Ken Boa Reflections Ministries

Dr. Ken Boa: This is probably too distracting for you, the flashing on and off, so we don't have the usual equipment. I believe that my adapter may be problematic. We've rebooted it, but you never can tell about these things, so my suspicion is it would probably be better off just not having it on. I'll just disconnect this.

I'm sorry to say that, but what can I say? I can show you one slide, though, when you have your discussion. I can always go back to that. We'll see; we won't worry about that for now.

We are up to John chapter 8, and this is an extraordinary text that begins with one of the two main parts of the New Testament where there's a significant textual question. This is the passage about the adulterous woman, where the earliest manuscripts do not have this account. I believe there are a lot of reasons why it's authentic gospel material. There are some places where it's inserted in other places in John, but I think it actually fits well right where we're going to scroll up and see. This does actually bridge the gap.

I believe that it has its purpose in being there. It's an interesting thing. People like Bart Ehrman and others use this, and the ending of Mark chapter 16, as their main way to discredit the New Testament, but frankly, it doesn't detract from anything else. This really underscores the accuracy of the manuscripts and how accurate they actually are.

I think it's a powerful text of scripture because Jesus goes to the Mount of Olives early in the morning, then to the temple, and all the people are coming to him. He sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery and set her in the center of the court. They are imposing on Jesus's teaching there. He's in the treasury in that area, and all of a sudden they bring her right in front and interrupt him.

They stick her in there as a test case to try to set him off against Moses. That's really the whole issue there. They said to him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. Now in the Law of Moses, Moses commanded us to stone such women. What do you say?" They were saying this, testing him so that they'd have grounds for accusing him.

A lot of things come to mind with this text of scripture. Scribes and Pharisees interrupted him and pushed her in there. It's very unlikely that they caught them in the very act of adultery; what happened to the guy? It sounds like a setup because the law made it clear that both parties were to be punished. Leviticus 20 and Deuteronomy 22 say both parties were to be punished. Why isn't he being punished? So, it's a setup.

The Jewish leaders had tried to set up a trap to put him on the horns of a dilemma. If he condemned her to be stoned, it would have alienated the people and made them question his message of forgiveness. If he said she shouldn't be stoned, then that would be a violation of the law. They would have had Jesus going against the Law of Moses. That's what was going on there.

They thought they would have grounds for accusing him, but Jesus stooped down and with his finger wrote on the ground. What was he doing writing on the ground with his finger? Have you ever wondered about that? Think about the fact that the Ten Commandments were written by the finger of God. Exodus 31:18 tells us that the finger of God wrote the Ten Commandments. Wouldn't it be interesting if that's what he was writing out? It would make complete sense.

If you really read the Ten Commandments, you know you can't keep them. You can't keep them if you really think about them because even to look at a woman with desire in his heart is a sin. It's not just the action, but it's actually the attitude as well. That's why Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount said that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you can't enter in. The standards are so high.

The one that nailed Paul was the one about coveting. That's a pretty tough one because who hasn't coveted something? The law really reveals that about us. They're being hypocritical to claim that they had no problem at all themselves.

First of all, they weren't following the law. If they caught them in the very act, where's the man? He should be there because the law commanded that he be stoned along with the woman. Furthermore, it did say that the one who makes the accusation is the one to cast the first stone, so Jesus is just fulfilling the law in that respect as well. It's interesting that he writes on the ground with his finger. He's basically saying, "Here's the standard; how are you doing with that?" Nobody could actually sustain that.

They tried to get him to realize that they were no different than the woman herself, and it's an amazing text of scripture that really reveals the authority of Christ and the authority of the word. I think that's very likely what was going on. They persisted in asking him, so he didn't answer them at first. When they persisted, he straightened up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Again, it says he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

Jesus never wrote anything; we have no record of anything he wrote. It would be a precious thing if he did, but this is the only time he does that. He stoops down again, and that's his answer. When they heard what he said, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones who had more discernment and maturity. They realized, who is without sin? That's the whole point of the law. The law was not revealed to save anybody; it was revealed to show our problem and drive us to grace.

The more we're aware of the holiness of God that reveals his perfect standards, the more we become aware that we cannot sustain them. Romans 1 makes clear that no one's ignorant about God; He's made Himself known internally and externally in the created order. No one's ignorant about sin either because our own conscience is already there in Romans 2, and it condemns or else commends us.

We see this dilemma that we have in our own hearts. We're aware that there's a God, but we're also aware there's a problem. This is why, of course, if a person calls upon the name of the Lord, he'll be saved. He realizes the conviction of sin and righteousness and judgment that only the Holy Spirit can provide. When we respond to that conviction, God has the gracious provision to make that work for us.

He wasn't contradicting the law or minimizing sins when he spoke to the woman. When the accusers heard it, they went out one by one, beginning with the older ones. He was left alone with the woman in the center of the court, which is the court of women right by the treasury. He straightens up, stops writing in the ground, and says to her, "Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?" She said, "No one, Lord." Jesus said, "I do not condemn you either. Go, and from now on, sin no more." He's not playing down her sin, but he's showing that forgiveness is a grace. It's free, but somebody pays because you cannot really give that basis.

God can forgive people, but he cannot forgive sin. Sin must be dealt with. Either we pay the price or he underwrites the cost himself. The fact that he underwrote our cost and offered himself gives us the basis for God being just, but also the justifier of those who have faith in Christ Jesus, because somebody pays. That's the whole point. You could offer somebody a great gift, say a house; it's free to them, but somebody had to pay the price to make it available. So he underwrites the cost himself. It's free, but not cheap.

The law was given to reveal sin, and an awareness of condemnation by the law is what provides the cleansing by grace for a person's life. Conviction has to precede conversion. In all ages, salvation was by grace and faith. The object of that faith was God, and God never left himself without witness. The content of that faith would change as time went by as there was more revelation and you'd know more about God, but everyone has enough awareness about God that they can call upon the name of the Lord. Conviction is necessary. "Sin no more," he tells her. He's not underplaying that, but the experience of gracious forgiveness is not an excuse to sin.

There's a series of contrasts I wanted to show you. The first contrast is between law and grace in verses 1 through 11. I have a dandy series of contrasts I wanted to show you, but I can't. The contrast between law and grace is the first one. The second contrast is between light and darkness in verses 12 through 20. This is a study in contrasts. With John; light and love are profound motifs, and he uses them richly in layers.

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness but will have the light of life." You have the seven "I AM" statements in the Gospel of John. We've seen the first one in chapter 6: "I am the bread of life." This is the second: "I am the light of the world." The others are: "I am the door," "I am the good shepherd," "I am the resurrection and the life," "I am the way, the truth, and the life," and "I am the true vine." These seven declarations reveal Jesus in various aspects. This is a powerful picture of how he is the light of the world.

Verse 12 says, "I am the light of the world, he who follows me will not walk in the darkness but will have the light of life." It's possible this refers to the source of life. God is light, and where the light shines, it reveals wickedness. It's possible that the sun may have just appeared above the buildings in the morning there. Another thing connected with this is that during the Feast of Tabernacles, there was a huge candelabra lit up to reveal the light of God as a symbol of the pillar of fire. In fact, there were three wilderness images celebrated at that time: the manna in John 6, the water from the rock in John 7, and the pillar of fire in John 8.

These are all images going back to the Old Testament; John makes many connections with these things. For these wilderness images, "He who follows me"—which is to put one's trust and hope in him—will have light, life, and love. He says, "He who follows me will not walk in the darkness but will have the light of life." Light illuminates your pathway. Even a pinpoint of light is visible in the darkness. If you were in a cave, the smallest amount of light would be able to illuminate enough to guide you. It can guide a person to safety; it's visible in the darkness and overcomes it.

This motif of light and dark is very clear. Jesus speaks of his own witness to the Father. The Pharisees say in verse 13, "You're testifying about yourself; your testimony is not true." Jesus answered and said to them, "Even if I testify about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I'm going. But you do not know where I came from or where I am going." He bears witness, and he speaks about himself as having the witness that God is providing for him. He goes on to say, "Even if I do judge, my judgment is true; I'm not alone in it. It's I and the Father who sent me. Even in your law, it has been written that the testimony of two men is true. I am he who testifies about myself, and the Father who sent me testifies about me." Remember the witnesses in John 5: the witness of John the Baptist, the witness of his works, the witness of the Father, and the witness of the scriptures. All these things bear witness of him and support the claims he is making.

Going back to John 8:13, "Even in your own law, it's written that the testimony of two men is true. I testify about myself, and the Father who sent me testifies about me as well." We're going to try to just keep going on. If we can get this to work, it'd be a lot less frustrating because I'd love for you to see it. It's working! Thank you, Peter. He is the man. I feel so much less frustrated. Now I can show you the things I wanted to show you before. We're going to do a study of contrasts: law and grace, light and darkness.

I was talking about the "I AM" statements; this is the second one, "the light of the world." It's interesting to look at John's Gospel from this standpoint. We were talking about the witnesses in John 5; a court uses witnesses to prove claims. John the Baptist, the works, the Father, and the scriptures all bear witness that he is who he claims to be. It's a powerful theme. Going back to our text in verse 13, "Following him then, not walk in the darkness but will have the light of life." The Pharisees said to him, "You're testifying about yourself." They asked, "Where is your Father?" He answered, "You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also."

The reality is that Christ is the personal revelation of the Father. These words he spoke at the treasury as he taught in the temple, and no one seized him because his hour had not yet come. We saw that motif before, the idea that his hour had not come. In a very real way, there's an application of that for you and me because while you are pursuing God and seeking to do His will, you are immortal until God's purpose for you is achieved. He's got a purpose for your life. We're all really living on borrowed time to accomplish His business. Every day matters; every day is a gift and we need to accomplish that purpose for which we've been called.

Christ as the personal revelation of the Father is very evident here. "If you knew me, you'd know him as well." He said, "I go away, and you will seek me." This is a third contrast, between life and death in verses 21 to 30. Verse 21 says, "I go away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I'm going, you cannot come." The Jews were saying, "Surely he will not kill himself, will he, since he says 'Where I'm going, you cannot come'?" He's basically referring to two different destinations because they have two different origins.

He says, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins. For unless you believe that I AM, you will die in your sins." That's "ego eimi", the same idea of the self-existent one who revealed himself to Moses. Unless you believe that "I AM", you will die in your sins. It comes down to that relationship, so they ask: who is he? The true believer has citizenship in heaven. Verse 23 says, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world."

If you are born from above—remember, those who are born once die twice, and those who are born twice die once—then your citizenship is in heaven. According to Philippians 3:20-21, our citizenship is in heaven, from which we eagerly wait for a Savior who is going to transform the body of our present state into conformity with the body of His glory by the exertion of His power to subject all things to Himself.

This is an incredible thought. You are born from above; you no longer have your earthly parentage. You've been transferred from the line of Adam—a line destined to death and separation from God—to the line of the new Adam who has no beginning and no end. You've been given that Zoe, the eternal life he's offered to us.

You have a new destiny as a consequence. When the believer dies, he dies in the Lord because he lives in the Lord. The unbeliever dies in sins because he lives in the sins. There's this clear separation based on your origin: being from below or being from above. They were saying to him, "Who are you?" He answered, "What have I been saying to you from the beginning? I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent me is true, and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world." They didn't realize that he'd been speaking to them about the Father.

Jesus said, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I AM. I do nothing of my own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught me. He who sent me is with me; he's not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him." As he spoke these things, many came to believe in him. What does it mean to be "lifted up"? It refers to his death, just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, but it also refers to his glorification, resurrection, and ascension. It includes all those things. The ascension would be revealed to the Jewish nation; the Old Testament predicted both the sufferings of the Messiah and the glory that would follow.

It's interesting that it says as he spoke these things, many came to believe in him. It's very similar to what you have in John chapter 2. Jesus knew the heart of man, so it's not entirely clear if this was a saving faith. To truly believe is to transfer your trust. Is it just an intellectual decision or personal reception? That makes all the difference in the world. So, you have these clear contrasts: life and death, law and grace, and light and darkness. John draws another distinction between freedom and bondage—being set free or being enslaved.

In John 8:31, Jesus was saying to those Jews who believed him, "If you continue in my word, then you are truly disciples of mine, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." I love that text. Truth liberates you into freedom. True freedom is not to do as you please; it's to do as God pleases. You have the power to do that, but you cannot do it apart from the indwelling Holy Spirit. God gives you the power to be pleasing to Him through His Spirit. The genius of this is so profound because he not only tells you that salvation is by grace through faith, but also that sanctification is by grace through faith. The very thing that saved you is the thing that sanctifies you.

It's a process. When you walk by the Spirit, you are pleasing to God, you fulfill the law, and you overcome the deeds of the flesh. He's given you the provision. Our call in this world is to walk more and more by the Spirit and less by the flesh. It's to choose the source of power. Throughout the course of the day, we're going to be tempted to choose between the Spirit and the flesh. Through training and habituation, you become so spring-loaded toward walking by the Spirit that it becomes your natural disposition. When you do stumble—and who doesn't?—you don't grovel. You get up, thank Him for His grace, and move on. You don't succumb to self-pity; you move on and embrace the grace God has given you. That's a powerful picture.

Discipleship is born out of obedience to Christ's word, and obedience produces spiritual knowledge. Obedience is the portal of divine disclosure. To know Him better, do what He told you to do. The more you do what He told you to do, the better you'll know Him. He'll reveal more light, but He will not give you more light if you don't respond to the light you've already received. He's always training, teaching, and testing you for your good. It's never neutral. It's a constant movement forward because yesterday's faith is today's sight. You can't live in the past; you have to continue to grow and take greater risks of faith as you grow in obedience.

It's a dynamic, ongoing journey into the unknown, but we know where He's going to carry us. Ultimately, He's going to carry us in the direction of freedom from the bondage of sin and the glorious liberty of the light, life, and love of Christ. In verse 33, they answered him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone. How is it you say we will become free?" Where were they coming from? They were enslaved seven times in the book of Judges alone, then the Assyrian captivity, the Babylonian captivity, and even now they were under the heel of Rome as they said this. How can they say that? They're blind to this. It's a proud refusal to recognize their need. The worst bondage is the kind that a person doesn't even recognize. They are enslaved and don't even realize it.

Many trust their religion to save them, but they don't have Christ. These are people who see the very one who is the fulfillment of the law and they deny Him. They do not know the God who gave the law; they're focused more on the law itself and don't see Him. Jesus said, "Everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever, but the son does remain forever." This is His contrast between the slave and the son. He says, "If the Son sets you free, you'll be free indeed." This promised liberation makes us free to do what God pleases by the power of the Spirit. Apart from the Spirit of God, we cannot please Him. Now we have an option we didn't have before. You have more options as a believer than you ever did as a non-believer.

You can choose now at the point of temptation because you have the resources of God's grace to actually walk in faith, hope, and love, and to please God in all circumstances. There is nothing you cannot overcome because He's given you the grace to do so. It's a constant movement, but recognize that it's going to continue to "up the ante." He's going to continue to increase your risk because you will not grow apart from taking risks for your faith. It's a journey of risk, hope, and trust. I look back, and as I've told you many times before, I have never regretted an act of obedience. Have you ever regretted obeying God? Have you ever regretted disobeying God? The answer is pretty obvious.

What's your track record? I'd say the answer is pretty obvious. So, why would it be possible for me to be tempted today to do something stupid and shoot myself in the foot? It's astonishing that although I have a perfect track record of regret for disobedience, I'm still likely to do it again. But still, you don't grovel; you press on. You take greater risks of faith. It's an adventure of moving into uncharted territory because it's a relationship. The better you trust Him, abide in Him, and pursue Him, the more you will know Him and the more you will become like Him. Then there's a transformation that takes place from the inside out that cannot be explained by any other source.

He says, "I speak of the things which I have seen with my Father; therefore you also do the things which you have seen from your father." Once again, it's about origin: whether you are from God or from the earth. Nature is determined by birth, and birth is determined by paternity. Without Christ, we are children of disobedience and wrath. With Christ, we are now children and servants of God, not children of the evil one. We are no longer slaves; we are sons, and that makes all the difference in the world. He makes us partakers of the divine nature. You share the nature of your Father. Second Peter 1:1-4 says you have become partakers of the divine nature; He's made you a new person from the inside out.

In your deepest self, remember that you are a spiritual being having an earthbound experience. In your spirit, you are holy, righteous, and perfect. In your soul, you are being transformed so that your journey is to become more like who you already are in your position. There is yet a fifth contrast: between honor and dishonor in verses 48 to 59. Jumping ahead to that, the Jews said to him, "Do we not rightly say that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?" That's what I would call a "two-fer." That's a big insult and it's very serious. It's incredible. They claimed he was demonized and among the outcasts. Jesus said, "I do not have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me."

"But I do not seek my own glory; there is one who seeks and judges. Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will not see death." We see this incredible picture that He is one who pursues our good and offered them salvation, but they dishonored Him. John 5:23 makes it clear that the one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him. So, how do we honor Him? Pursuing Him and becoming like Him makes all the difference in the world. Going back to our text, it's this idea of nature being determined by birth.

The one who honors the Father must honor the Son. What are some ways in which we can honor the Son? That's a question I often raise to myself. I seek to pursue that. Jesus said, "It is my Father who glorifies me. You have not come to know me, but I know him. If I say I do not know him, I will be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad." The Jews said to him, "You are not yet 50 years old, and have you seen Abraham?" Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM." That is another incredible claim of deity.

They picked up stones to throw at him, but again, it says Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. Their hour had not yet come. This is another occasion where God said the time had not yet come. Again, His purposes will be achieved, and Jesus knows that day is coming more and more clearly. We see the need for us to honor the Son and to become like Him in all our thoughts, words, and deeds. These are the contrasts: law and grace, light and darkness, life and death, freedom and bondage, and honor and dishonor. Our call is to honor Him in all respects and to pursue His grace.

My desire for us right now at the tables is to spend a little time discussing some of these contrasts and what we can pull out of them. I love the fact that we have been given grace, light, life, freedom, and honor. That's an incredible heritage. Remember, before, we were formerly under bondage to the law, to sin, and to death. We were formerly held by darkness and under the enemy's reign. We were subject to death and were bound to a hopeless eternity without Christ. We were enslaved in bondage in all respects and had no honor. But now, you and I have been given grace, light, life, freedom, and honor. That's an incredible thought.

So, what does that mean to us today? How can I honor the Father? How can I be honoring to the Son this very day? Good thoughts. One thing that needs to be changed here in this list is I should change it to "grace and law" to be consistent. That way, you would have grace, light, life, freedom, and honor. Better. I'll change that for the notes right now.

I had a chance, since we didn't have our Zoom group, to sit with several of your tables and get some insights. You might want to share one of those things we were talking about, that whole idea of God continuing to "up the ante" of grace in our lives. You do not grow apart from taking new risks. Yesterday's faith is today's sight. He wants you to continue to progress, but it's going to take more risks of obedience. That is always the journey into the unknown. We have history to give us mercy because He's been faithful in the past. I can be confident that if I increase my risk and trust in Him for this new thing, He'll be honoring that as well. What was your insight?

Guest (Male): This text has been resonating with me for a while; John 8 has been in my heart for a long time. In the first half, the woman caught in adultery, I've looked at it many times, and recently I saw it in a totally different way for the first time.

Fast-forwarding to her being caught in shame, she's left alone with Jesus. He's the only one who could really cast the first stone because He's the only one truly without sin. The power that I got out of that was regarding the shame and guilt she felt. I feel that all the time in my own sin. I'm holding my own stone, and Jesus says, "I'm taking that stone out of your hand. Let it go." I live in that shame and guilt, and He says, "Just let it go. I've got grace for your shame, your guilt, and your past." That's the biggest piece for us.

Dr. Ken Boa: Plus, He had to take it upon Himself in order for Him to release her from that. He became sin so that she could be released. That's an astonishing thought: He who knew no sin became sin on our behalf that we might have the righteousness of God in Him. It's beyond imagination; the more you think about it, the more amazing it becomes.

One of the themes some of you mentioned was the motif of abiding in Christ and drawing your vitality from Him. Remember, that means you don't create life; you receive life. You display His life, but you have to be receptive to the life of Christ in you. He manifests Himself in you and through your personality, but the life at the end of the branches is called fruit.

You don't bear fruit unless you receive His life. You don't create life; you receive it, then manifest it. It's an amazing thought: you in Me and I in you. What's another insight you want to share? One thing I could add to that thought—which really hit me when I was listening to what you said—can you imagine being that woman? Everywhere she went after that, everybody was still looking at her like, "You're that woman."

I was thinking about the role we play in doing that to people sometimes. It couldn't have been easy for her to leave that meeting and try to walk back into town. I agree. That was something she had to bear, but again, he said, "Go and sin no more." By the grace of God, her new dignity was found in Him. She became a daughter of the King, which is a gracious thing. That transcends expectations and opinions. I have to decide who defines me: is it the opinions of others or is it the Word? It always comes down to that. Somebody's going to define you: the world or the Word.

The world will define you by default. If you don't do anything, they'll tell you who you are; they want to define you, and define you down. But the Word will only define you by discipline, and that will define you up. You are a child of the King, an eternal being seated with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, destined to rule and reign with Him as part of the bride of Christ. This is an astonishing gift and dignity. We need to walk according to that image and let it become so defining that it becomes our default understanding of ourselves.

Only then do you have the grace and the security to be able to serve. You can't serve people without security. My desire for all of us is to live out of the overflow of Christ in you, the hope of glory. You manifest His life. It's His life in you manifesting through you as you move into new territory and uncharted waters. Take greater risks of obedience and abide in Him, drawing your vitality from Him and not being defined by the world or your circumstances.

You are bringing the grace of God into every circumstance He allows you to go through. It's always for your good and your benefit because He wants you to grow in grace. He's going to give you more risks to pursue, going further up and further in. The journey and the training never stop in this life, but you won't regret an act of obedience. That is the glory of God in our lives. Think of yourself in terms of these contrasts: grace, light, life, freedom, and honor.