Lesson 21

Out Of Darkness And Into Light

John 8:1-12

The incident recorded in John 8:-12 is one of the most well-known stories in the Bible. Strangely, in spite of its familiarity, I have never preached a sermon from this text ... until today. Perhaps I have been a little squeamish, because, at first glance, the text seems to picture Jesus as being soft on sexual sin, soft on adultery, soft on the law, soft on justice.

And yet, as I read the gospels, Jesus was always a surprise. He always seems to be saying the wrong thing, hanging out with the wrong people. Jesus has a way of surprising us all. His views are different than what one might expect.

You might say that John 8:1-12 is a demonstration of some things that we have already read about Jesus in John (see 1:4,5,14; 3:19-21). In just twelve short verses, in just five sentences from the lips of our Lord, we are brought fact to face with weighty issues of life, mercy versus justice, moral darkness, spiritual light, grace and forgiveness. (Who says that brevity is synonymous with insignificance?) He is (v. 12) "the light of the world" and in this text some dark things are brought to light, his light. Darkness is exposed and light is revealed.

This incident took place on the heels of Israel's most joyous feast - the Feast of Tabernacles. The Jewish law required that all who lived within 20 miles of Jerusalem to go up to the city for the feast. But since it was a time for great celebration, people poured into Jerusalem from all over the country.

The divine design and intention of this feast was for the nation to remember that they had once been a people dwelling in tabernacles - that during the 40 years of wilderness wandering when they had dwelt in tabernacles, God had graciously provided them with manna and quail and water. God had brought them into a land of milk and honey where they enjoyed prosperous harvests and dwelt in permanent homes.

Once a year, they came to Jerusalem and lived in tabernacles for a week where a festival atmosphere ruled. Many came to praise God and to give sacrifices at the Temple. But as often happens with religious holidays observed year after year, this feast had become, for the average Jew, a week long party - devoid of much spiritual significance.

For most of us, Thanksgiving has become merely a day of sumptuous eating and football and a family gathering. And Christmas is mostly about crass commercialism. One Bible historian and commentator compared the secular and sinful spirit of the feast of Tabernacles in Jesus' day to the modern day atmosphere of Mardi Gras. It is hard for me even to imagine that such a spiritual moment for worship, praise and sacrifice to God becoming so unspiritual. Obviously, the sincere were there in Jerusalem for the feast but so were the superficial.

It is here that our story takes place, the morning after the feast of tabernacles has officially ended. For some, there had been the last night of partying, sleep it off the next morning and then pack up and go home. For others, the more sincere, those who want to squeeze in all the teaching possible before they go home. Jesus, who had spent the night at the Mt. of Olives, a special place of prayer and fasting and meditation for Him, returned early in the morning to the temple and began teaching.

Suddenly, His class was interrupted! The scribes and Pharisees arrive noisily, dragging a woman in to the group and, according to verse 3, they "set her in the midst." All eyes are on this woman.

Mercilessly, these men broadcast her sin. What had been done in secret, in darkness is now being exposed to light. Her private life is being made quite public. Her sin - adultery - caught in the very act. What kind of woman is she? There is no evidence that she is a prostitute. The text does not describe her as a harlot but, simply, as a woman taken (overtaken; seized) in adultery. The text says "adultery" not "fornication". The implication is that she is a married woman and that she was caught in the act of sex with someone other than her husband.

We do not know the circumstances surrounding this sin. Was she lonely? Was her husband pre-occupied with making money? Was he out of town on business often? Had she gone with some friends to a feast celebration? Had he been there, a handsome, dark-eyed, man who had over recent weeks and months shown her some attention, charmed her, seduced her? We do not know the circumstances.

Frankly, I'm a little suspicious about the circumstances. It takes two to commit adultery. Where is the other half of this sin? Is he absent because he somehow escaped the scribes and Pharisees? Is he absent because they are more tolerant of this sin from a man than from a woman? Is he absent because the whole scenario is a set-up for the strict purpose of trapping Jesus.

Here stands this woman with all eyes fixed on her. She has been grabbed from the embrace of her lover and dragged through the streets to the temple. Her pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears. Now she stands before a crowd, startled and confused, perhaps clutching her garments to cover her nakedness, feeling embarrassment, fear, humiliation, anger, feeling degraded, cheapened, guilty, rejected destroyed, alone, exposed, vulnerable. How could she ever face her husband again? Her family? Her neighbors? Her friends? The whispers, the gossip had already started. She probably wanted to scream at the crowd, "Stop staring at me."

These men that have brought her to this spot, these whose reputation is of being the moral pillars of the Jewish community, what are there motives? It is obvious that they do not care about the woman. What do they care about? The law? Justice being served? That is the appearance (v. 5). That is what they want us to believe. But some things are not as they appear. The Holy Spirit has inspired and enabled John to see the true motives of their heart, v. 6a.

It didn't matter to them that there was a human being whose life was being totally exposed and destroyed. It didn't matter to them whether this woman was stoned to death or not. The life they wanted was Jesus'! They weren't really concerned with her, or with her sin, or with the law, or with justice. Oh, it all appeared so righteous, so theological, but the appearance was false. Their real intentions set a vicious snare for Jesus. She was merely a pawn. They had created a moral dilemma for Jesus which seems to have no possible good outcome. Do we show justice or mercy?

I once faced this very dilemma. While in college, I was elected by the student body to serve as a justice on the Community Judicial Court. When college rules had been broken by students, the CJC's job was to hear the matter, listen to the evidence and render a verdict. On one occasion, a couple was caught in the very act. The rules said Expulsion - loss of tuition, loss of scholarship. One of the guilty parties thumbed her nose at the court. The other, repented and begged for mercy, a second chance.

How was I to rule? It was quite a dilemma. To require expulsion would be to enforce the law but to show no compassion on one who had been repentant. On the other hand, to not expel, while it showed mercy, seemed to show no regard for the rule. I wrestled with this dilemma and finally decided that my title and my task were that of "Justice." Both parties were punished severely but because they had shown such incredibly different attitudes, one of them had a ever so slightly less severe punishment and a second chance possibility. My judgment was later appealed to a higher court and reversed.

In every court, there is always a point of tension between mercy and justice. That is the dilemma in which Jesus was placed by the scribes and Pharisees. They think they have him in a "no win" situation. If he says, "Go with the law" they will say that he lacks compassion for people. If he says, "Show mercy to her" they will say that he doesn't regard the law of God. This was a trap. The whole thing was intended to capture Him no matter which answer He gave. It was the same when they asked about paying taxes to Caesar. There seemed to be no good answer. Say yes to taxes and you are endorsing Rome's domination of Israel. Say no and you are a law breaker.

The response of Jesus is rather surprising. He did not immediately answer them. Actually, He never directly answered them. Instead, the Bible says that he stooped down and began writing something in the dust as though he heard them not. This is the only recorded time that we read of Jesus ever writing anything and we do not know what He wrote! Was He just doodling? Was He writing out His answer? It seems to be significant that He wrote but what did He write? One thing for sure, Jesus has taken the eyes of the crowd off the woman and drawn attention to himself.

Would you permit me to guess? Obviously, no one knows but the text and context give us a clue. I think that Jesus maybe just started writing down commandments - Thou shalt not commit adultery - Thou shalt not steal - Thou shalt not bear false witness - Honour thy father and thy mother - Thou shalt not kill - Thou shalt not covet - Thou shalt truly tithe of all the increase - Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart. He straightened up and they pressed him for an answer. He stooped back down and began writing again. Maybe he started writing down beside the commandment, the name of of one of them. I think that Jesus began to uncover their sins as they had uncovered the woman's. Although we will never know, that makes sense. "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her."

The point is not that she is not guilty. She was caught in the act. The point is not whether she deserves to be punished or not, even stoned. The law is clear. Exo 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery. Deu 22:22 If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away evil from Israel. Lev 20:10 And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.

What is the point? These scribes and Pharisees paraded themselves before the people as morally superior bastions of holiness and righteousness. They could tell you everything that was wrong about everyone else and everything that was right about themselves. Jesus is saying in essence to them, "She is indeed a sinner. But so are you." Jesus did not say that the most respectable could cast the first stone nor that the most religious could cast the first stone. "Let him that is without sin cast the first stone." Have any of these the right to hurl stones of rejection and judgement at her?" "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" "There is none righteous, no, not one." "All we like sheep have gone astray." "For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not."

In trying to trap Jesus, they had only succeeded in having their own sinfulness exposed. They had brought to light her sin done under the cover of darkness. Jesus had brought to light the dark part of their lives. Perhaps they now felt the same shame which they had inflicted on her. One by one, from the oldest to the youngest, they dropped their head, convicted by their own conscience and slipped away.

Please notice: When their sinfulness got exposed the self-righteous accusers all left but the woman remained! John 3:19-21 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. The men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. But the woman was coming to the light. They did not respond to the light but she did!

To the men, Jesus had had very little to say, just one small statement. But to this woman, Jesus has much more to say. He is the only one who could cast a stone at her and He didn't!

Christianity needs to be like Christ. He did not condone the sin ("Go and sin no more") but He did not condemn the sinner ("Neither do I condemn thee"). This woman found in Christ unconditional love. Is that what people find in Christianity? Too often, not overtly, not openly hostile, but in a thousand subtle ways our love of people is conditional. Christ's unconditional love drew her to himself. That is the power of unconditional love - it draws men to Christ.

In verse 10 , Jesus asks her a question. Please note that in her answer, she called him "Lord." "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus Christ and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath rasied him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." To one who would come to Him as Lord there is not the slightest hint of condemnation but forgiveness and power to overcome temptation and sin. The only man who could ever have stoned her, instead forgave her.

Jesus is not soft on sin. He doesn't overlook it. He forgives it. And He gives those who come to His Lordship and His light the command and the ability to overcome sin. And how is he able to do this? Because He suffered the punishment of her sin and every other sin when He did on the cross for our sins. The ultimate resolution between justice and mercy is wrapped up in the cross. Sin was punished when the Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all and God was merciful when He made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin.

When He who is the light of the world shines his light on your soul, you have a choice in the way you will respond. You can retreat into deeper darkness, you can flee from His brightness like those religious leaders or you can, like the woman, see yourself totally exposed by His light and find in Him grace and truth.

Today you may feel deeply uncomfortable because of a sin you have committed. You may be embarrassed to be with friends or to face the people around you because somehow you sense that if they knew your sin, they would hurl stones of judgment at you. But look again. All of your accusers have left the room. Not one of them can condemn you. Today, you can come face to face with Jesus. Can he forgive you? You wonder if your sins are too dark, too evil, too many, too often? Listen to these words, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.