Let's open to the book of John,
chapter 8. As we move further into the book
of John, we arrive this evening at chapter 8. And we'll look at the first 11
verses as we consider for our subject this story about a woman
taken in adultery. At the end of the seventh chapter,
we see the Sanhedrin meeting. Who are the Sanhedrin? Well,
that was the most powerful religious judicial body in Jerusalem and
throughout Israel. They were meeting together to decide what's to be done with
Jesus of Nazareth. They had already sent the police
to arrest him. And when the temple policemen
got back, the officers, when they got back and reported to
the chief priests and the Pharisees, they wanted to know how come
he wasn't arrested. They said, never a man spake
like this man. Instead of arresting the Lord
Jesus, the Savior's words arrested them. And it wasn't the miracles
that He did that so much impressed them. but the way he spoke and
what he had to say and the authority with which he said it. Well, as we get to the very end
of chapter 7, it says, and every man went into his own house. In chapter 8, verse 1, Jesus
went under the Mount of Olives. The evening shadows were falling. People were weary going back
to their houses. They didn't invite the Lord Jesus
to go with them. I find it most interesting that
of all the multitude who listened to Him, who observed Him, And
there were those who said they believed him. And yet, it wasn't
any of them who said, would you go stay with us this evening? Would you like to have supper
at our house? No. He's a stranger in his own
land. Scripture says that he came unto
his own, and his own received him not. One of his would-be disciples,
on an occasion, the Savior said to him, the foxes have a holes,
the birds of the air have their nests, the Son of Man hath not
place to lay his head. And so the Savior crossed the
brook, as David had done many hundreds of years before this,
and went up to the Mount of Olives. He went through the olive trees,
passed through the olive trees, and went into a garden. It was
a garden which would become very familiar to him. It was the Garden
of Gethsemane. He often went there to get away
from the crowds. He's left Jerusalem. It's about
a two-mile walk for him to get to the Mount of Olives and get
to the Garden of Gethsemane. So he leaves the hustle and the
bustle of the city of Jerusalem back of him. He could, as the
night fell, He could see the torches and the lights from the
city, but He's up in the Mount of Olives where it's all quiet. He's with His Father. In fact,
most of the last days of our Lord, at least the last six months
of our Lord, He spent His nights in this garden. It is, as you
know, about six months to the crucifixion of the Savior, and
so He often went into the Garden of Gethsemane to have uninterrupted
fellowship with the Father. Everybody else had their houses. Everybody else had a nice warm
meal. Everybody else had a comfortable
bed in which to sleep. Our Lord Jesus goes out and He
sleeps under the stars. He fellowships with the Father.
In fact, He went there so often that in the book of John chapter
18, the second verse, when Judas who would betray Him When He
would reveal to the soldiers and those that opposed our Savior,
when He would identify Jesus of Nazareth, it says that He
went to this garden because the Savior often went there. He went
there to seek the Father's face. He went there to speak, to spend
much time in prayer. Our Lord was a busy man. He preached
during the day. He's all the time teaching, performing
miracles. And in the evening, he would
go up into the mountain to seek the Father in prayer. And I would
say to those who would preach, as I'm speaking to me and I'm
speaking to you and anybody else who would stand behind the pulpit,
We must do as our Savior did. Seek God's face before we speak
to men. You know, in the book of Acts,
it said that the apostles, they were so busy with the things
of God that they told the church to choose deacons. That these
men, these men of God, these preachers of the gospel could
devote themselves to the study of the Word, to the proclamation
of the Word and to give themselves to much prayer. And I would say
if the Son of God, God's own Son, if He felt the need to spend
time with the Father in prayer, how much more should we and really
how much more should all of us spend Lots of time with the Father
in prayer. So the Savior is in the Garden
of Gethsemane, but it says in the next verse, early in the
morning. One translation says it is very
early in the morning. He came again into the temple,
and all the people came unto Him. He didn't advertise that
He was going to be there. There weren't banners put up
saying that Jesus is going to be here preaching today. It wasn't
anything like that. It was just the fact that He
had been there the evening before, and they know He's going to be
there teaching again. And all of these people gathered
around, and the Scripture says He sat down to teach them. to teach them. It's interesting
as you go through the book of John, as you study the book of
John, that he is so, that is, John, led by the Spirit of God,
he's so specific in his language, in his use of words. In chapter 7 in verse 1, John
says, he walked in Galilee. In chapter 6 and verse 37, it
says, Jesus stood and cried saying. Or chapter 7 verse 37, He stood
and cried saying, and now it says, He sat down. Every expression sets forth a
different fact, a different truth about our Lord Jesus. He walked
because He was always busy. He wasn't a lazy preacher. He's
going here. He's going there. He's over in
this village. He's over in that city. He's
up on the mountain. He's in the temple preaching.
He's all over the place. He's always busy. Did he not
say to Joseph and Mary, even when he was 12 years old, I must
be about my father's business? So he walked. He stood in chapter
7 and verse 37, and that shows His earnestness. Walking shows
He's busy. He's a laborer. But when it says
He stood and cried, this shows His earnestness. He is a man
who means what He says and He stands on this occasion at the
Feast of the Tabernacles. It says, "...and Jesus stood
and He cried, saying, If any man thirsts, let him come unto
Me and drink." And then on this occasion, He
sat down. This shows He's a very humble
Savior. It shows His lowliness. It shows
his meekness, it shows his grace. What dignity this person has. Well, as he was sitting there,
the scribes and the Pharisees, it says in the third verse, they
brought unto him a woman taken in adultery. They brought unto
him a woman taken in adultery. We know our Lord Jesus is the
friend of sinners. He came to save the sinful. This
is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation that Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I'm chief. It's what the Apostle Paul said.
The Savior said, I've not come to call the righteous but sinners
to repentance. And of course, the religious
establishment The scribes and the Pharisees, they refused to
acknowledge their sinfulness, and therefore they didn't need
the friendship of Jesus of Nazareth. Go back to Luke chapter 7. Let
me show you this passage of Scripture. Luke chapter 7. Look at verse
24. Luke chapter 7 and verse 24.
These are the religious leaders. These are the scribes and the
Pharisees. These are members of the Sanhedrin. They don't need the Savior. They
don't need redemption. They don't need righteousness.
In fact, they will say further in John chapter 8, as we shall
see maybe next week, they say, we'd be not sinners. We're not
sinners. We're not like these other people.
Luke 7.24. And when the messengers of John
were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John,
that is, John the Baptist. He said, what went he out into
the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went he out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that are gorgeously
apparelled And live delicately are in king courts. But what
went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you,
and much more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written,
Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare
thy way before thee. For I say unto you, among those
that are born of women, there is not a greater prophet than
John the Baptist, but he that is least in the kingdom of God
is greater than he. And all the people that heard
him and the publicans justified God. They acknowledged God's
justice. God's justice in His condemnation
of sin? God's judgment in issuing wrath
on account of sin? They justified God being baptized
with the baptism of John. They acknowledged God's righteousness. But, the Pharisees and the lawyers,
these are not attorneys at law, but these are those who are supposed
to be experts of the law of God. They rejected the counsel of
God against themselves and they refused John's baptism, which
was the baptism of repentance. Their attitude was, we aren't
sinful. So they didn't recognize the
fact that Jesus of Nazareth was indeed the Savior of the sinful.
In fact, they said in a very mocking way, this man is the
friend of publicans and sinners. How dare he be friends with those
kind of people? when He went to the house of
Zacchaeus. They said, He's gone to be the
guest of a man who's a sinner. This astounded them, but this
is His glory, you see, that He received sinners, that He saved
sinners by the sacrifice of Himself. So we get back over here in John
chapter 8. Here are these self-righteous
religionists who refuse to acknowledge their own sinfulness. And they
come before the Savior. They've taken a woman. They found
a woman taken and took her away from the bed of adultery. And they set her in the midst
of Him. And it says, they say unto Him,
Master, this woman was taken in adultery in the very act. Stop right there just a second.
These religious hypocrites, they always wanted to nail our Savior
to the wall, as it were, with some kind of theological question
or dilemma that He couldn't figure out. What they intended to do the
day before, to have Him arrested, well, that plan fell through.
So now they've got a new plan. We'll get Him this time. They're
always laying in wait for Jesus of Nazareth, not realizing He
had infinite wisdom. They cannot outsmart infinite
wisdom. They're absolute fools. He is
the very wisdom of God and the power of God. But here's what
they're doing. They bring before Him this woman.
If he doesn't condemn her, if he doesn't agree with them that
the law of God says she ought to be stoned, then they will
say to the multitudes who are watching. And by the way, I'll
tell you where they're at. If you'll look in chapter 8,
verse number 20, These words speak Jesus in the treasury as
He taught in the temple. So, here's a very busy part of
the temple. You need to know where He's at.
Lots of public here. Lots of witnesses. And so before
these witnesses, they throw this woman in front of Him. And if
He doesn't agree, the law says she ought to be stoned to death.
If He goes easy on her, then they're going to say to the multitudes
who are gathered around there, they're going to say, see there?
He doesn't believe the Law of Moses. He doesn't believe the
Word of God. That's what we've been trying
to tell you folks. On the other hand, on the other
hand, if He does say to these guys, stoner, She needs to be
put to death. Get the authorities. Have her
arrested. Then they'll say, he's not a
compassionate man. He goes around here saying he's
full of compassion and mercy. And here's a fallen woman we
brought in before him. He's showing her no compassion.
What they think is they've got in between the proverbial rock
and a hard place. If he does this, we'll get him.
If he does this, we'll get him. They've already failed before.
Every effort on their part to have him arrested and then put
to death so far has failed. Now they've got a new strategy. And I don't doubt but what These
men actually set the whole thing up. Because that which is obvious
in this story, and all of you have read this before, that which
is very obvious is there is no man. Where is the man? Where
is the man? Well, I expect the man is right
there in the midst of all of the accusers. They have set this up for the
Savior. And they think He'll take the
bait. And they'll get Him this time. So they caught this woman in
the act of adultery. They grabbed her, took her out
of that adulterous relationship. They shove her in front of the
Lord Jesus. He's right there in the treasury. where the people brought their
money in a very public place. Lots of people were listening
to him teach. And this will be their opportunity. We will now discredit him in
front of the multitudes and they won't listen to him anymore. Notice how they addressed him
in verse 4. They said unto him, Master, Rabbi,
They spoke to him in a very respectful way because, remember, he is
surrounded by people, so these men have to be very careful how
they look in front of the crowds. Look at a verse over here and
let me just show you. Jeremiah chapter 9. Just a verse that is most applicable
to this. Jeremiah chapter 9. Look at verse 8. The book of
Jeremiah chapter 9. Verse 8. Jeremiah says, their tongue is
an arrow shot out, it speaketh deceit. One speaketh peaceably
to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart he layeth his
weight." That's these guys over here in John chapter 8. Oh, they
speak nicely with their mouth, but their hearts are full of
evil. Their hearts are full of mischief.
They hate Jesus of Nazareth. And they think now they have
an opportunity to get Him, to catch Him. And of course, they
acted like they cared so much about the law. So much so that
this is what they said in verse 5. Now Moses in the law, they
said to the master, let me read the rest of verse 4. 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? These men acted like they cared
so much for the law of God. But they only used the law of
God when it was convenient for them. You know, the enemies of
the gospel, they always lift verses of Scripture out of context,
use it when it's convenient for them, and they often quote a
half-truths and a half-verses. The scribes and Pharisees acted
like they cared so much about the law. Well, let's see exactly
what the law of God said. Look at Leviticus chapter 20. Let's just read what God's law
has to say. I'll give you a couple of references.
Leviticus chapter 20. And I would say to you, these
people who act like they were concerned about the law of God,
The fact that they didn't bring the man, he's nowhere to be found,
shows that they weren't really interested in God's law, only
in except those parts that suited them. Leviticus chapter 20 verse
10, and the man that committed adultery
with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with
his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely
be put to death." Another reference, Deuteronomy 22, 22. Deuteronomy
22, 22. Deuteronomy 22, 22, "...if a
man be found lying with a woman married to a husband, then shall
both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman and the
woman. So shalt thou put away evil from
Israel." The law of God is very, very straightforward. There's
no mistaking what the law of God says. Both of them, the man
and the woman, bring them both in, they're both to be stoned.
That's what the law of God said. Because you see, the law of God
is absolutely strict and rigid. If you break one law, you're
guilty of breaking all the law. Right? That's what Scripture
says. And the law doesn't know anything about extenuating circumstances. The law knows one thing. The
guilty must die, the innocent will live. That's all the law
of God knows. The law of God never takes into
consideration what your environment was or is or what neighborhood
you lived in. Well, he lived in a bad neighborhood
and that's the reason he stole. The law of God doesn't take any
of that into consideration. No extenuating circumstances,
no excuses whatsoever. The law is black and white. If
you disobey, you die. If you obey, you live. That's
God's law. And the law of God concerning
this woman and the man that she was with is very, very clear. Both of them shall die. Have you ever heard of the Mishnah? The Mishnah. Well, that is the
official interpretation of the law of God by the Jews. The Mishnah. And it says that
adultery was such a serious sin that when they caught the man
and the woman, of course both of them would be put to death,
but the man especially, he was to be put in manure up to his
knees. And then outside of the manure
pile, one man on this side with the end of some kind of rough
rope, and another man on this side. But that rough rope, they
wrapped a soft, very soft, like washcloth or towel around his
throat so they wouldn't show. But they wrapped that rope around
and the guy over here and the guy over there pulled and pulled
and pulled until he died. And then they took it off, that
soft cloth underneath, would keep anything from showing. And
they said that's the wrath of God upon that man. They were
very strict. Very strict in adhering to the
law of God. But what's missing here is the
man. Like I said, the law of God is
just and holy. You know, the law of God doesn't
know anything about mercy. The law of God can't show you
any mercy. It can't give you a second chance. The law condemns
and it curses. Now you go down to the local
courthouse and you listen through the day to cases being tried.
You'll hear all kind of excuses and lots of times the laws are
bent. Right? Our laws are bent. People don't stand by the law.
One of the things we'd like to see is the enforcement of the
laws that we've got. It's not that way with God's
law. His law is enforced. Because
He's the enforcer. And this is what He says. The
soul that sins shall die. That's what God's law says. But
I didn't know. Ignorance is no excuse. Oh, but
we can't keep the law. That's no excuse either. The law won't hear that. The
law won't hear any excuses whatsoever. The law is very straightforward. It's very rigid. It won't cut
you any slack. That's why judgment is said to
be according to righteousness. And when sinners stand before
the Lord at the judgment, no excuse will be heard. You're
either going to stand before Him righteous or unrighteous. And if you're unrighteous, you've
got to perish. That's what the law of God says.
See, God must be just, God must be holy, God must be right. He
may be merciful and He may show love and He may show grace, but
He's got to even do that in a just way. Actually, what we've got here
in this story is a dilemma. This is a dilemma. according to the purpose of God,
who directs all things. These men, these religious Pharisees,
full of self-righteousness, though they didn't realize it, they
have hit on the most profound issue in the universe. They've
hit right on it. They didn't know that they had
done it, but God has moved in these circumstances to bring
this about. And this is the dilemma. How can the guilty go free and
yet God's law still be honored? That's the dilemma. How can this
woman who deserves death, how can she be forgiven and walk
away alive and yet the law of God still be honored, still have
its integrity, Just like it did before. This is the most profound issue
in the universe. How can God be just and justify
the ungodly? It's the issue of all issues.
If God is a God of justice and a God of judgment, then she must
die. If God is love, if God is gracious,
if God is merciful, if God forgives, then she must live. How can that be? How can y'all
harmonize those two things? Our brother read to us this evening
from Psalm 85, 10. Mercy and truth are met together. Righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. In the death of the Lord Jesus,
that's the answer to the dilemma. Now watch this, verse 6 shows
their real motive. This they said, this they said,
not with a good motive, but a bad motive to tempt 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.
And those are, that's a good insertion here. He just ignored
them. He just ignored them. He began to write on the ground.
What did he write? People have said, what did he
write? And we're not told. We're not told. My guess would
be he wrote names and places, but that's just a guess. I read in the scriptures that
our Lord wrote with his finger three times. He wrote his law
on tablets of stone. Once he wrote for Belshazzar
to read, words of judgment, and here he writes with his finger
on the ground. Oh, they think they've got the
Savior over a barrel here. But let's see what happens. Verse
7 says, 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, being convicted,
and watch it, not by the Holy Spirit, This is a different type
of conviction. It's a conviction that the Lord
brought about to fulfill His purpose. They're convicted by
their own conscience. It isn't what we would call evangelical
repentance. It is not repentance that is
the gift of God where we turn from our idols and turn from
our dead works to the living God. It is not a turning away
from our ideas of salvation and what it takes to save us in turning
to the Lord, who saves by His grace through the substitutionary
death of the Lord Jesus Christ. It isn't that kind of conviction.
It's a conviction of their own conscience. They went out one by one, beginning
at the eldest, even in the last. And Jesus was left alone. and
the woman standing in the midst. You say, well, but how can the
law be silenced here? Well, here's what the law said
in the mouth of two or three witnesses, let every word be
established. And he looks up. The witnesses
are gone. There are no witnesses. They've
left. They've left. When Jesus lifted
up Himself, look at verse 10. He's left alone, the woman standing
in the midst. Verse 10. When Jesus lifted up
Himself and saw none but the woman, the witnesses are gone. It was stated in the law that
the witnesses who found a couple in adultery, they're the ones
to cast the stones first. There are no witnesses here. Just the Savior and the woman.
He saw none but the woman. And you know what? The woman
saw none but the Savior. She saw none but the Savior and
He saw none but the sinner. This entire thing has been orchestrated
by our Savior. You see, all of this happened
to bring one of His elect to a saving knowledge of Himself. Well, what would He use? Will
He use disciples going out preaching and inviting people? And seeing
this woman say, hey, come to the service down at the temple
in the morning. No, that's not what He used.
What's he going to use? Remember, God is the first cause
of all things. He uses an adulterous affair
and He uses these God-hating Jewish religious leaders to bring
one of His lost sheep unto Himself. Isn't that amazing? The ways
of God are past finding out. This is what it's all about,
is to bring a lost sinner to the Savior. And our Lord uses
all of these people to fulfill His purpose. You see,
she's got to get to the Savior. But she's not seeking the Lord.
She's not interested in salvation. She's a woman of the world. A
loose woman. A woman when somebody made her
an offer, she said, yeah. And she went to this man's bed. But she was marked out for salvation
before the world began. How is she ever going to get
to the Savior? There He is in His purity, in
His holiness, in His righteousness, and there she is in her filth,
in her sinfulness, in her depravity. They are like poles apart. Yeah,
but He is drawing her unto Himself. And he uses his enemies to bring
her. And they bring the woman to the
only one who can do her any good. You know, it may be tonight,
somebody in this auditorium, somebody who's watching, I'm
not sure what circumstances brought you to be confronted with the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. But I know this, God is going
to bring His people to hear this message. He's going to bring
His lost sheep to the shepherd. And if you need this blessed
Savior, I say come to Him. I say believe Him. This is just
the Savior we need. Woman, where are those thine
accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? You know what the Scripture says?
Back in John 3.17, Christ Jesus said, I ain't come to condemn
the world, but that the world through me might be saved. His
work of condemnation, that's going to be later. But this is
the work of salvation. Where are those thine accusers?
Hath no man condemned Thee? And she said, No man, Lord. There
are no witnesses. And Jesus said unto her, Neither
do I condemn Thee. Oh, wow! That's what we want
to hear. Neither do I condemn Thee. Your
sins, which are many, are all forgiven. Who can forgive sins
but God alone? Who is He that condemneth? It's
Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again who maketh
intercession for us at the right hand of God. Neither do I condemn
thee. These men have left. Our Lord
has exposed to their own consciences their guilt and not one of them
could pick up a stone and throw it. And they all leave beginning
at the oldest, even to the last. And then it's as the Lord intended
from the beginning, just the Savior and the sinner. That's
a wonderful position to be in. Just the Savior and the sinner.
He says, neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more. Is He saying that she should
never commit another sin? No, because there is no such
thing as sinless perfection. What He is saying is, stop this
lifestyle. Stop this lifestyle. I'll tell
you something about the message of free grace. It never, it never
promotes ungodly living. If you think the message of free
grace, of full forgiveness, gives you a license to go out here
and live any which way you want to, in the world to giving vent
to your own natural lusts, you don't know anything about the
gospel. The apostle says, shall we continue
in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. God forbid. Neither do I condemn thee. Go
and sin no more. Stop this lifestyle. And I'm
sure she did. I'm sure she did. Who is this? This is the Savior of sinners.
The dilemma is solved. How can God be just and justify
the ungodly? How can the law be honored and
God show us mercy and forgive us? Through the substitutionary
sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. By His blood and by His righteousness. And that happened once for all. 205 is our last song tonight. 205.