Fri Inspiration

Morning Inspiration with Pastor Merritt

Now these Pharisees think they’ve got Jesus caught in a trap, because three things are at stake. The Law of Moses was at stake, because the law was very plain about the penalty for adultery, which was death. The life of the woman was at stake, because if the law was carried out this woman was going to die. The love of Jesus was at stake, because if He condemned her on the spot He would no longer be known as “the friend of sinners.”

What would Jesus do? Typical Jesus – something shocking!

“This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.”(John 8:6)

Every time I read this story I am dying to know the answer to this question, “What was He writing?” Here is the only time we ever read anywhere in the Bible that Jesus ever wrote anything and we are not told what He wrote.

Judging from the way the Pharisees and the Sadducees respond I know one thing. He wasn’t playing Hangman! He wasn’t inviting them to a game of Tick-Tack-Toe. He wasn’t just doodling in the dirt. What did He write? We can only speculate, but I am more than happy to give you my speculation.
The word for “write” is not the ordinary word for “write” that you find in the New Testament. It is a word that literally means, “to write against.” I believe that what Jesus began to write down were some of the sins of which these Pharisees and Sadducees were guilty. I would say the first word He wrote was probably “hypocrisy” because time and time again He showed them how they demanded things of other people that they didn’t even obey themselves. Perhaps He wrote down the word “lying”, because time and time again they lied about Jesus and they even lied about what God’s word really taught. Maybe since this woman had been caught in adultery he wrote down the word “lust” reminding them of what He had already taught in the Sermon on the Mount that God says if you look at a woman with lust in your heart you’ve committed adultery.

This is what I love about Jesus. While they are building their case against the woman, Jesus is building His case against them. Instead of passing judgment on the woman, He passes judgment on the judges.

“And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, ‘Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.’ And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.” (John 8:7-9)

It was obvious these Pharisees had rocks in their hand. They were about to take their wind-up and throw their best fastball and all of a sudden rocks began dropping like flies. One-by-one beginning with the older ones they all left when they were confronted with their sin.

It reminds me of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of the “Sherlock Holmes Mysteries” who loved practical jokes. One time, just as a practical joke he sent a telegram to twelve of his friends. They were all very highly respected and well known. It was an anonymous telegram and all it said was, “Flee at once. Your secret has been discovered!” Within 24 hours all twelve had left the country! I don’t know if that story is anecdotal or not, but this one isn’t. These Pharisees and Sadducees could not get out of Dodge fast enough. You see here was the difference between them and Jesus. They were in the rock throwing business. Jesus was in the sin healing business. They were in the guilt business and Jesus was in the grace business. Do you know what grace does? Grace drops rocks. Grace will take you out of the rock throwing business. When you come to Jesus with your guilt and your brokenness He will give you grace.