ADULTERY! - (JOHN 8 VS. 1 TO 11)

Time with Jesus - Wednesday, 27 February 2013

Jim & Phyllida Strickland at home

Hi all,

Adultery! It’s an interesting word which post- puberty men and women have had to learn to deal with to some extent. God has designed us such that we are attracted by each other in different ways. Let’s not go there. What we can say is that men are stimulated by what they see. Men love to watch strip shows. Ladies usually don’t. It’s difficult for any normal red-blooded man to look at a naked women without being physically stimulated.

Under the Old Covenant, the law stated ¹⁴ "You shall not commit adultery. Exodus 20:14 TNIV By implication, you could “look” as much as you wanted. “Commit” was the operative word. As long as you didn’t “do it” there was no problem with God. Certainly that was the understanding of the men back then. A sign saying, “Please do not handle the merchandise” would have kept everyone, including God, happy!?!

Then Jesus arrived on the scene. His comments put a new “slant” on what comprised adultery. ²⁷ "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery. ²⁸ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Mat 5:27-28 TNIV In other words, from the Christian standpoint, committing adultery was taken beyond the action phase to the looking phase.

Now let’s reason this through to establish what Jesus meant. It can’t possibly mean that a man should go everywhere with his eyes closed, in order not to be guilty of adultery. The operative words are “looking lustfully”. Thus men are allowed to appreciate the beauty of a woman. What is forbidden is to go beyond “looking” and to start “lusting” for her. Many counsellors deal with this by to telling the young men to look away. Appreciate the beauty of a woman by all means; but if there is any trace of “lust”, look elsewhere. One writer’s advice was to “bounce” your eyes.

The reason we have gone through this is to get a better understanding of what took place in John 8:1-12. Bear in mind Jesus was simultaneously, 100% man and 100% God. He knew that the woman they brought to Him was naked. He knew how easy it was to be tempted into sin. He also knew that for Him to start looking at a naked woman would be a significant temptation. So He protected Himself from temptation by determining not to look at her. He stooped down and began to write on the ground with His finger.

If you look carefully at the passage, he did not look at the woman till the teachers of the law and the Pharisees had departed the scene. By then someone, knowing of her extreme embarrassment, would have handed her something to cover her body. It therefore seems likely that Jesus was not tempted by a naked woman. Once again the Master had defeated the subtle tricks of Satan.

His action of averting His eyes is our example for us to keep away from falling into “looking to lust”. Thank You Lord for this magnificent example for us to follow!

Shalom,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland 

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Wednesday, 27 February 2013			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
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INTRODUCTION			DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	Adultery! - (John 8 vs. 1 to 11)
Yesterday’s meditation and Scriptures were all about Covenant. You may recall that it referred to the fact that it was usually only the woman who was stoned to death for adultery. The man got off “scot-free”. I suspect that if women were stronger than men, it would have been the other way round! Being stoned to death for committing adultery is the topic dealt with in John 8 – one of today’s Scriptures. This portion of Scripture is left out in some translations. Where it has been included, there is often a footnote, or marginal-note, stating that the passage is not in them. It’s been deliberately left out for a good reason. Many translators do not like to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is God! So they remove any section of Scripture which makes reference to His Divinity. After all, only God can forgive sin! What is not mentioned is that if she was caught in the act of adultery and brought before Jesus, she was probably naked. Her deep humiliation and embarrassment would have touched Him deeply. To help her with this, Jesus didn’t look at her. Instead He wrote on the ground. It’s likely that someone threw her a covering of some sort during the time when the Pharisees left one by one. This would have quietened her trembling significantly. In other words, Jesus would not have been looking at a naked woman! I like this understanding, because of the deep care for women He displayed throughout His time in ministry. He would not have wanted to increase her embarrassment. What was He writing in the sand? We don’t know. Unfortunately the writing has been erased. One suggestion which is plausible, is that it was the sins of each leader of the group. When each of them read it, they had to get away. Caught “Red handed” is the comment. They had to leave! They thought they had “caught” Jesus out. The Mosaic Law was very clear. The penalty for adultery was stoning to death. If He had agreed, they would have stoned her to death there and then. If He didn’t He would have been siding with someone who had broken the law. His action was an act of God; repentance and forgiveness for an adulterer. No condemnation! “Go and sin no more”, was His injunction. Whether she did or did not we are not told. My guess is that her life was transformed by the incident. Jesus still does this today for sinners like you and me. Some of us have gone to Him more deeply entrenched in sin than this unfortunate woman. He forgave us and said, “Go and sin no more”! I’m so glad He did! This little poem was written in 1985. However, it is as just as relevant today as it was back then. Sorry about the small font size! Jim & Phyllida Strickland			5 If any of you needs wisdom to know what you should do, you should ask God, and he will give it to you. God is generous to everyone and doesn't find fault with them. 6 When you ask for something, don't have any doubts. A person who has doubts is like a wave that is blown by the wind and tossed by the sea. 7 James 1:5-6 GW 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, "Where are your accusers? Didn't even one of them condemn you?" 11 "No, Lord," she said. And Jesus said, "Neither do I. Go and sin no more." John 8:10-11 NLT 15 There is no comparison between God's gift and Adam's failure. If humanity died as the result of one person's failure, it is certainly true that God's kindness and the gift given through the kindness of one person, Jesus Christ, have been showered on humanity. 16 There is also no comparison between God's gift and the one who sinned. The verdict which followed one person's failure condemned everyone. But, even after many failures, the gift brought God's approval Rom. 5:15-16 GW 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Eph. 2:4-9 ESV 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Rom. 8:31-33 ESV	He'd been on the Mountain of Olives, As well as our Temple in town. We had heard Jesus speak All the previous week And at dawn, He came in and sat down. We all began gathering round Him; All eager, His voice, for to hear; Perhaps we would see Him miraculously Cause a wondrous sign to appear! Then, up walked a group of our leaders With a woman they thought He should see. They said, "It's a fact!" "She's been caught in the act Of committing adultery." They said that, according to Moses, She should now pay the ultimate price; And, if He agreed, They would like to proceed. But first, would He give His advice? Now, all of us knew that the question Was designed to put Him in a flap. They wanted to see What His answer would be. Perhaps, He'd be caught in their trap? The woman looked horribly frightened. She stood there just shaking with fear. She was weeping aloud In front of the crowd, Convinced that her death was now near. But we were all looking at Jesus And wondering what He would say. We could see He was faced With His utter distaste For this harsh and unloving display. We didn't know how He could answer, Or the principle He would propound. But, we knew what He meant When He silently bent And His finger did write on the ground. The Scribes and the Pharisees gloated, Insisting He make a reply. They thought He was beat Till He got to His feet And looked them all straight in the eye. With a voice of authoritive passion, He uttered these words from His heart: “The one without sin May her stoning begin." Then, His writing, once more, He did start!		The leaders all stared in amazement; Confused by the answer they'd heard. For, the words that He spoke Nearly caused them to choke! To them, He had sounded absurd. But slowly the truth of His answer Started settling into each mind. Like the light of the day Driving darkness away, Their reasons for stoning declined. Then, shamed by the wisdom of Jesus, The eldest departed the scene. How could he reply? He did not qualify! He knew what a sinner he'd been. And, right the way down to the youngest, They followed the eldest man's lead And left, one by one, Till each person had gone That accused her of doing the deed. The woman continued her weeping But, since only Jesus was near, Her trembling finished; Her wailing diminished And she was controlling her fear. Then, Jesus arose from His bending And glanced very quickly around. We could tell from His eyes He wasn't surprised Her inquisitors couldn't be found! "Woman, where are your accusers?" Jesus asked as the woman grew calm. "Where are the men Who seek to condemn? Is there no one that's seeking your harm?" By then, she was filled with amazement And relief that she couldn't disguise. "No one Sir!" she replied In a voice which implied That she didn't believe her own eyes. Then, Jesus looked full of compassion As He gazed at her straight in the eye; And His words set her free As He said tenderly, "If they haven't, neither do I!" Jesus knew that she'd truly repented Of what she'd been doing before; And so He did say That she could go away And added, "Don't sin anymore!"
				Jim Strickland  Written 1985