John 8: Dropping Rocks
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They brought in a woman caught in adultery and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”
They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
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It's a mind boggling story.
What must the conversation have been?
"Hey y'all! Anybody know where we can find a sinner?"
"Yeah, I know a woman guilty of ADULTERY!"
[Don't ask me HOW I know!]
So they came to Jesus.
That's usually a good thing.
But they came to Jesus with hearts full of accusation
and hands full of rocks.
One of the quirks of the human critter is that we feel better if we have somebody to blame.
News networks have made billion dollar industries out of lobbing rocks at each other.
But there's a cost to all those rocks.
It's heavy to carry them around.
The woman in this story was set free from sin and guilt.
The men were set free from sinful condemnation.
When they left that day, there was a big pile of rocks left behind.
If you're carrying around shame and guilt,
Jesus wants to set you free.
If you're carrying around missiles of accusation and condemnation, Jesus wants to set you free too.
Either way, that stuff is too heavy to carry.
Come to Jesus, and let it go.
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Shackled by a heavy burden,
'Neath a load of guilt and shame.
Then the hand of Jesus touched me,
And now I am no longer the same.
He touched me, Oh He touched me,
And oh the joy that floods my soul!
Something happened and now I know,
He touched me and made me whole.