Sermon Tone Analysis

COMPASSION 28

CHRIST'S COMPASSION TOWARDS THE ACCUSED

John 8:1-11

(cmpas28.doc)

*DON'T SHOOT OUR WOUNDED*

 

        The legal system of the United States recognizes that there is a time for forgiveness and restoration.

A district court ruled that a company had mistreated an employee by firing him for alcohol-related misbehavior that took place before he received treatment.

The judge decided that the man should have been forgiven for the wrong he had committed before he got help and that holding pretreatment transgressions against him violated the spirit of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Praise God there is another Rehabilitation Act.

The "Rehabilitation Act of A. D. 33" calls for even more mercy.

Because Jesus died on the cross for the sins of mankind around A. D. 33, God offers complete forgiveness to repentant sinners.

Christians should never hold confessed sins against a fellow believer.

We are to restore one another in the same way God restores us to Himself.

Paul puts it this way in

 

Colossians 3:12, "And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you."

Christ demonstrates the love, compassion and restoration of Jehovah God in the passage of Scripture before us today.

Would you turn with me to John 8:1-11 please.

Follow along with me silently as I read this aloud for us.

Even though the word compassion does not occur in the passage, in the light of my biblical, although controversial stand on marriage, divorce, adultery and remarriage, it seems expedient that I cover this situation for those who have been caught in adultery, or those who have been accused of any sin.

"In distinction from the scribes, who as lawyers give definitions and relativise the divine commandment by assimilating it to the actualities of life /(interpreting the law as they saw fit)/, Jesus as a religious teacher tries to make men realize how absolute is the divine requirement."[1]

*Jesus doesn't ignore the divine commandments, neither does He administer them without love.*

Ephesians 4:15 contains the phrase, "...speaking the truth in love."

That phrase can be translated, "...holding the truth in love."

Some hold the truth, but they do not hold it in love.

They have a gleam in their eye and seem to enjoy beating someone with the truth.

Others do not hold the truth, but ignore the truth under a whitewash of sentimental feelings.

They say, "It doesn't matter that you have sinned, the love of God will cover it."

Well, we are to *hold the truth in love*.

\\         "The great seriousness of Jesus in the face of the sin of adultery goes hand in hand with his mercy for the sinner and His resolute rejection of hypocritical self-righteousness, as is shown by the story of the woman taken in adultery which, even if is does not belong originally to John, rests on an authentic tradition."[2]

/(Let's look at the circumstances of this narrative.)/

I.

THE CIRCUMSTANCES (OR SETTING).

When Jesus was in Jerusalem, he usually rested at the Mount of Olives.

He went to the temple early in the morning to teach as was His custom to do.

The teaching was interrupted by scribes and Pharisees who brought before Jesus a woman who was caught in the act of adultery.

Angered by Jesus' success and frustrated by their inability to discredit him or kill him, the scribes and Pharisees seized this opportunity to try to discredit Him once more.

They reminded Him of the Law of Moses and then asked Him for His judgment on the matter.

/(To get the full flavor of this narrative, we need to know more about the characters.)/

II.

THE CHARACTERS.

The antagonists are the scribes and Pharisees.

The Pharisees were a religious party or school among the Jews at the time of Christ.

The scribes were Pharisees who were interpreters and teachers of the Mosaic Law.

The word `Pharisee' means `separated'.

This was one of the chief religious parties among the Jews.

The Pharisees believed in being separated from anything that was common or unclean.

They considered the tax-gatherers and sinners as unclean.

The Pharisees were Legalists who multiplied the demands of the law.

The protagonist in this narrative is Jesus Christ.

We shall see this clearly as we examine the action, plot, or conflict of this narrative.

/(Let's move on to:)/

 

III.

THE CONFLICT (ACTION OR PLOT).

The conflict of this story revolves around how Jesus will respond to this test.

The narrative is clear that they were testing Him.

They were looking for any possible grounds to accuse Him or discredit him.

They hoped to trap Jesus by bringing only one party.

The woman was taken in adultery, so according to the law, she was guilty and deserving of death.

But the law also prescribes that both parties should be punished.

So, if Jesus called for her stoning He was wrong, and if He let her go He was wrong; according to the existing interpretation of the law.

Jesus simply stooped down and wrote with His finger on the ground.

I don't know why He did this and I don't know what He wrote, but He doesn't seem to be bothered or concerned about their constant tests.

We must learn to respond to these types of situations the way that Jesus responded.

*He was not bothered, worried, or upset*.

I believe there are two reasons why Jesus was not upset with the scribes and Pharisees;  (1)  He knew what to expect from them.

He knew they would constantly try to trap Him.

He knew what motivated them.

There were no unrealistic expectations about the scribes or Pharisees.

(2)  He knew what He was going to do.

*So, He had insight and foresight*.

In similar situations that seem to upset us so badly, we need to know who we are dealing with, have realistic expectations, and take responsibility for our own action!!!

Even though Jesus wasn't bothered, the scribes and Pharisees were.

They persisted in asking Him.

The suspense of the great stories of the Bible is often copied by television shows.

Take for instance:  Batman.

This is about the time they would interject a commercial and leave us hanging with questions such as, "Has Batman met finally met his match in the Penguin?

Will the Caped Crusader and the Boy Wonder be frozen to death?"  *This is exactly how the suspense of this story is constructed!*

How will Jesus get out of this one?

What will His response be to this knotty problem?

But we can go one step further and ask, "What would your response be?"

We are often put on trial by the secular world and the religious world that they might have some grounds to accuse us of lying, fraud, or hypocrisy.

/(This is so exciting.

Let's move on and consider:)/

 

 

IV.

THE CLIMAX OR CULMINATION.

The climax is the action and answer of Jesus Christ.

His action and His answer were brilliant.

First He straightened up.

I don't want to read too much into this, but I believe He straightened up to look them in the eyes.

The eyes of Jesus Christ must have been piercing.

Peter had experienced the piercing power of the eyes of Jesus Christ when He denied Jesus in the courtyard of the High Priest

        Secondly, He makes only one statement,

 

"He who is without sin among you, let him /be the/ first to throw a stone at her."

 

        Thirdly, he stooped down and began to write on the ground again.

I believe he did that to leave the next action in their hands.

*It was now their responsibility to respond to this situation.*

To me this was a bad thing to do.

Certainly, these self-righteous scribes and Pharisees would pick up stones and begin to fling them.

But mysteriously, this is not what happened.

One by one, beginning with older ones, they began to walk away until only He and the woman was left alone.