Word of Salvation – Vol.07 No.29 – July 1961

 

The Adulterous Woman

 

Sermon by Rev. P. H. Pellicaan on John 8:1-11

Scripture reading and text: John 8:1-11

Hymns: 52:1,2,7; 11:1,2 (after the Law)
11:3 (after declaration of grace: Det.30:15-20)
54:1,2,3; 401; 468

 

Beloved congregation,

Scripture explains itself.  You cannot take a text of the Bible out of its context.  That is what many sects do, and it is amazing how many isolated words of the Bible they can find to support their own opinion.

The story about the adulterous woman, which is our text today, has been explained, and misrepresented in that same way.  Some people used this story to support their own opinion that adultery was not that bad because, as they said – Jesus’ attitude toward this sin was very mild.

Immediately after the story about this woman we read that Jesus said: I am the light of the world, he that follows Me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life.  Only in THIS light, this light of life, will it be clear to us why Jesus spoke to the sinful woman as He did.

I am the Light of the world…!

It’s a word full of majesty.  He did not say: I would like to be the Light of the world; neither did He say: this world needs light.  His word is not an expression of a desire or of a demand, but He is stating a FACT!

He IS the Light of the world!  And when did the Lord make this statement?  At the moment when He dismissed that woman!  And so this story is only an illustration of Jesus being the Light of the world.  Consequently my subject this morning is not: the adulterous woman, but: our Lord, the Light of this world!

It all happened during the Feast of Tabernacles (Loofhutten-feest).  It was one of the Jewish feasts, held in the seventh month.  A feast that lasted for seven days.  With branches of trees and of palms they built tabernacles and lived in them – in remembrance of the time that Israel lived in tents and temporary dwellings during their wanderings from Egypt to Canaan.  They remembered how the Lord had protected them and guided them through many dangers to the promised country.  It was a joyful feast.  They were reminded of a joyful occasion: God’s salvation.  Moreover, this feast was a feast of thanksgiving for the harvest.  Wheat and vintage were brought in by that time, and that explains that sometimes at this feast the wine flowed freely, too freely….!  The religious feast sometimes became very noisy and unruly.  The crowded city, with many thousands of visitors from the country, the joyful mood, the wine, the rather primitive camping accommodation in these tabernacles all these factors contributed to the imminent danger of excesses.

The last day of the feast, the most important one – many rituals had been completed.  It had become night in Jerusalem, but in this night the feast went on.  Part of the temple, was illumined with torches and that whole night the feast proceeded.  Next day preparations would have to be made for the trip back home, and they made the best of this last night.

This last night Jesus did not stay in Jerusalem.  He spent the night on the Mount of Olives.  Next morning He is seated again somewhere in the temple, to preach.

But His sermon is interrupted by the arrival of a bunch of excited people.  They push their way through the crowd, for they have a very interesting case for the Master.  During the past night the Pharisees and Scribes had made the rounds through the old city and searched all corners to make sure that no hooliganism would take place.  And really: they had been successful in their search.  They had found a victim.  They drag a woman – very likely a young girl to Jesus, and put her before Him.  John mentions that they set her in the midst.  In no time a big circle had formed of people who were curious to hear and to see.

‘Master,’ the Scribes and Pharisees then say, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.  Now Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stoned, but what do you say?”

This question is not a difficult problem to the Pharisees.  As a matter of fact it is not a question at all.  They themselves supply the answer already.  She has to be stoned.  Of course..!  That is what it says in the law of Moses.  They refer to Moses’ law and that is why I said that most likely the woman concerned was only a young girl.  For the law of Moses deals with a girl that is engaged to a man, and who then commits adultery with another man.  People who were engaged were dealt with as though they were married.  An engaged girl already took the name of her future husband.  So there was no difficulty at all in this case.

They betray their own excitement, sinful excitement, by mentioning, unnecessarily, the circumstances and the particulars: she was taken in the very act!

They come to Jesus with this case and with this question to tempt Him.  There is a catch in their hypocritical indignation.  They are not interested in that girl at all, but they are very interested in the attitude to be taken by that Rabbi of Nazareth.  It is a very cunning trick-question.  They could think of two possibilities.  It could happen that this Jesus, who was a friend of publicans and sinners and who even did not despise prostitutes, but rather tried to win them for His Kingdom – it could happen that Jesus would deal very kindly with this girl.  It could even happen that He, in His great mercy, would acquit her, and say: “Woman, your sins are forgiven!”

It would be great if He would say that.  For then in a clear-cut case He would have rejected the law of Moses.  Then they could condemn Him on the ground of the Scriptures.

The second possibility was that the Master would dare to uphold Moses’ command and would say: “You go and stone her!”  Even in that case the Pharisees could make use of Jesus’ words for the Romans had forbidden the Jews to execute people without THEIR consent.  Remember the case of the Lord Himself, when the Pharisees had to ask for Pilate’s consent to crucify Jesus.  And so they could go to the Roman authorities and tell them that Jesus had given the advice to stone a girl, without asking whether the Roman authorities agreed.  And even if Jesus would be very careful and say: submit this case to the Roman authorities, then He would at that particular moment, say a very unwise word.  So what was the case to be?

A few days before some Jews had rebelled against Rome.  The evangelist Luke tells us about the incident in a few words, saying that Pilate had mingled the blood of the Jews with the blood of the sacrifices.  Evidently the Roman soldiers had come into the temple and had committed a massacre there, killing Jews who were bringing their sacrifices.  The insurrection was smothered in blood but the Jews were furious about it.  The temple was desecrated and the Jewish pride was terribly hurt.  So if this Rabbi of Nazareth would say: Obey the Romans and act in accordance with Moses’ law ON CONDITION that the Romans agree to it, then that would mean that Jesus undermined the authority of the Divine law.  He would be branded as a traitor.  He would lose all good-will with every patriotic Jew.

And therefore: it is a very artful snare that is laid here.  In one way or another they must catch Him in His words.

“Master, what do You say?”

There is silence full of suspense after this question.  They all look at this strange Rabbi who refused fellowship with the Scribes and Pharisees, and who accepted fellowship with outcasts.  Eyes are looking at Him, full of hatred, full of joyful anticipation.  These people were so glad with their find.  Glad with this girl which they put before the Master.  They were not interested really in that girl itself.  If an opportunity would be offered, they intended to stone her presently.  Then everything will be fixed.

Master, what do You say?

What is the Lord going to say?  How is He going to escape from that hidden snare?  Will He refuse to answer?  Will He, Who is the Light of the world, overlook this darkness?

It seems like it.  For He does not answer.  He stooped down and with His finger wrote in the ground…!  It is the attitude of someone who is evidently not very concerned with his surroundings.  He is shocked by the wickedness of these people.  He refuses to answer their questions inspired by hatred.

They only caught this girl in order to tempt Jesus.  And whether the girl will be stoned or not, they don’t care.  They have no pity.  To them it is only a nice “case” to snare Jesus with.  They are filled with hatred and they are not aware of the fact that their attitude is far worse than the sin this girl committed.  And that is why the Saviour refuses to answer.  He does not answer questions whereby a human life is at stake.  But they insist.  Master, what do you say?

And then suddenly He lifted Himself up and said to them: He that is without sin among you let him cast the first stone at her!  And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.

And here He is the Light of the world!  It’s blinding, this Light.  It reveals the darkness.  He does not whitewash the sin this girl committed.  On the contrary: He states that she is guilty.  Righteous people are allowed to stone her.

But the light goes further than that.  He illuminates the mean set-up of these hypocritical Pharisees.  They felt themselves on top of the world and they enjoyed the difficult situation in which they had placed the Lord, and quite unexpectedly they are now exposed themselves.

In THIS light their virtue wanes.  They realize that this Rabbi is looking right through them and they shy away from His judgment.  Pharisees usually know all the answers, but here they don’t know what to say.  They cannot look into this Light.  They are confused – being face to face with truth itself.

They had expected a discussion about the Jewish or the Roman law and now they find themselves confronted with GOD’s holy law.  And they fall back, overcome by the Majesty of this Man.  They went out, one by one, beginning at the eldest even unto the last.  And now, brothers and sisters, I wished I could have a look in your heart.

I would like to know what your reaction is to this part of God’s Word.  But I cannot look into your hearts.  I can look into my own heart though.

Let me tell you that in my heart there is malicious delight when I read how these hypocrites went out, one by one.  I wished I had been there to see it.  There is satisfaction in my heart that these Pharisees were exposed.

But to be very honest now, I also realize that I am on the side of these Pharisees.  I’m not better by any means than they were.  This eighth chapter of John is not just a nice story about Pharisees, but it is the Word of the Lord, the Light of the world, Who also exposes ME..!!  It is not a story about an unfaithful girl but it is the story about unfaithful US.  Our heart is exposed here – and dark pits and wicked thoughts are revealed.

The Light of Life cannot be excluded by a priest-gown or by an outward show of decency.  Who is without sin?  This question is put not only to the Pharisees, but to us all.

Sometimes people have said that Jesus was easy on the sin of adultery because – as they said – ‘He protected this girl.’  But by saying that, these people showed that they did not understand a word of what is said here.  What exactly happens here?

A girl is accused.  And the Saviour corrected the case by accusing us all.  The Pharisees enjoyed bringing into the open the sin of this lonely girl, and Jesus brings into the open the sins of us all.  It is remarkable by the way, that the man who was connected with this case, with whom the adultery was committed, is not mentioned at all.

That is most unfair…!

It’s evident that the Pharisees let him go.

But again – before you make yourself very angry about that – are YOU without sin?  Are you entitled to throw stones?  I am the Light of life… then the Pharisees go off.  They don’t like to be confronted with that Light.  What about you?  They all went off.  Only the girl stayed.  She did not dare to go away.  Then again the Saviour raised Himself and said: ‘Woman, where are those accusers?  Has no man condemned you?’

That is very touching.  “Woman..!”  There is respect in that word, spoken by the Saviour.  “Woman…!” that is what he said to His mother Mary at the wedding feast in Cana, and that is how He called her when He was hanging on the cross.  He also said it to Mary on the day of resurrection.

Jesus never despised a sinner who was desperate.  He called the Pharisees names, but He showed respect to this girl.  Woman, has no man condemned you?  She said: ‘No man, Lord.’

Those are the only words we know of her.  She was perplexed by the fury of the storm that swept her from her feet.  And she is standing here in the Light, face to face to the Light of the world.  And it becomes clear that this Light does not blind and kill her.  That Light had condemned all the others it does not condemn her.  Jesus said to her: Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.

Many questions arise here.  Is nobody entitled to judge other people but he who is without sin?  That is certainly not the meaning of this text.  It means that at this occasion Jesus was not in a position to judge.  He showed that by writing in the sand.

He had not come to this world to be Judge – He had come to be the Saviour.  The day will come, and is coming when He will be the Judge of the whole world.  But now is the day of grace.

He does not condemn.  But He rebukes her all the same.  Sin no more’! He said.  He rescued this girl, rescued her from the painful death of stoning.  Saviour, is His name,

But there is another question.  Was it ‘not His duty to see to it that the law of Moses would be fulfilled?  He came to fulfil the law.  Indeed, that law of Moses had to be obeyed.  In this chapter of John, I read twice about a stoning that was stopped.  At the end of this chapter I read that the Jews tried to stone Jesus.  But because His hour had not come yet, they were unable to materialize their plans.  But the hour HAS come afterward… when the Jews were allowed to kill Jesus, with a more cruel death than that by stoning.  They crucified Him.

On Calvary the law was fulfilled and He, Who was without sin was condemned in order that He should save His people from their horrible sins.

They took up stones to cast at Him – we read.  Wonderful are God’s ways.  And Jesus Christ was prepared to be hit by these stones to save guilty sinners.  That was His joy.  That is why He could say to this adulterous woman: go, and sin no more.

He is standing in the temple then, and He sees the extinguished torches that were used to illumine the last night of the Feast of Tabernacles, a night full of iniquity and darkness, and He spoke with joy in His heart: I am the Light of the world, he that follows Me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the Light of Life:

Amen.