Falling into the hands of God
Had it been worth it? Those stolen minutes with a man who was not her husband and who also was not here? Were they worth the dreadful fear as the three witnesses dragged her along and threw her before Jesus. It was the time when religious law ruled the land and anyone breaking that law died without mercy. This time the vigilantes would try to score two victories, they would have this woman condemned and stoned to death but they would also put Jesus into such a position that he either participated in the cruelty or repudiated the holy law.
The crowd grows frustrated as it struggles to get an answer from Jesus, but he is silent, bending over to write in the desert sand. At last he lifts his head and says, "Let the person without sin be the first person to throw a stone at her." and then he continues writing in the sand. When the accusers have crept silently away he questions the woman again: "Woman has anyone condemned you?" When she answers, "No one, Sir." He replies, "Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more."
The woman pushed before Jesus did not know it, but she was falling into the hands of God. Jesus would find a way to grant her mercy although at that time he had no earthly authority over the religious law enforcers.
It's a good place to fall into: the hands of God. King David, who lived about one thousand years before Jesus, was the first to use this phrase, He had seriously displeased God; he knew it, and asked forgiveness in a short rather flippant way. God's mercy took the form of discipline, David and the nation he led suffered until David seriously attended to the broken relationship between him and God.
People who have declared loyalty to God through Jesus, do sometimes suffer discipline. God disciplines them because he loves them and is training them for a continued and deepening relationship with himself. Sometimes, if a person is a leader of a nation, it is necessary that God show his disapproval of certain actions. The things that offend God include: callousness, hypocrisy, arrogance and deceit. When a person who has declared loyalty to God experiences his discipline they are comforted to realize that although God is displeased with them he has not abandoned them, they are still in his hands. Later they are always grateful for the discipline that prevented them from continuing to sin.
"Sin no more" said Jesus to the woman. Liberating words. Mercy is not given that we may continue to sin and excuse ourselves. Mercy is given so that we may refrain from sinning.
The Gospel of John, chapter 8: verses 2-11
Old Testament: Second book of Samuel, chapter 24:verses 10-25
New Testament: Letter to the Hebrews, chapter 27, verses 26-31
The crowd grows frustrated as it struggles to get an answer from Jesus, but he is silent, bending over to write in the desert sand. At last he lifts his head and says, "Let the person without sin be the first person to throw a stone at her." and then he continues writing in the sand. When the accusers have crept silently away he questions the woman again: "Woman has anyone condemned you?" When she answers, "No one, Sir." He replies, "Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more."
The woman pushed before Jesus did not know it, but she was falling into the hands of God. Jesus would find a way to grant her mercy although at that time he had no earthly authority over the religious law enforcers.
It's a good place to fall into: the hands of God. King David, who lived about one thousand years before Jesus, was the first to use this phrase, He had seriously displeased God; he knew it, and asked forgiveness in a short rather flippant way. God's mercy took the form of discipline, David and the nation he led suffered until David seriously attended to the broken relationship between him and God.
People who have declared loyalty to God through Jesus, do sometimes suffer discipline. God disciplines them because he loves them and is training them for a continued and deepening relationship with himself. Sometimes, if a person is a leader of a nation, it is necessary that God show his disapproval of certain actions. The things that offend God include: callousness, hypocrisy, arrogance and deceit. When a person who has declared loyalty to God experiences his discipline they are comforted to realize that although God is displeased with them he has not abandoned them, they are still in his hands. Later they are always grateful for the discipline that prevented them from continuing to sin.
"Sin no more" said Jesus to the woman. Liberating words. Mercy is not given that we may continue to sin and excuse ourselves. Mercy is given so that we may refrain from sinning.
The Gospel of John, chapter 8: verses 2-11
Old Testament: Second book of Samuel, chapter 24:verses 10-25
New Testament: Letter to the Hebrews, chapter 27, verses 26-31
Labels: Jesus, Mercy, religious law
posted by Jessie Coates at 10:06 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home