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Date: 04~/10~/2009
Place: CACC English Sunday Service
Topic: Go, and sin no more
Bible Passage: John 8:1-11
This morning we look at a very famous passage.
I am sure that many of us have heard this story many times since childhood.
However, every bible story would have a lesson for us to learn.
Therefore my hope is that by the end of this service you will not just “hear this story again”, but will able to find something applicable in your own life.
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What is stoning?
Stoning refers to a form of capital punishment whereby an organised group throws stones at the convicted individual until the person dies.
It is a pretty cruel death.
Jews and Christians have stopped using this method long ago.
However, in recent years we see fundamental Muslims have started using it again.
The most recent case was in October last year.
In Somalia, a 23 year old woman was buried up to her neck at a football stadium, then stoned to death by 50 men in front of more than 1000 people.
The stoning occurred after she had allegedly pleaded guilty to adultery.
However, Human rights group Amnesty International later learned that the girl was in fact 13 years old and was gang-raped by three men.
When the family tried to report the rape, the girl was accused of adultery and detained.
Horrible, isn’t it?
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Let’s put that story aside for a moment and move back to John chapter 8.
We see that Jesus went to the temple early in the morning and teaching the Scripture to the crowd.
Suddenly, a group of Scribes and Pharisees stormed into the temple, dragging a woman with them.
They squeezed through the crowd, forcing the woman to stand in the middle.
Then they said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.
In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women.
Now what do you say?”
Verse 6 told us that these people were using this question as a trap.
Question: Why did they choose this adulterous woman as a trap?
Why didn’t they choose a murderer or a thief or people who committed other kinds of crimes?
Why did they choose someone who committed sexual sin?
Well, the fact is that sexual issue is something that people find it hard to have agreement.
It is a best topic for debate, whether you are young or old.
It is forever a hot issue in religious circle.
The common ones we hear in church include divorce, remarry, co-habitation (de facto relationship), sex before marriage, birth control, abortion, homosexuality.
This is probably why many churches find it easier to accept a pastor who is ex-murderer than a pastor who is divorced.
I am not saying that we should then accept a homosexual pastor.
All I am saying is that sexual issues are forever hot hot hot topics in religious circle.
It is something that is really difficult to judge, and is the best type of trap that these religious leaders could find in order to accuse Jesus.
How did Jesus respond to such trap?
Jesus said nothing.
He bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.
It is very interesting.
No where can we find Jesus ever written anything, except this passage, and we don’t even know what he wrote.
Anyway, Jesus took his time, and his silence drove those people crazy.
They kept on questioning him, giving pressure to him, forcing him to give an answer.
It was a hard work for them to catch a woman in the act of adultery.
They just can’t waste such opportunity to get Jesus.
Finally Jesus straightened up.
Everyone was looking at him in silence, waiting for his answer.
The adulterous woman also listened nervously, waiting for the verdict.
Jesus opened his mouth, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”
Everyone was stunned.
They looked at each other, the younger ones looked at the older ones for advice.
They didn’t know how to react to Jesus’ words.
In the mean time, Jesus stooped down again and continue wrote on the ground.
Slowly, the older people step backwards and silently slip away.
The younger ones realized that the tide has turned, so they followed their leaders one by one and left the temple.
Then Jesus straightened up and asked gently, “Woman, where are they?
Has no one condemned you?”
She replied, “No one, sir.” (the word “sir” can also translate to “Lord”) Then Jesus said this really famous sentence.
“Neither do I condemn you.
Go now and leave your life of sin.”
Wow, this woman is freed.
No condemnation, no punishment, no community service, no fine, no jail term.
Freed!
Jesus forgave her totally.
Now, what can we learn from this story?
When I had a chat with pastor Eddy last week and I told him that I was going to preach this passage.
He said, “Good.
Young people need to know about chastity.”
To be honest, I was quite surprised, because I thought that this passage is not about chastity but about forgiveness.
However, as I began to study bible commentaries, I found something interesting.
Look at your bible.
Can you see those little words printed right before chapter 8? It says, “The earliest and most reliable manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have John 7:53-8:11.”
Isn’t it shocking?
One of the most popular bible stories was not in the Bible.
Bible scholars try to find out what had happened and whether we should teach and preach this passage.
Some said we shouldn’t because the historical background of this passage is ambiguous.
Others say we can preach and teach this passage because it seems to align perfectly with the life and work of Jesus.
Anyway, the questions many people asked is, “WHY wasn’t this passage included in the earliest manuscript?”
A very popular suggestion was that “it may have been removed by ‘enemies of the true faith’ who feared ‘that their wives be given impunity in sinning.’”
If ancient men worried about the application of this passage on their wives, how much more would we worry about the application of this passage on young people in the 21st century?
All of the sudden, pastor Eddy’s suggestion does not sound so out of place anymore, but become quite relevant to us today.
However, if we treated this passage as a permission of sinning, then we really did not understand God.
After Jesus said “then neither do I condemn you”, he continued with “go now and leave your life of sin.”
Jesus did not say, “Go in peace, and enjoy your life, do whatever you want.”
Instead, he expected that woman to have radical change of her life.
Romans 6:1-2 says, “Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?
By no means!
We died to sin: how can we live in it any longer?”
6:6, “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.
6:11, “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin bout alive to God in Christ Jesus.
When that Somali girl was stoned to death last year, the witnesses said it was very cruel.
However, out of those 1000 people, none of them were brave enough to come out and stop this execution.
Imagine, if someone did come out and stopped the stoning and saved the girl’s life, what would happen?
If you were in a situation where you believe that you would definitely die, and yet you are saved in the last minute, how would you view your life from that moment onwards?
In fact, that is exactly our situation.
We are all sinners and all deserved to die.
But Jesus died on behalf of us, “the righteous for the unrighteous” (1 Peter 3:18).
This is why Paul said in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
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