, he said, well, this is what the Word of God says. It says such and such. So why don't you test the Word of God to make sure it's true? There's a familiar verse in Matthew 7, verse 1, which says, Judge not that you be not judged. I think a verse that's often misinterpreted, misused. Some who do evil like to throw that verse in the face of Christians, claiming that no one may ever judge the actions of another in any situation or circumstance, whatever that may be. And that's why so many abortion rights advocates and homosexual rights advocates like to throw that in our face, the face of Christians. And even as Christians, we must confess that when someone else dares to challenge us with our sin, we like to throw that same verse in their face. Judge not that ye be not judged. But that's not what Jesus is saying there. Also, some, while trying to manipulate another to their own advantage, might say, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. You know the golden rule. But their intention is not to do something nice for that other person, but to get that other person to do something nice to them. You know, you've got to abide by that golden rule for my sake. A completely selfish intention. And boys and girls, I think that you might know what I mean here. I remember as a boy doing that with my friends. If you do this for me, then I'll do that for you. but you've got to do this for me first, okay? Then maybe I'll do that for you. I had a situation about 13 or 14 years ago in which an individual who knew that I was a Christian made it his business to tell me that I had to do this, and I had to do this, and I had to do this for him. You see, he knew what God expects from his people. And therefore, he tried to take advantage of God's people. Beloved, the preparatory form calls us to examine whether because of our sins and accursedness we abhor ourselves and humble ourselves before God. As you examine yourself throughout the coming week, consider this. Are you sorry for your sins because you got caught? Because God has that all-seeing eye? He is the searcher, the perfect searcher of hearts? Or are you truly sorry for your sin because you have grievously offended a holy God? There's a difference. I think some of the young people might have run into this situation. Again, I must confess that I did as a young person. When you do something wrong, maybe someone here has done something that they know was wrong. They know they shouldn't be doing it, but they did it anyway. And then you got caught and indeed you were sorry about it. But were you sorry because you got caught and you got punished and had to bear that punishment? Or were you sorry because you truly did something wrong? It was a sin. You should not have done it. You see, these law scholars could not fathom how God's justice and mercy could be harmonized. They couldn't figure that out. It had to be one way or the other. Either she was guilty and she was punished for it, or she was not guilty and she would not be punished. They really didn't care about the law except to turn the point of the sword of the Spirit, the very Word of God, against the one they hated. Yet the reality was they would soon feel its sharp edge themselves as the lawgiver addresses them with the convicting challenge. Notice the second half of verse 6. It begins a paragraph in our Bibles. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with His finger. Now, we don't know exactly why Jesus did what He did here. But believe me, there are plenty of interesting as well as far-fetched ideas, especially with regard to what He wrote. But the truth is, the text doesn't tell us, does it? Yet the image that we see here is compelling. Now remember, this whole situation of trapping Jesus focuses on the law. And as Jesus writes on the ground with His finger, we are reminded of another episode in the life of Israel way back in Exodus 31. Verse 18 says, And when he that is God had made an end of speaking with him that is Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave Moses two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God. Now, Jesus' actions seem to suggest you so-called self-imposed law scholars, You seek to remind me of the law? I wrote it. I wrote it. And as well, his actions seem to suggest as well to demonstrate to us God's long-suffering towards sin. But these guys didn't get it. They didn't understand. They had waited so long for this day and they weren't going to give up easily. They were not going to let this opportunity slip through their fingers. So as the text says, they keep on questioning Him. And as Jesus stands, we can almost hear these law scholars snickering and we can see them rubbing their hands together as if to say, Ha, ha, ha, all right, here it comes. We got Him. What's He going to say? Only then to see their sly grins turn to looks of amazement. And here, in a sense, their jaws hit the ground as their mouths fell wide open when Jesus says, if any one of you is without sin, let Him be the first to throw a stone at her. You see, their no-lose situation just lost, didn't it? They come to Him with a matter of the law, but Jesus goes even deeper into the law addressing the heart of the matter. And He confronts them with the question of their own sin. You want to talk law? Let's consider your own law violation. You see, the light of the world as Jesus identifies Himself in verse 12 turns His light on His enemies, exposing the darkness of the recesses of their hearts, exposing their sin, calling them to self-examination. All along He knew of the sinful motives of their heart. He knew that in their wickedness they were parading this woman around, treating her like dirt, publicly humiliating her. No doubt her life would be ruined after this. Using her as bait in their trap just to try to catch Jesus. But Jesus is revealing to them that they are in no position to judge her sin. We are reminded of that episode in Zechariah chapter 3. I had a privilege of preaching on this to you back in November where Joshua the high priest He stands before God clothed in filthy garments. And who else is there? None but Satan to accuse Him. We read there that the Lord rebukes Satan. Satan, you are in no position to throw accusations against anyone else. But notice, Jesus answers their law question with another law. In Deuteronomy 17.7 we read, the hands of the witnesses shall be the first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people, so you shall put away the evil from among you. With a few words of self-examination, Jesus reminds these law scholars that the law also says that the witnesses must cast the first stones, and since this is to be done in order to purge out the evil, that's the intention, that the witnesses had better be sinless themselves. You see, Jesus is not going against the law of Moses. He's not setting Himself up against Rome. And neither is He condoning the sin of this woman. Instead, He has given the accusers room to throw the stones, but first He is demanding that they examine themselves according to the law, in essence, turning the question back to them, as if to say, okay, now you give the answer. If they are to bring an accusation against anyone else, they must be innocent and pure themselves. And they must desire that the evil be done away with and not replaced by more sin and more evil. Now at first this might make us wonder, well, who then can be a reputable witness? Who? All men are sinners. No one is absolutely pure and holy and righteous except for our Lord. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Where does this leave us? Where does our legal system with courtroom juries and witnesses fit into all of this? How can we practice discipline in the church if sinners cannot discipline sinners? I believe John Calvin gives an excellent explanation of what Jesus is saying here. Calvin explains that Christ is not forbidding sinners to do their duty in correcting the sin of others. But that Christ is rebuking hypocrites who do it with wrong motives, evil intentions, or who themselves willfully indulge in the same sins. All are sins, congregation, yet that is not to keep us from correcting the sins of others and even punishing them, if necessary, by God's direction. And as Calvin makes clear, the sinner doing the correcting is to hate what is being condemned, both in himself and in others and he is to begin by examining his own conscience, acting as both a witness and a judge against himself before he comes to others. I trust this will cause each one of us to slow down and take a step back before we are tempted to judge others in this way. Congregation, this woman had sinned. That point is not being contested. She was guilty. But instead of condemning her for righteous reasons, the scribes and Pharisees were trying to capitalize on her sin and under the disguise of righteousness to use her sin for motives that were more sinful. But Jesus cannot be tricked. He cannot be trapped. Not back then. Not today. And His convicting challenge went straight to the heart of the matter and indeed each and every one of them were convicted because as we notice from the text, not one of them wanted to be caught with a stone in his hand. They exit quickly, they exit quietly. What a beautiful demonstration of the power of the Word of God. The power of the truth of the Word of God to expose that which is false, to expose the sin of the lie. As we examine ourselves in this next week, congregation, we too are called to recognize our sin and misery and to be pricked in our consciences, To examine our motives and our intentions. You know, we are called to self-examination, not other-examination. And our response, unlike the response of these convicted law scholars, did you notice their response, by the way? They left Him. They walked away from the Savior. But our response is that we are called to throw ourselves at the mercy seat of the Savior. The One who paid the penalty for our sin. These men realized that they were not qualified to cast the first nor any stone, so quietly they crept away. Yet it appears that this woman was convicted of her sin. Now, the text doesn't tell us that directly. But notice, she doesn't sneak away. The text tells us Jesus bent down once again and continued to write with His finger on the ground. And while all of her accusers would-be accusers, quietly snuck away, she could have easily snuck away too, free. There was no charge against her anymore. But she did. Instead, she recognizes Jesus as Lord. And He said to her, Has no one condemned you? In other words, is there no one left to prosecute you? Without witnesses to prosecute, there can't be a trial, guilty or not. And without witnesses, the sentence which Moses demanded It could not be carried out. And therefore, this was a mistrial. Can you imagine the compassion in the voice of Jesus as He said to her, Then neither do I condemn you. Have you heard that voice by the working of the Holy Spirit? That voice being spoken to your heart? Then neither do I condemn you. A wonderful, gracious pardon. You see, at this point, Jesus revealed Himself to this woman as the one and only One who could rightly condemn her. He is the sinless One. He is the Holy One who is worthy to prosecute and worthy to execute the sentence. He is the faithful witness, as Revelation 1 says. He is a credible witness because He knows her heart. He knows her thoughts. He knows her desires. He knows ours as well. By not condemning her, He reveals His purpose. As He says in John 12, verse 47, For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. Yet the truth is, He will come again and judge those who do not believe on Him and who do not take His commission seriously. Notice that Jesus sends this woman away with both a promise and a commission. He gives her a promise of grace when He says, neither do I condemn you. Again, the most wonderful promise anyone could ever hear uttered from the lips of our Savior. But there is a commission that's tied to that promise. He says, go now and leave your life of sin. It's not the other way around. It's not go now and leave your life of sin, and then I will not condemn you. But neither do I condemn you. So now go and sin no more. Jesus exhorts this woman to repentance. He commands her to sin no longer, to change her life and her lifestyle in such a way that she honors God in the way that she lives. He commands her to live worthy of the calling she has received. Beloved Jesus Christ did not condemn her, but shortly He would be condemned for her. Again, these law scholars, as I said a moment ago, couldn't figure out how God's justice could be harmonized with His mercy and grace. They did not understand that instead of punishing, instead of leaving sin unpunished, as the preparatory form says, God chose to punish it in His only begotten Son. But they didn't understand this because they didn't know the Savior. The words of Jesus to this woman point to the cross where God's justice and His mercy come together, His justice in that God pours out His wrath and punishment upon Jesus Christ for the sins of the world. But His mercy in that Jesus Christ who knew no sin became sin for us in our place, dying for us that we might have life. You see, instead of this woman being driven to the ground with stones, our Lord Jesus Christ was driven to the cross with nails. Once again, we are called to self-examination, not to examine each other. Only God can read the heart of another person, not you, not me. And we are called to examine ourselves honestly, and when we do, we will find, we will not find a clean slate. Instead, we will find a very black page. But the beauty here is that those who recognize that black page of life and look to the Savior for forgiveness, by the grace of God. They are those who are invited to the Lord's table. A table of reconciliation and fellowship. The table with the gospel message showing us that our sins are forgiven in Jesus Christ and life eternal is for those who believe on Him. Beloved, God's word of grace to His people is neither do I condemn you. And that's because His word of judgment and His word of condemnation went out against His only begotten Son. These law scholars went away convicted. They condemned themselves. That's clear. That's clear. But they went away without any sort of sweet release. That would be the way of all those who reject the Savior. But the adulterous woman went away forgiven with a new purpose in life, to live for her Lord. And God's promise to all who come to Him in repentance and faith is that all of our sins are forgiven. Go and sin no more. And instead, as the preparatory form calls us to do, live sincerely before His face. Seeking our life not in ourselves, but apart from ourselves in Jesus Christ. So as you consider the Lord's table, know that it is prepared for sinners who are saved by grace. And the message of the table of our Lord is this. There is therefore now no condemnation, not any, for those who are in Christ Jesus. Amen. Shall we pray? Our gracious God and Heavenly Father, we praise You for the truth of Your Word, the light of Your Word. Oh yes, it hurts, Father, when the light of Your Word exposes our sin and misery. We praise You that You lift our eyes to the cross of Jesus and that Your promise is true and that it is sure that those who confess their sins, who repent and confess, that You are faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. May we walk day by day in that confidence, in that assurance. May we walk in humility of who we are, But walk with a joyful heart in the God of our salvation. Father, hear our prayer. Strengthen us day by day to follow Your will. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.