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Bob Davis: Jesus did not become flesh and dwell among us to judge this woman. God could have judged her without becoming flesh. You remember why He became flesh, right? He came into this world to save this woman. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3:17, remember? We think the opposite way. Get 'em, smoke 'em, Lord.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Apply Within, a verse-by-verse study of the word of God with Pastor Bob Davis of North Country Chapel. We invite you to join with us as we, by the power of God's Holy Spirit, apply His word within our own hearts as we study line upon line, precept upon precept, verse-by-verse through the Bible. Jesus forgives an adulterous woman as our study of John continues in chapter eight. Here's Pastor Bob.

Bob Davis: Jesus went out to the Mount of Olives. And then, early in the morning, He came again to the temple, and all the people came to Him, and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought unto Him a woman taken in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, the midst doesn't mean in a special spot. They put her between Jesus and the people He's teaching. Rude.

The temple area is big. There's all kinds of places you could drag this lady if you wanted to drag this lady. But they took her and threw her down between Jesus and the people He's teaching. Now, she's the center of attention. Oh, joy. I'm sure she's thrilled. The scribes and the Pharisees brought unto Him a woman taken in adultery, and when they had set her in the midst, in the middle, they said to Him, "Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act of adultery. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such or this kind of individual should be stoned, put to death. What do you say? What sayest thou?"

We know what God's word says. You say you're from God, but what do you say? And they said this, testing Him, tempting Him, that they might have to accuse Him. They're looking for anything else to accuse Him of. They already believe He's blasphemed. He's claimed to be God a couple of times. He did a miracle on the Sabbath way back there, and they're just looking for more just to try and make Him look foolish and a lawbreaker in front of the people that are wanting to listen to Him.

They said this, tempting Him, that they might have to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down with His finger, wrote in the dirt, on the ground, as though He didn't hear them at all. As Jesus is teaching, church is going on, they interrupt what He's doing. You see that they don't much care for Jesus. They don't much care really about the things of God. They've got an agenda, and so they'll interrupt church to get that done. No big deal, right?

He's interrupted. The scribes and the Pharisees. The Pharisees are supposed to be the holiest that Israel has to offer. If you want to hold up holiness, the Pharisees were the top rung of the ladder. They were considered by all the people to be the most holy people in all of Israel. They claimed to be also. The scribes were the ones that would be writing it all down. They drag a woman into the temple area in between Jesus and the crowd that He's teaching, and they throw her down in front of Him right there in the public place in the temple area where the people would go to read their Bibles, to pray, where the Gentiles could even get. They couldn't get in certain spots, but so you've got crowds of people there.

They say to Jesus, "Master," do you really think they're calling Him teacher because they think He's a good teacher? They're mocking Him. "Master, hey, teacher, that's teaching all these people here. Hey, teacher. This woman right here was taken in adultery, in the very act." Think about it. The woman can't say, "You've got the wrong girl. It's not really me." No, they pulled her out of bed. They took her right in the middle of all this and dragged her out of there and throw her in front of Jesus.

"Now Moses in the law commanded us," they say, "that this kind should be stoned to death. But we would like to hear what you have to say about it." Looking to find another reason to hate Him. They hate Him already. When you don't like somebody, you are looking for ways to not like them more. You may say, "No, I'm not." Yes, you are. They can do no right. And if you just take the disliking to them, whatever they do is bad, whatever they are. So guard your heart. Watch out for that. There's a danger in there. That's what they're doing.

Leviticus chapter 20, verse 10. The Bible says this. This is the law, God's word. "And the man that commits adultery with another man's wife, even he that commits adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death." Notice, not just one, both. Deuteronomy 22:22. "If a man be found lying with a woman married to a husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman and the woman. So shalt thou put away evil from Israel."

So they both have to die. True? That's the law. So this poor woman who is caught right in the middle, smack in the middle of her sin, she can't say, "It wasn't me. You've mistaken me with some other girl." No, we didn't. We took you right in the very act. She was caught in the very act. You know who that woman is? That's me. You know who that woman is? That's you. That's every one of us. We can't say it wasn't me, I didn't sin. You can say that, but there is no way out of this. Each and every one of us are sinners, and everyone needs a Savior.

One glaring problem, and you see it. It doesn't seem to bother the scribes and the Pharisees, but there's a glaring problem here. The scripture makes it clear both of the people, the man and the woman, should be put to death. But where is the guy? Well, we don't know. We do not know. If they were taken in the very act, because it takes two to commit adultery or the act of adultery, what happened to the guy? We don't know. Maybe he was really quick and got away.

So we can't really deal with it. We're going to have to deal with what's been thrown in front of you. You can ask a thousand questions about it. "Well, how did you grow up? What was your mother like? I mean, did you have a father or did your—did he love you or something?" That's what we would do today. But sin is sin. So there's no guy. But there are witnesses that she was there. They took her in the very act of adultery, so we've got witnesses. You'll see in a moment, the Bible requires two or more. Well, there's a bunch of them, scribes and the Pharisees. They all got her.

John tells us this. They asked Jesus, "Here's what the Bible says. Here's what God's word says. Here's what the law says. This is what Moses wrote down. What have you got to say about it?" Let's see if we can trip Him up in His words. Let's see if there's a way to show these people they're listening to a weirdo. They're listening to some liar. They're listening to a blasphemer. They want more reason to make Him look like a phony in front of the people. The people are starting to listen. The people are starting to listen to Jesus. They're trying to get the people to stay with them.

They want Jesus, clearly they want Jesus to contradict the word of God. Let's see what He's got to say. Maybe we could even twist it to say He goes against the word of God, contradicts it. Do you think they really care about this girl at all? No. I mean, she's as good as dead as far as they are—as far as they're concerned. They want to put this girl to death. They just want to also—and they're going to, at least as far as they're concerned, because that's what the law requires and that's what the law does say, and that's what they're going to do. But they want to see if they could get Jesus in the process.

Mr. Darby writes this in his commentary, because they're looking for Jesus to contradict the word of God. Listen to what Mr. Darby writes. "It comforts and even quiets the depraved heart of man if he can only find a person worse than himself. If he could just find someone who's doing bigger sins than you and me. It comforts and quiets the depraved heart of a man if he can only find a person worse than himself. He thinks the greater sin of another excuses his own." True. Well, I'm bad, but not as bad as her. I'm bad, but certainly not as bad as him. Oh, I'm a sinner, but nothing like those people are, right?

He's right on. He thinks the greater sin of another excuses his, and while accusing and vehemently blaming another, he forgets his own evil. He therefore is rejoicing in iniquity. And aren't we told not to rejoice in iniquity, but to rejoice in the truth? And I thought there it is right there. They're glad they got this girl. Metaphorically speaking, we could get two birds with one stone here if we do it right. They don't care about the girl, this woman. Did she sin? Well, yeah, and there's no saying she didn't. And as soon as one of us says we never did or we don't, got a problem on our hands, don't we? They think they're a little bit better than her, don't they?

But they don't have Jesus, and she doesn't. Aren't they in the same category at this moment? So far, yeah. But I love Jesus's response. He doesn't say a word. Do you think they've outsmarted Him? I know none of us are guilty of trying to outsmart God, right? Jesus did not say a word. He simply did what? Stooped down to the ground and began to write with His finger in the dirt. And the Bible clearly says He wrote, stooped down, as if He didn't hear a word they had just said. As if He didn't hear a thing, just stooped down and starts writing in the dirt.

Now, we are not told what Jesus wrote. Therefore, we don't know what He wrote. True. Some suggest it could have been the Ten Commandments. "I am the Lord your God, thou shalt not have strange gods before me." Some suggest that He wrote some of the sins of the scribes and the Pharisees who were there brought this woman to Jesus, wrote that out. Some suggest Jeremiah 17:13. You need to look at that. That's kind of cool because Jeremiah 17:13 says those that depart from me shall be written in the earth. And so some say maybe He wrote that.

I don't know what He wrote. It doesn't matter to us what He wrote because we aren't told and so we don't know, don't worry about it. He's just down there writing in the dirt. And we read this, verse seven. When they continued, He's now writing on the ground, and He's acting like they haven't said a thing to Him. And so when they continued asking Him, in other words they didn't let up. "Well, what do you say? Tell us what you think." So when they continued asking, He lifted Himself up, He stood up and He said, "The one that is without any sin among you, let that one cast the first stone."

And then He stooped back down and wrote on the ground some more. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out. I like the word "slink." One by one, beginning at the oldest, even to the last. And Jesus was left alone and the woman standing in the midst. So now there's Jesus, there's this lady they left behind, and there's a crowd of people that He was teaching, right? All those others, wait, they were witnesses, right? They were the witnesses, the eyewitness. "We caught her! We found her in the very act!"

So let the one that is among you that has never sinned or that has no sin at all, you throw the first rock. The law says, and I'll read it to you coming up, the law says one of the witnesses that's an eyewitness has to be one that throws the first rock. So look, Jesus doesn't say a word. And it's frustrating because how can you accuse—they're trying to trap Him and trick Him. How can you accuse Jesus of saying something wrong if He doesn't say anything at all? You can't. And it's driving them crazy. I mean, it's frustrating them. It's bugging them.

And the language says they wouldn't quit. "Well, what do you say? Are you afraid to say something? Has the cat got your tongue? You're the teacher, teach. What do you think? What do you say? We're all ready to learn. Word of God says that she has to die. What do you say? Let's have it." So He stands up. "He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone." Deuteronomy 17:7. "The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you."

The witnesses, one of them has to be throwing the first stone, and then everybody in that crowd that's in the temple area can help finish. So the one that has no sin throw that first rock, and this girl's a dead woman. And one by one they left. Their own conscience kind of just caused them to back up out of the way, from the oldest to the youngest, one at a time, just sort of slinking off. And don't miss this. No one in that crowd that was listening to Jesus teach even thought about picking up a rock, right?

And I guess I should be honest. I guess if you can, you should be honest. Let's be honest. If that's the requirement, that takes me out of the stone-throwing business altogether, doesn't it? If we're going to be honest, doesn't that also take you out of the stone-throwing business, period? And Jesus was now left there with the crowd sitting, the lady in the middle here, and Jesus up front. That woman sitting right in the very middle and the crowd of people that He was teaching. That's all that's left. Oh, and you and me who are reading it. We're there too.

So we read this in verse 10. When Jesus had lifted up Himself, saw that none but the woman, saw none but the woman, that didn't mean the crowd's gone. That just means all the accusers are gone. He said to her, "Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee?" And she answered, and it was a surprise to her. Remember, she's expecting—she's probably hiding her face, expecting to be hit at any moment and expecting the pain. She earned it, she deserved it, the law says that she should be put to death. She's expecting it, she's probably hiding, and when He says, "Where are your accusers?" she probably looked up.

She said, "No man, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more." Who could have condemned her? Jesus never sinned. "I don't condemn you." This is God Almighty saying that. This is not just Jesus the nice guy that was a great man. This is God Almighty in human flesh. Is He saying, "Just go and sin and do whatever you want, girl? I like you. You're kind of cool." Is Jesus going against the Bible? No, not at all. "Well, I'm not going to put you to death either. I don't condemn you." She's expecting to be hit. She's probably hiding her face in shame right now. She's stunned that there's no one there.

The accusers are gone. The crowd still back there, but she looks around. She says, "No man, Lord." He says, "Neither do I. Go and sin no more." Jesus just taught us something which we have heard over and over, but we're watching it played out. He's teaching you something here that you've got to see, me something here that I've got to see. We've got to get this. We have to get this. We know it. We would tell it to others, but now it's got to be where you live. Listen to this. Jesus did not become flesh and dwell among us to judge this woman. God could have judged her without becoming flesh.

You remember why He became flesh, right? He came into this world to save this woman. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3:17, remember? We think the opposite way. Get 'em, smoke 'em, Lord. And He said that's not why I became flesh. God doesn't have to become flesh and dwell among us to zap us and send us to hell. He doesn't have to do that. He became flesh and dwelt among us not to judge us, but to pay our debt. He had already judged us, sinners.

He came into the world to pay the debt for my sin. Did He come into the world to pay the debt for yours? He didn't become flesh to come here and embarrass you and make you look dumb in front of everybody else and to make you look like the biggest sinner on the planet. He came and said to you, "You come to me, I'll give you life." He'll take you in where every other person might just say to you you'll never be worth being saved. But Jesus will take you in just the same. Jesus did not become flesh and dwell among us to judge us.

He didn't. God didn't send Him here to judge us. God sent His only begotten Son because God had judged us to be sinners already, needing a Savior. And God became our Savior. That's love.

Guest (Male): Thank you for listening to Apply Within with Pastor Bob Davis. Apply Within is a radio outreach ministry of North Country Chapel. Our Sunday morning Bible studies are at 9:00 and 11:00 AM. We also have a Friday evening Bible study at 7:00 PM and a Monday evening Bible study at 7:00 PM. You can download today's message in its entirety at northcountrychapel.com/studies. That's northcountrychapel.com/studies.

If you would like a copy of today's message, write to us and ask for the message with today's date. The address is Apply Within, 2281 West Seltice, Post Falls, Idaho 83854, or call us at 1-800-572-8851. That number again: 1-800-572-8851. Our mobile app is available for iPhone and Android. Download it to listen to full-length studies, watch the livestream of our services, or to find out more about church events. If you have been blessed by the teaching or have prayer requests that you would like to share with us, write, email, or call us as well. Please join with us every Monday through Friday as we study together verse-by-verse on Apply Within, sponsored by North Country Chapel. God bless you.