Grace to Change

John 8:11 - And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

The story we often call The Woman Caught in the Act of Adultery is a powerful story of grace. She was dragged to Jesus by a bunch of legalistic Jewish leaders as simply a tool to get him in trouble. There will multiple witnesses of her inappropriate behavior. There was no doubt of her guilt of the charge that may not mean much in America today but gave grounds for her to be killed by people throwing stones at her under the Jewish Law. Those Jewish leaders reminded Jesus of this. “In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” (John 8:5 ESV)

They knew this would put Jesus in a tough spot. If he said, “Stone her,” he would fulfill the Law, but the message of grace he had been preaching would be nullified. If he said, “Let her go,” he would be violating the Old Testament Law. Instead, on another of his brilliant moves of righteous grace, Jesus responded, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7 ESV)

As those vicious leaders thought about Jesus’ challenge, one by one they left, because they realized they each were guilty of doing wrong things in their own lives. None of them were eligible to throw that first stone. Once Jesus saw that they all left he uttered the unforgettable words to the woman: “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” (John 8:10-11 ESV)

As the only sinless person to walk this earth, Jesus could have condemned her, but he didn’t. His wonderful promise extends to all of us who come to him. He forgives. He does not condemn, but notice that forgiveness is not a license to continue in the sinful behavior: “Go and sin no more.” (John 8:11 KJV)

Our modern world is often caught between the two bad options the Jewish leaders thought they had limited Jesus to. Either we slam the “sinners” around us with condemnation or we endorse their sin and say there is nothing wrong with doing evil things. There are plenty of well-meaning Christians who have planted themselves on both sides of this dilemma, but Jesus’ way is still best. Let us forgive those who have done wrong (because we all have), yet see that forgiveness as the first step in a new life in which behavior changes because wrong is still wrong. Grace is the gateway to change.

The Light of Christmas

John 7:52 - They answered him, “You are not also from Galilee, are you? Search, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee.”

The first century Jewish leaders held their scriptures – our Old Testament – in high regard. However, they missed the best part of those scriptures’ message: the true nature of the coming Messiah. They got Jesus’ birth place right (see Matthew 2:4-6). They knew that as Son of David the Christ was to be born in Bethlehem, but they missed a key prophecy from the Old Testament prophet who wrote the most prophecies of all.  

The Prophet Isaiah lived more than 700 years before the First Christmas yet gave many prophecies about the coming of the Christ that were given in so much incredible detail that there is no way Jesus could have fulfilled them by chance or even by his own effort to try and seem like the Christ. The only realistic explanation is that he was the Christ prophesied by Isaiah and many other Old Testament prophets and writers hundreds of years before he came.

Isaiah Chapter Nine contains several of these. Verse One prophesied the exact location his ministry would begin: the Land of Galilee, which was part of the Old Testament tribal land of Naphtali. The Jerusalem-based leaders described in John 7 and 8 had a real snobbery against the low-life Gallileans. That is why the responded the way they did above not realizing that if they had taken to time to study the scriptures, they would have found Isaiah Nine fulfilled that challenge and told not only where the Christ was to come from but also what he was to be like and what he would do.

Verses Six and Seven revealed the unique fully divine/fully human nature of the Christ as memorably put to music by George Frideric Handel in his Messiah:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end,

on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it

with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Unfortunately, most of those early Jewish leaders got it wrong. They were not willing to take the challenge to search the scriptures for themselves to see that this Jewish was the promised one. Many today are in the same situation, while others have sought and found that Jesus is their Savior.

The greatest gift of Christmas is ours when we do receive his gift. Then we get to discover the wonderful truth Isaiah spoke of between the other two prophecies in Verse Two of Chapter Nine and learn what Jesus came to do for us:

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;

those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.

It is my prayer that his light will shine on you this Christmas and throughout the coming year.