What comes to mind when you hear the word, “justice”?
We keep hearing the word “justice” thrown around, “social justice,” “criminal justice,” people demand “justice.” Usually what we really want is justice for everyone else, but mercy for ourselves.
What if I told you that God’s justice doesn’t always look like OUR justice?
Some quick background for our passage: The day before, the Pharisees and priests had sent the Temple guards to arrest Jesus, but they came back empty. The Pharisees and leading priests were angry. They are looking for anything, any way to trap Jesus.
Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.
“Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”
They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. (John 8:1-6, NLT)
I wonder what Jesus wrote. He knew what they were scheming. Maybe He was writing, “Where’s George?” After all, IF she really was caught in the act, it takes two people to commit adultery. Where is the guy?
Let’s continue. After all, our lawyers and Pharisees are getting impatient now.
They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. (John 8:7-9, NLT)
Again, what was Jesus writing? Maybe He listed their names, starting with the oldest: Samuel, David, Jeremiah, Joshua…. Then next to their names, maybe He began listing their sins:
Samuel: lust, greed, lying
David: stealing, pornography
Jeremiah: adultery, gluttony
Joshua: drunk, gossip, fornication
And on down the list.
Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”
“No, Lord,” she said.
And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” (John 8:10-11, NLT)
Motive of the accusers
These religious lawyers and Pharisees were trying to trap Jesus. If Jesus had declared the woman innocent, the Pharisees could claim that Jesus didn’t really care about following the Law. If He declared that she was guilty, and pronounced the death penalty, or stoning, they could claim that Jesus was undermining Roman rule. They didn’t care how they did it, they just wanted to trap Jesus, because they didn’t like what he said.
They were so intent on trapping Jesus, they were willing to twist what the Law said. It’s also quite possible they were lying about catching the woman in the act.
What can we learn from this today? Even today we see people who are ready, eager even, to accuse someone of some heinous act. Politicians, and the media, have been calling out other politicians for years. Sometimes the accusations are factual, often not so much, or they are without context. We have seen this happen in the workplace, and sometimes even in our courts. Sometimes, even among fellow Believers. Before we make an accusation against someone, we need to be aware of our own true motives. Are we really seeking justice, or revenge?
What did the Law say?
Leviticus 20:10 reads: If a man commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, both the man and the woman who have committed adultery must be put to death. (NLT)
And in Deuteronomy 22:22 we read: If a man is discovered committing adultery, both he and the woman must die. In this way, you will purge Israel of such evil. (NLT)
Notice first that BOTH guilty parties are to be put to death. Not just the woman. Also, stoning is not even mentioned here. Stoning is mentioned for very specific instances, but not in the case of adultery.
But twisting the Law, and God’s Word to suit one’s own agenda is really nothing new. It shouldn’t even come as a surprise. In Genesis 2:16 God had told Adam that he could eat the fruit of every tree in the garden, except one: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But when satan showed up as a snake, to tempt Eve, the first thing he did was to twist God’s words. In 3:1 the snake asks if God really said that they couldn’t eat the fruit of ANY of the trees in the garden.
It is definitely NOT God’s justice we are seeking when we twist the law, or God’s words, or twist facts.
Jesus’s response
To the accusers – Jesus knew what was in their hearts. He had absolutely no desire to participate in their nasty scheme. I am pretty certain that His response was not what anyone expected. It almost looks like Jesus gives the Pharisees what they want. After all, the law only required that the facts be established by two or three witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15). He even appeared to accept their stated method of punishment. BUT, He threw a curveball into their scheme. He said that the first stone must be thrown by someone who had never sinned. Even the accusers knew that they couldn’t claim to be sinless. And one by one they left. They were looking only to condemn. I doubt that mercy was even a consideration for them.
To the accused woman – This woman seems to have been a minor part of the story. I am almost certain that to her, she was, or should have been, the central character. After all, she was the one accused, and facing death by stoning. She wasn’t even given a chance to declare her innocence; or if she was guilty, to plead for mercy.
FINALLY, Jesus looks at her, stands up, and asks “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” And she says, “No, Lord.” Jesus replies that He also will not condemn her. And He tells her to go, and don’t sin anymore. Jesus knew her heart as well as He knew the hearts of her accusers.
God’s justice is tempered with mercy.
Now, what comes to mind when you hear the word, “justice”?
Bottom Line: Because of Christ, we can trust God’s justice.