John chapter 8. I'd like to read verses 1 to
11, John chapter 8, as we continue through this precious book, verse
by verse. John 8 verse 1, Jesus went unto
the Mount of Olives. And early in the morning, he
came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him. He sat down and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees
brought unto him a woman taken in adultery. When they had set
her in the midst, they said unto him, Master, this woman was taken
in adultery in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded
us that such should be stoned. But what sayest thou? This they
said, tempting him that they might have to accuse him. But
Jesus stooped down and with his finger wrote on the ground as
though he heard them not. So when they continued asking
him, he lifted up himself and said unto them, He that is without
sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again
he stooped down and wrote on the ground. And they which heard
it being convicted by their own conscience went out one by one,
beginning at the eldest, even unto the last. And Jesus was
left alone and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had
lifted up himself, he saw none but the woman. He said unto her,
Woman, where are those thine accusers? That no man condemned
thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus
said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee. Go, and sin no more. There's possibly no greater passage
of scripture that sets forth in the simplicity of God's marvelous grace and mercy than
the one we just read. I read where throughout history
this has been a passage of scripture that has probably caused more
controversy than any other passage of scripture maybe in all of
holy writ. Many of the faithful preachers
of the gospel would not deal with this passage of Scripture.
Charles Spurgeon, I heard Brother Henry Mahan said this, he said
he looked through all of Spurgeon's messages and he did not find
a message on this passage of Scripture. The reason that they said, could
have been multiple reasons, but as a general rule, The reason
they didn't deal with it was because they thought that it
would promote sin. It'd just be one of those passages
that maybe shouldn't be dealt with. But I'll tell you this,
I don't know, and I know I say this about all of them that we
look at, but I don't know of a greater passage that deals
with the mercy of Almighty God for helpless, guilty sinners
than this. The Scripture starts this morning
with a passage that says, Our Lord had gone to the Mount of
Olives. It doesn't say what He prayed.
Now, there are passages that actually reveal what He actually
said. John 17 is one of those. John
17 is Our Lord's high priestly prayer. It doesn't say what he
said, but I do know this. It sets forth the surety of him
who is our intercessor. As he sets forth his precious
glory as the mediator of the sheep, the scripture sets forth
Luke 10. 6 verse 12, it came to pass in
those days that he went out into a mountain to pray and continued
all night in prayer to God. Isn't it good? Isn't it comforting? Knowing that He who prays for
us, intercedes for us, speaks on our behalf. Verse 2 said early
in the morning, He came again. into the temple. And all the
people came unto him. He sat down and he told them. You know, the scripture says
forth where two or three are gathered together in his name. He is in the midst of that group. As I've said before, surely there's
two or three here. How precious. He came sat down and talked to people. I want to be taught. I want to
hear. Now the next thing that's revealed is a beautiful picture of God's
mercy and grace to His bride. And while we're looking, and
I'm going to tell you this, I look at this woman right here. I'm
talking about this woman that was taken in adultery. You talking about that filthy
disrespectful woman? Yes I am. You know who I see
her as? A picture of the bride of Christ.
Here's a picture of the bride of the Lord Jesus Christ. His
precious everlastingly loved bride. What greater picture can
be set forth concerning what his bride is in Adam except this
woman right here. The scripture sets forth verses
3 to 5, the scribes and the Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken
in adultery When they sent her in the midst, they said to him,
Master, this woman was taken in adultery in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded
us that such should be stoned. But what says that? Boy, I tell you, I see two things
there real quickly. The first thing I see. First thing I know, first thing
I realize is while he was praying all night, something else was
going on. While he was ever in communion
with his father, something else happened. This woman was having an adulterous affair. And this woman was caught very
active, and she was brought in the midst
of the Lord Jesus Christ while he was teaching. The scribes and the Pharisees
brought unto him a woman when they sent her in the midst. Isn't
it amazing how disrespectful people are? For our glorious
Lord. How they speak so disrespectfully
of Him. They're rock marks. No fear of God. Here He was teaching. And they didn't care about this
woman. They didn't care. They had one thing on their mind. I'm going to prove him wrong.
We're going to catch him. That's what they're going to
say to me. They did that to Tim. Came in there and just threw
her right in the middle. So I know how disrespectful they
were. They don't speak of him with
respect. Men that don't know and women that don't know, they
don't speak respectfully of him. They lie on him. But this woman that they brought,
here's the thing I know, she was guilty. She was guilty. She was caught, she was exposed,
and she was silenced. Leviticus 20 verse 10 says, And
the man that committed adultery with another man's wife, even
he that committed adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer
and the adulteress. or surely be put to death. I know she's caught. Surely there
is more than one witness there. Scripture says four scribes and
Pharisees. When they, we caught her. Deuteronomy 17.6 says that the
mouth of two witnesses or three witnesses shall he that is worthy
of death be put to death. But at the mouth of one witness
he shall not be put to death. I did notice that the adulterer,
the man wasn't there. Notice that. He was just as guilty. That's why I know they weren't
interested in the penalty. They were interested in getting
to the Lord. That's all they did. They did
not care about that woman in the least. But, even though the
man wasn't there, it didn't change the fact that she was guilty.
And she had nothing to say in her defense. What's she going
to say? She was caught. That she was guilty was not up
for debate. That we were guilty. It's fault in the act. That's
not up for debate. Men can deny it and say, I'm
not as other men are. Yes, you are. Yes, you are. I'm not as bad as some. Yes,
you are. It's the only restraining grace
that God keeps any of us from anything. She had nothing to say. Romans 3.19, Now we know that
what things soever the law sayeth, it sayeth unto them who are under
the law, that every mouth may be stopped. and all the world
may become guilty before God. This woman, yes, she was caught
and she was guilty. But prevenient, that means grace
before grace. Prevenient and predestinated
grace. Because these Pharisees and scribes
that were so bent on getting to our Lord to tempt Him, brought
this guilty sinner and cast her down in the very presence of
her only hope, the Lord Jesus Christ. Where else could she
have been brought if she had any hope? If she had gone anywhere
else, they would have stoned her. Because she's guilty in
the law of Moses, humanity. Oh, the grace of God that would
cause any sinner to be brought unto the sound of the gospel
of Christ. It's by the grace of God that
any of us are sitting here this morning. Any of us. Now Moses, verse 5, in the law,
commanded us that such should be stoned. What sayest thou?
This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse
him. But Jesus stooped down with his
finger, rolled on the ground as though he heard them not. Oh, this woman was a foul, wretched
sinner. Perfect example of everyone of
God's elect. But she was one for whom the
Lord came, seeking to save that which was lost. This is us. You want to know what we are?
You want to know how we are? You want to know where we were?
Being found in Adam? Guilty! Disrespectful! Disobedient to God Almighty?
Unfaithful? What are we going to say? What are you going to say? How
are you going to answer? How are you going to justify
yourself? You're not! Just hush! Just be quiet! What hope do I have? Him. He's the only hope the sinner
has. And I tell you there is not one
that is without sin. What hope did this woman have? The law of Moses, I'm telling
you, could not be compromised. The law of Moses is holy and
just and good. Moses, they said, commanded us
that this woman should be stoned. Now what do you say? Well, they
got him now, they thought. If he says that he doesn't go
along with the law of Moses, this woman got me stoned, then
we got him. Because we said, well, then you
really aren't the friend of sinners. If he says, go ahead and stone
her, and he's not a friend of sinners, well, he's already proved
to be a liar. If he doesn't say stoner, then
we're going to say not hot. So really, you're not a keeper
of the law of Moses. We got it. Our Lord said in Matthew
5, 17 to 18 concerning the law of Moses, that I am come to destroy the
law or the prophets. I'm not come to destroy but to
fulfill. For verily I say unto you, till
heaven and earth pass one jot or one tale, shall it no wise
pass from the law, it shall all be fulfilled. What are you going to do? What
do you say? Moses says we've got to stone
her. I'll tell you what he said. He
said, the law is going to be honored. That's what he said. He said in Matthew 5. Now one
point, one jot, one tip of the law is going to be fulfilled.
It's not going to pass away. It's going to be honored. Well
then, let me ask you this. What hope does this woman have? If Moses' law has got to be fulfilled,
this woman called, she's guilty. There's a picture of the bride
of Christ. What hope does any of us have?
If Moses' law is not going to be compromised, and it's not,
what is going to be done? Oh, look at the beauty. Verse 6,
middle of that verse, but Jesus stooped down and with his finger
rode on the ground as though he heard them not. He didn't need for them to tell
him the demands of his own law. He knew what the law was. He
rode on the ground with his finger. Two times I remember God's finger
writing number one when the law was written. Scripture says that
God with his finger wrote and stumped the law. Moses threw
them down and broke them. He saw the disrespect, that golden
calf, and God broke it again. The second time is when God wrote
on the plaster Belshazzar taking some of those implements out
of the temple of God, drinking, having a party, taking those
beautiful goblets and stuff. Finger of God wrote on the wall.
You've been weighed in the balance, and you've come up on it. Your
kingdom's taken away from you. And here is God Almighty with
His finger. What did he write? I don't know
what he wrote. I don't know what he wrote. Lots of speculation,
but Almighty God has not been pleased to reveal it. What hope does this woman have?
Scripture says Jesus stooped down. Stooped down. Two times in this passage of
Scripture he stooped. Two times he raised himself up.
What hope did this woman have? I'll tell you what her hope was.
Number one, he stooped. He stooped. He stooped the first
time in his incarnation. It was God Almighty, the Word,
made flesh, dwelt among us. Made of a woman. Made under the
law. Submitted himself. Submitted
himself. To his own law. Honor your father
and your mother. He was God Almighty. Made flesh. Came forth from the womb of a
virgin. Came up unto Mary and Joseph. That was his mother, his nursery
mother. He didn't have a nursery daddy.
That was Joseph. That wasn't his daddy. And there
was his parents. He submitted himself to them.
Astute. I thought so many times about
Joseph was a carpenter. He was a carpenter. I thought
about Joseph. Showing him how to read a rule.
Can you imagine teaching him what an ape is? Yeah, how much
is 716s? He spoke all this into resistance.
He stooped. What hope does this woman have? First time, the scripture says
in his incarnation, he stooped. Made himself no reputation. As Jehovah's servant, he walked
in perfect obedience before God and men, doing only always those
things that pleased his Father, and earned by stooping to our
likeness, yet without sin, he earned as a man the righteousness
that robes every believer. He earned that as a man. God-man. Totally man. Perfectly man. And the Scripture says when he
stooped down there, there's a beautiful picture, he stooped. What folk
does this woman have? The Scripture says he stooped.
Verse 7, And when they continued asking him, I thought to myself,
they continued asking him. Can you imagine when he stooped?
There he is, on her level. That's where they threw her.
You know, she's on the ground right there in the middle of
them. Threw her down. He's on her level now. And when
they continued asking him, what sayeth thou? What sayeth thou? What do you say? What do you
say? Come on, man. What are you going
to say about it while they continued asking him? He lifted up himself. Oh, he lifted up himself. When? Scripture says forth, as
Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must
the Son of Man be lifted up. The law demanded justice for
this woman. This woman, a beautiful picture. of the bride of the Lord Jesus
Christ. This woman's in trouble. We're
in trouble. We need help. We need salvation. We need redemption. He stooped
in His incarnation being made flesh and lifted up Himself. That's what it says. He lifted
up Himself. No man takes my life from me.
He said, I lay it down for the sheep. What hope does a guilty
sinner have? I need him who stooped and lifted
up himself. She's guilty. The law of God
demanded justice. What do you say? I'll tell you
what he said. He was made like a good brother.
He was a doer of the Word. He wasn't just a hero. And he
lifted up himself. Verse 7, So when they continued
asking him, he lifted up himself, and he said unto them, He that
is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. What she deserved. She deserved
to be stoned. That's what Moses said. I want you to turn to Deuteronomy
17.7. Deuteronomy 17.7. I want you to look at something. Deuteronomy
17.7. Who has the right to cast the first stone. Deuteronomy 17.7, the hands of
the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death,
and afterward the hands of all the people, so thou shalt put
the evil away from among you. Now, who has the right to cast
the first stone? The witness. When our Lord, back in John 8,
said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first
cast a stone at her. Who had the right, according
to the words of our Lord, to cast at her stone? The witness
that saw the sin. The witness that saw the sin.
If our Lord stooped in His incarnation when He was made flesh, when
He came into this world, made of a woman, when He lifted up
Himself, this woman who had sinned against one person, God Almighty,
who was the only one in the midst of all these people that was
without sin? God. He's the only one that was
without sin. And when our Lord, in the redemption
of His people, going to put away their guilt, when He lifted up
Himself upon the cross, He said, he that is among you that is
without sin, let him cast the first stone. And God did. He did. And he put away the guilt
of his people. Who had the right? It was the one before whom sin
was committed. There was only one. And he stooped,
verse 8, down and rolled on the ground, stooped that second time,
being made sin, that's what 2 Corinthians 5.21 says, to one in their midst,
the omniscient, omnipotent, holy, righteous, What is going to happen? The
law of Moses demands that she be stoned. Christ was made what
she is. He became the adulteress. He became the adulterer. He became the blasphemer. He
was made sin. He was made what we are by nature. He that is without sin among
you, let him cast the first stone, and God Almighty kill him, and
put away the guilt of his people. Surely, Isaiah 53, 4, he had
borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem
him stricken and smitten of God and afflicted. stooped down,
being made sin, suffered the penalty of Almighty God's broken
law. Verse 9 says, When they heard
it, being convicted by their own conscience, they went out
one by one, beginning at the elders, even to the last, and
Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
And when Jesus had lifted up Himself, Oh, what a beautiful
picture of resurrection glory. He stooped the first time being
made sin, lifted up himself first time on that cross, stooped the
second time, made sin, suffered the penalty of God's wrath, put
away the guilt of the people, died, buried, and lifted himself
up. And the Scripture says when he
lifted up himself, He saw none but the woman in
mercy. Justice satisfied Calvary. He was raised again for our justification. They went out one by one, convicted
in their heart, but when he lifted up himself, he saw her. He who has the power to lay down
his life and take it again. He saw her. Can you imagine,
you put yourself, you that know Him, when He lifted up Himself,
He saw me. He looked upon me. And the Scripture
says, He said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? And
she said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither
do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more. There's no
condemnation to them that be in Christ Jesus. Christ has put
away our sin. Christ has stooped. Christ has
raised Himself up. The law doesn't condemn. Satan
can't condemn. Oh, he can abuse. My conscience
doesn't condemn me. He's greater than my conscience.
There is no condemnation to them in Christ. Go and sin no more. Does that mean that this woman
would never commit another sin? No. What does he mean? Sin no more. That is, in not
believing me, in not looking to me, in not trusting me for
righteousness and acceptance before God. You that know Him,
this is what we do. We know that in ourselves, we
know that we sin. We know we do. We say we have
no sin. May God liar. But we sin no more
because we're kept by God through the power of God's grace and
His mercy. We don't sin anymore by not trusting
Him. We trust Him, knowing what we
are. We believe it and we love Him. Oh, may the Lord bless our
hearts today. to see afresh this woman as a
picture of what we are. How could God be just and justify
a sinner? I tell you, Christ was made sin. Put away our guilt. God dealt
with Him in our sin. God Almighty satisfied Himself. Blessed be His holy name. Salvation
is all of grace. Namaste.