Open your Bibles with me, if
you will, to the 8th chapter of the Gospel of John. John chapter
8. And I would like for us to just
read, what I'm going to do is just read this whole chapter.
We're going to start with verse 2. The Scripture says, And early
in the morning he, being Jesus, came again into the temple. And all the people came unto
him, and he sat down and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees
brought unto him a woman taken in adultery. And when they had
set her in the midst, they say 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, literally, in the ground, in the earth,
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 in the earth. 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
and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are
those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither
do I condemn thee. Go, and sin no more." Then spake
Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not
walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. The Pharisees
therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself. Thy record is not true. Jesus
answered and said unto them, though I bear record of myself,
yet my record is true. For I know whence I came and
whither I go, but you cannot tell whence I come and whither
I go. You judge after the flash. I
judge no man, and yet if I judge, My judgment is true, for I am
not alone, but I and the Father that sent Me. It is also written
in your law that the testimony of two men is true. I am one
that bear witness of Myself, and the Father that sent Me beareth
witness of Me. Then said they unto Him, Where
is thy Father? Jesus answered, You neither know
Me nor My Father. If you had known Me, you should
have known My Father also. These words spake Jesus in the
treasury as He taught in the temple, and no man laid hands
on Him, for His hour was not yet come. Then said Jesus again unto them,
I go my way and you shall seek me and shall die in your sins. Whether I go, you cannot come. Then said the Jews, will he kill
himself? Because he saith, whether I go,
you cannot come. And he said unto them, you are
from beneath. I am from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you that
you shall die in your sins. For if you believe not that I
am He, ye shall die in your sins. Then said they unto him, Who
art thou? And Jesus saith unto them, Even
the same that I said unto you from the beginning, I have many
things to say and to judge of you, and he that sent me is true. And I speak to the world those
things which I have heard literally from him. They understood not that he spake
to them of the Father. Then said Jesus unto them, when
you have lifted up the Son of Man, then shall you know that
I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself. But as My Father hath
taught Me, I speak these things. And He that sent Me is with Me. The Father hath not left Me alone,
for I do always those things that please Him. As He spake these words, many
believed, literally, in Him. Then said Jesus to those Jews
which believed Him, If you continue in My Word, then
are you My disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth,
and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be
Abraham's seed, and never were in bondage to any man. How sayest
thou you shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the slave,
the bond-slave of sin. And the bond-slave abideth not
in the house for ever, but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make
you free, you shall be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham's
seed, but you seek to kill me, because my word hath no place
in you. I speak that which I have seen
with my Father, and you do that which you have seen with your
Father. They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, if you
were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham.
But now you seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the
truth, which I have heard," literally, from God. This did not Abraham. You do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We being
not born of fornication, we have one Father, God. Jesus said unto them, if God
were your Father, you would love me, for I proceeded forth and
came from God. For neither came I of myself,
but He sent me." Why do you not understand my speech? Even because
you cannot hear my word. You are of your father, the devil. And the lusts of your father
you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning
and abode not in the truth because there's no truth in Him. When
He speaks a lie, He speaks of his own, for he's a liar and
the father of it. And because I tell you the truth,
you believe me not. Which of you convinces me of
sin? And if I say the truth, why do
you not believe me? He that is of God, heareth God's
words. You therefore hear them not because
you are not of God. Then answered the Jews and said
unto him, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan and hast
a devil? Jesus answered, I have not a
devil, but I honor my father, and you do dishonor me. And I seek not mine own glory. There is one that seeketh and
judges. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
if a man keep my saying, He shall never see death. Then said the Jews unto him,
Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets. And thou sayest, If a man keep
my saying, he shall never taste of death. Art thou greater than
our father Abraham, which is dead, and the prophets are dead?
Whom makest thou thyself? Jesus answered, If I honor myself,
my honor is nothing. It is my Father that honoreth
me, of whom you say that he is your God. Yet you have not known
him, but I know him. And if I should say I know him
not, I shall be a liar like unto you, but I know him. And keep
his saying. Your father Abraham rejoiced
to see my day, and he saw it and was glad. Then said the Jews
unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen
Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast
at him. But Jesus hid himself and went
out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed
by." If I were to attempt to put a
title to the things that the Lord is showing me from the 8th
chapter of John, it's not going to come all in one session. as
things seldom do with me, so I guess I would say this would
be Who's Your Daddy? Part 1. But according to the
prophecy of Micah, chapter 5 and verse 2, where he prophesied
of Bethlehem being the birthplace of the Messiah. He also declared,
under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that all the goings
forth of the Messiah, the Christ of God, the Son of God and Son
of Man, when He shows up in fallen human history, it is written
that they are all of old from everlasting. This means that
everything that Jesus did, every encounter that He had with every
person, whether man, woman, or child, was predetermined to take
place from the all-encompassing realm of eternity. Therefore,
there is indeed an eternal aspect that makes up a vital part of
the very fabric of the details of every event that happens in
His life. This includes not only the events
that we read about in our Bibles, but also the events that make
up each of our own personal encounters with His life. For Jesus is a
risen and a living Savior. He is alive and vibrant right
now in sovereign ruling authority over all of each of our personal
circumstances. He is the King of Kings and the
Lord of Lords. He has always been who He is
as the eternal Son of God and He always will be. Praise His
name. We would be remiss to approach
any particular portion of the Bible's inscripturated narration
of the accounts of his life in this fallen world, unmindful
of, without due regard and reverence for the fact of this constant
and ever-abiding contextual truth. And this includes the events
and conversational encounters as recorded in John chapter 8
that we just read. Chapter 8 of John reveals to
us how the things that we do and the lives that we have lived
and are yet, right now, present living, even what it is that
we at present time profess to believe, are all in direct relation
to, are directly due to, who it is that truly is our spiritual
Father. Regardless of our natural descent
in this world, no matter what race, kindred, tongue, or tribe
we have physically come from, we all come from just one of
two spiritual fathers. Who are they? And which one of
the two is yours? In this chapter, from the deeds
done by Jesus and the discourse that takes place between Him
and the scribes and the Pharisees, the religious Jewish elite, we
see how it is that Christ literally draws a distinguishing line among
all of fallen humanity, making folks of all types and kinds
the children of either God or the devil. John writes of these matters
quite plainly from his first epistle in chapter 3 where we
read verse 9, ìWhosoever is born of God doth not commit sin.î
Amazing statement. It says, ìFor his seed remains
in him, and he cannot sin because he is born of God.î Verse 10
then, ìIn this the children of God are manifest or revealed.î
and the children of the devil. And the line that distinguishes
between these two family groups is not determined by what religion
one is in or what belief system one follows or even what religious
position of leadership that one may have attained to in this
world. In fact, as we shall see, the line, the drawn distinguishing
line between the two family groups is not one that is of this world
at all. The line of distinction between
these two family groups has been laid down by Christ Jesus entirely
outside the dimension of life in this world. It is a distinguishing
line that has been drawn in eternity before any of us ever got here. What we do here in this world
with our lives will give proof of who our spiritual, eternal
Father truly is and has been all along. And to our Father,
we will go when our life in this world is over. To our Father,
we will go, whoever that Father is, when our life is over, where
this world is concerned. In this regards, John 8 is one
of the most profound portions of Scripture in the whole New
Testament. For in this portion of the Word of God, the Spirit
of God pulls back the cover, if you will, and exposes exactly
how it is possible for anyone to appear to be one thing on
the surface of their life and actually be another on the inside. From the beginning of this chapter
to the end, we have a demonstration that proves the reality of this
fact and it is the Lord Jesus Christ that makes all the difference. John 8 verses 2 through 10 tells
us of the incident when the scribes and the Pharisees burst into
the midst of the teaching session that Jesus is conducting and
sets in front of Him a woman whom they have just caught in
the very act of committing adultery. The text reads, and the scribes
and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery. And when they had set her in
the midst, they say unto him, Master or teacher, this woman
was taken, literally committing adultery in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded
us that such should be stoned, but what sayest thou? Verse six, this they said, tempting
him that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down and
with his finger wrote literally in the earth 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 in the earth, 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 a woman standing in the midst. Here we have a
remarkable picture that is scripturally drawn that very well compares
to the true conversion experience of every one of God's children.
For in every genuine spiritual experience of a true child of
God, the Spirit of God uses the just and holy law of God to reveal
to them that they are indeed guilty lost sinners. The scribes
and the Pharisees represent the cold, uncompromising arm of the
law and also the tradition of the letter of the law of Moses. Who are these scribes and Pharisees
anyway? The scribes came into being way
back in the days of Ezra. They were the ones who were the
most devoted to studying, educating themselves, and articulating
the strict written code of the law. The law was their life,
their career. Oh, they held other jobs for
income, but they devoted all their spare time to the study
of the law. The Pharisees, on the other hand,
were also an age-old group that managed to maintain a middle
position between those that denied God's sovereignty altogether
and those that believed in and supported the position that God
is sovereign, but He is not sovereign over the free will of man. They believe that God has, by
His choice, left man to be the determiner of his own destiny
by the choices that he makes while in this world. In this
sense, we have an awful lot of Pharisees among us today. Perhaps
even you can relate with the way this group thinks and believes. So, with the combination and
alliance of these two groups, the scribes and the Pharisees,
you have the dangerous situation of being judged by the law of
the Bible on the one side and held to the duty of your own
volition to choose and do what is right on the other. If you
fail to ardently respect both positions together, you will
come under their judgment and be condemned. But in the face
of these things, The spirit of the law of God is not even recognized,
much less regarded or revered. The adulterous woman, or literally
the word means wife, is obviously guilty as sin, caught in the
very act of adultery by the letter of the law of God. And now she
is brought by the letter of the law right before the young miracle
working rabbi named Jesus. Now Jesus has already managed
to become the blunt of a real hatred from the scribes and Pharisees
due to the indisputable things that he has been teaching throughout
Judea and Galilee, things that most likely he was right then
and there teaching when they interrupted him by bringing this
poor sinful woman right before him. The things that He taught
made them angry, made them want to kill Him. Why? He declared
that God was indeed His Father and that He was His Son, making
Himself equal with God. Remember John 5, 17 and 18? But
Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Verse 18, Therefore the Jews
sought the Moor to kill him, because he not only had broken
the Sabbath, which by their standards he had done by healing a lame
man on the Sabbath and commanding him to take up his bed and walk.
He had not only broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his
Father, making himself equal with God, which as the eternal
Son of God, He is. Hence, John 8 verse 6 reveals
that this whole scene of bringing this sinful woman to Jesus was
to tempt Him into either agreeing with the strict and plain letter
of the Law of Moses and condemn the woman to death, which act
would go against the very reputation that he had already earned by
his reception of and eating with just the sort of sinners that
this woman was an example of being. Or, if he did condemn
the woman to death as the letter of the law of Moses demands,
this would put him directly at legal odds with the Roman ruling
authorities and law of the land that did not allow such a judgment
to be made by a subservient people or nation under their governing
power. This was, by the scribes and
Pharisees, a well-thought-out plot to put Jesus in a very compromised
position, to say the least. They no doubt felt that they
really had Him this time. They hated Him. He had already
said that publicans and harlots would enter the kingdom of heaven
before the scribes and the Pharisees. Now, however, they had deceitfully
connived and constructed the perfect platform from which Again,
verse 6 says, they could have occasion to accuse him. Now it is principally true that
a telltale sign that a person is a child of the devil, the
accuser, is the fact that they too are often in the business
of making accusations, just like their spiritual father. Therefore,
these learned, self-righteous religious scribes and Pharisees
are neither who nor what they desire to make themselves appear
to be before the world. And it is obvious that they also
do not really have any idea who Jesus is either. These ardent
students of the Law of Moses, these worshipers of the Law of
Moses, these representatives of the Law of Moses, bring this
guilty sinner before the Son of God, who as God has the power
to quicken the dead and call those things that be not as though
they are. This poor guilty sinner is brought
before Him who is also both the law giver as God and the law
keeper for certain chosen sinners before God. Right from the very
activity of her sin, this woman is arrested and brought before
He who is dogmatically declared to be the Lamb of God that taketh
away the sin of the world. If ever there was any hope at
all for this poor, caught red-handed by the law, guilty sinner, it's
right here at this particular time and place to be brought
to stand before the Lord Jesus Christ, whom Hebrews 9, verses
11 and 12 declares that He came into this fallen world as a high
priest of good things to come, literally through a greater and
more perfect tabernacle. He traveled into our realm through
that more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is
to say, not of this literally creation. Neither by the blood
of goats and calves did He come, but by His own blood He entered
into that tabernacle once for all into the holy place, having
obtained, it says, eternal redemption for us. The divinely designed
function of the priesthood was for the priest to act as the
sinner's substitute, so that their approach to holy God could
not be maligned and aborted by their sin. The priest, by the
blood of the Lamb without any blemish, would on behalf of the
guilty sinner, for the sinner, make his approach unto holy God.
Jesus is the acceptable, spotless Lamb of God. Jesus is the eternal
High Priest substitute for all the true children of God. Jesus
by His own blood has obtained eternal redemption for all His
chosen. Hebrews 9.14 goes on to say how
that Christ, through the eternal Spirit, offered Himself without
spot to God. Praise His name! The holy and just law of God
brings every one of the elect of God before the bar of God's
justice, and in the face of their blatant guilt asks of Christ,
ìWhat sayest thou?î This is exactly what happened with this woman
at the coarse behest of these scribes and Pharisees. And when
they asked this question of Jesus, he, as if he did not even hear
them, stooped down and wrote in the earth. Exactly what he
wrote is not readily given. Some have supposed that he began
to write the words of the two tablets of the Decalogue. But there is other more substantiated
reason to believe that he began to list the sins of the very
scribes and Pharisees that brought this woman to him. Proverbs 5,
21 and 22 says, for the ways of man are before the eyes of
the Lord. And he ponders all his goings,
his own iniquities, shall take the wicked himself, and he shall
be held with the cords of his sins." And Proverbs 15.3 reminds
us that the eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding
the evil and the good. From Jeremiah 17.13, the Lord
descriptively declares that they that depart from me shall be
written in the earth. The omniscient eye of the Son
of God beholds and knows all too well the sins and iniquities
of all these scribes and Pharisees. There is strong implication that
even some of them had personally had illicit and immoral tries
with this same woman. And Jesus is writing their base
earthly deeds in the earth, thereby exposing them. Whatever it was
that he wrote, it was powerful. For when he rose up and said,
let him that is without sin among you be first to cast a stone
at her, they all began to disappear from the scene beginning with
the oldest to the youngest. The eternal Son of God and acceptable
sacrificial Lamb of God had successfully answered all the accusations,
all the demands for justice from all these representatives of
the letter of the law of God. John 8 verses 10 and 11, when
Jesus had lifted up himself and saw none but the woman, he said
to 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. The picture we have here is indeed
a beautiful one. We have Christ condescending,
stooping down to the earth, to answer the demands for justice
from the accusing representatives of the law. But make no mistake
about it, no one who supposes that they can wield the holy
and perfect law of God so as to be able to successfully bring
an accusation against another can do so without that same law
also closely and thoroughly and intimately examining them. The
Spirit of God from Romans 2, 17 through 22 declares, Behold,
thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast,
literally, in God, and knowest his will, and approvest the things
that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law. and
art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light
of them which are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish,
a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of
the truth in the law. Thou therefore that teachest
another, teachest thou not thyself? Thou preachest a man should not
steal, dost thou steal? Thou sayest a man should not
commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? And then there's also
Galatians 3.10, which plainly declares, for as many as are
of the works of the law are under the curse. For it is written,
cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things which are written
in the book of the law to do them. And when Christ Jesus answers
the accusers, his answer is such that not even the holy, just,
and good law itself can bring an accusation that can stick
against the guilty sinner. For when the Savior's substitute
is through, it is discovered that all the accusers are all
gone. This includes even the devil,
the father of all accusers. They have all vanished. Christ
and Calvary has answered all the accusations. This is exactly
what happened here in this particular incident with this guilty, sinful
woman. And then the poor slave of sin
is directly addressed by her Savior. She is henceforth remitted
or set free from her sin. Praise God, grace prevails. She deserves eternal condemnation. And yet instead by the eternal
son of God, she is pardoned. She is rescued. She is completely
released from sin's hold upon her. The all-powerful Creator,
Son of God, commands her to go and sin no more. That which is
written in Ephesians 5, verses 8 through 10 is very appropriate.
For from here, it says, for you were sometimes darkness, but
now are you light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. for the fruit of the Spirit is
in all goodness and righteousness and truth." Proving what is acceptable
unto the Lord. Only His goodness is acceptable
unto Him. Only His righteousness is acceptable
unto Him. Only the truth about Him being
our pre-substitute, the eternal sacrificial Lamb, the perfect
propitiation is acceptable unto Him. There's no amount of reform
that we can do that would be acceptable to God. There's no
amount of human restitution, no amount of change in our behavior
that would be acceptable to God. We need an eternally holy Almighty
Savior surety to be for us all that we need in order to be acceptable
unto God. We need Jesus. It must be all
Christ on our behalf, or we are all doomed. And when we, just
like this poor guilty woman, discover that because of Him
there are no accusers left to demand the law's condemnation
upon our souls, and we are set free to walk at liberty, We do
so all the while from that instant on, fulfilling that which is
also written from Ephesians 5, verses 11 through 13, and thereby
proving that He alone who is the light of the world is our
Heavenly Father. Ephesians 5, 11, 13 says, And
have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather
reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak
of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things
that are reproved are made manifest, or are revealed by the light. For whatsoever doth make manifest
is light. It is no wonder, therefore, why
John 8, verse 12 goes on to relate, Then spake Jesus unto them, saying,
I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not
walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." Ultimately
then, not only are the scribes and Pharisees in this incident
exposed by the Lord Jesus to obviously not really be who they
would like the world around them to believe that they are, but
also the sinful woman is likewise exposed by the Lord Jesus to
not really be that which she appears to be. Instead of her
throughout the rest of her life being only a poor lost slave
of sin, she turns out to be a sinner saved by grace, who in reality
is and always has been a true child of God, a genuine recipient
of grace provided eternal redemption and remission of sin. And one
more thing about what Jesus did for this guilty, sinful woman.
Here she is, standing there before Christ in her blatant guilt,
and she is completely speechless where the accusations of the
scribes and the Pharisees are concerned. Jesus does all the
talking and answering for her. He gives to her total exoneration
from the judgment of the scribes and Pharisees who in the name
of the letter of the law had arrested her and demanded the
laws condemning justice against her. She did not ask for it. Nor was she pleaded with to accept
it in order to make it effective on her behalf. Nor was she urged
to at least make a decision and choose the salvation that only
Jesus could provide. She was just simply given her
complete and total freedom from the consequences of the guilt
of her sin. And dear ones, you do not have
a choice when it is a gift. And the gift of God is eternal
life through Jesus Christ our Lord. May this experience be
a true reflection of Christ's dealings with all of us in Christ's
name and for His glory only. Amen.