Sermon Tone Analysis

John 8:1-11

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stephen Caswell © 2005

Breaking The Law

*/ /*

Hurrying to get an 11-year-old girl to school on time, a mother turned right at a red light where it was prohibited.

/Uh, oh, she said, realizing her mistake.

I just made an illegal turn./

*/It's all right, her daughter said; The police car behind us just did the same thing.

/*/Ever been caught out?/

 

Introduction

 

/How should we as Christians respond to sinners?

Should we charge them according to the Law?/ /Should we withdraw from them?

Should we condemn them for their sin or ignore just them?

/Today we will look at how Christ responded to a woman caught by sin.

The Law declares God's righteous standard for mankind.

But since no one has ever kept the Law, God responds to man with both mercy and truth.

Today I want to look at Jesus’ response to this woman caught in adultery.

We should show mercy to sinners as Christ did.

If we don't show mercy to others, God won't show mercy to us.

This morning we will see 3 things; */Caught, Condemned & Cleared/**/./*

/Firstly,/ Caught             

 

There are a number of people /caught up/ in this plot.

A drama that was played out in an attempt to condemn Jesus Christ.

The woman they caught was just the meat in the sandwich.

Jesus was the One that the religious leaders really wanted to catch out.

Let’s see the characters in this plot.

/a.

The Savior/

/ /

*John 8:1-2:* /But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them/.

/ /

/Firstly, /we are introduced to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Just prior to His ministry in the temple Jesus had spent some time on the Mount of Olives.

Most likely He had spent much of the night there in prayer and fellowship with His Father.

The Lord often prayed before crucial times in His life.

No doubt the Spirit led Him there to pray.

Early in the morning Christ came to the temple to teach the people.

The people came to Jesus, a great Teacher, to be instructed.

/Jesus sat down and taught the people.

Rabbis would sit down when teaching their disciples./

Jesus taught with authority unlike the religious leaders who quoted other rabbis or writings.

/The people loved to listen to Jesus because they knew that He loved them./

Although He taught them through simple stories and parables, His teaching was profound.

The Lord loves all people, even the ones that the religious leaders disapprove of.

He showed no favoritism but accepted all men.

He was accused of eating with tax collectors.

In fact He became known as the friend of sinners.

So the Pharisees asked Jesus/, didn't He care that sinners had broken God's holy Law?/ Yes He did care!!

In fact He taught that all men were sinners and that all needed a Savior.

But that didn't stop Him from receiving them.

Jesus loves all sinners.

/He taught God's Word to save us, not condemn us.

Jesus still reaches out to lost sinners./

/ /

DL Moody’s Ministry

 

*/In his early years DL Moody preached how much God hated sinners./*

He taught that men must repent and to be saved from their sins.

Then an English evangelist came to America.

He was the guest speaker at a crusade that lasted 1 week.

/He preached for 7 days using the same text; John 3:16./

He preached that God hated sin but loved sinners.

Moody’s heart was captured by the message and it marked a turning point in his ministry.

From then on he preached that God hated sin but loved sinners.

God used DL Moody mightily to save thousands.

Maybe 1,000,000 people.

/b.

The Scribes & Pharisees/

* *

*John 7:45-49:* /Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, why have you not brought Him?

The officers answered, no man ever spoke like this Man!

Then the Pharisees answered them, are you also deceived?

Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him? *But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.*/

/ /

The Scribes and Pharisees thought that they were the most holy men of all.

They knew God's Law well and even taught it.

They believed that they were right with God through keeping the Law.

They were confident, proud and self righteous.

/Yet did they really keep the Law?/

No!! *Galatians 2:16 says:* /knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, .... /the verse finishes this way, /for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified./

*/The Pharisees failed miserably on the 2 most important commandments of all.

They didn't love the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind and strength.

Or else they would have loved God's Son.

And they didn't love their neighbor as themselves./*

/Or they wouldn't have despised and condemned the common people./

Listen to what Jesus says about them in *Matthew 23:23:* /Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!

For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: *justice and mercy and faith*.

These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

*Jesus saw their sin!*

Today we have Pharisees with us, people strong on external rules and weak on love and personal holiness./

/ /

/c.

The Sinner/

 

*John 8:3a:* /Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery.

/

 

Verse 3 declares that this woman was a sinner.

From the Gospel account there is no denying the charge was true.

/She was* caught *in the very act./

We know nothing about the background of this woman.

Yet she was important to God.

This woman represents millions of others who have been caught by sin.

Therefore her plight is very important.

/Is there hope for sinners such as this?/

You see, every minute of the day someone gets caught sinning.

Even if the authorities don’t catch us like this woman was caught God knows our sin.

*Hebrews 4:12-13:* /For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account./

God sees us when we covet something that belongs to another.