I almost feel like I don't need to preach. But you're not getting off that easy. Turn your Bibles to John chapter 8. We'll be looking at verses 1 through 30. So I have a little story about myself. I have to go every year to get checked for skin cancer. Some of you probably have to do this, too. I once had something found on me that was one of those could turn into cancer things. And it was a blemish that had to be cut out. And so for precaution, I go back every year and get checked. And this is one of the easiest ways to prevent cancer. I would encourage you, this is a public service announcement, encourage you that if you have some funny looking blemishes, it's a good idea to go have these checked because they're easy to see because they're where? They're outside of our body. They're exposed to the light. It takes the dermatologist like 30 seconds to look you over and say, doing good this year. But there are different cancers. Cancers that grow in other places that are hidden, that cannot be found, because they're hidden in the dark places in our body where it's hard to get light in there so that they can be found. Well, thankfully, we do have medical technology that has discovered ways to find these internal cancers. The methods involve things like small internal lights and cameras, or maybe they put you in what I call the torture machine MRI. And they can shine light and find things through your body. And a lot of times these tests are not fun, but we're thankful for them because they are life-saving. The purpose of these tests are to diagnose or judge the condition of an individual for the purpose of curing them or discovering the disease so that it can be cured. But if we ignore these tests, if we deny our symptoms, then we run the risk of being destroyed by the disease that we are in denial about. Well, you probably know where I'm going. We all have a disease. It's a spiritual disease, and it's called sin. This is a disease that likes to hide in the dark as well. And the only way for this disease to be cured, too, is if the light is shined on it. This process can also be painful. Jesus, of course, is the light. And this is the passage where he's going to say, I'm the light of the world. And his light shines into our hearts, and it shows us ugly things, tumors like pride, lust, envy, bitterness, hatred. The light judges us by showing us these terminal attributes. But when we see them and we repent of them, the judging actually becomes part of the process of our salvation. Well, in John 8, we're going to see Jesus shining the light, the truth that should expose people's sins and show them that they need to repent. And it's going to be done to different individuals. Some of them are going to seek Christ and want to be healed from this disease of sin. And some are just going to ignore their symptoms and die in their sins. If you look at your bulletins, I think I got the outline in there. This, of course, is based on judging. We're gonna look at judging the woman, judging Jesus, and then judging the Pharisees. So I'm just gonna read the text as we go through it, point by point, and I'm gonna start by reading chapter eight, technically chapter 753, through... Nathan messed me up here. I moved my marker. Okay, find John chapter 8. So we're gonna be looking at verses 1 through 11. So hear the word of God. They went each to his own house, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning, he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst, they said to him, Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such a woman. So what do you say? This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her. And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones. And Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? She said, no one, Lord. And Jesus said, neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on, sin no more. Now before we jump into the story here, I have to do a little explaining. There's probably brackets in your Bible around this section. I think it's beginning in verse 53 of chapter 7 all the way to verse 11. So the reason that there's brackets here is because some believe this isn't part of the original text. And the reason for that is because this section is not found in the earliest Greek manuscripts that we have available to us. So then you might be asking, well, why am I even preaching it? Why not just leapfrog over it and go to the next section? It is preserved in some Bibles like the King James Version. You might not like that I'm saying that, some of you. And there actually is a theory that early scribes left it out because they were afraid that it was showing that Jesus was too light on the sin of adultery and maybe giving a little bit too much permission here or something. And then it was added back by scribes who caught the error and fixed the problem. So I don't know which theory is correct, but whenever I, so there's two major passages in the New Testament, right here in John 8 and then Mark 16. And so if I teach or preach, I'm kind of following Mike in this, he's taught me this. When I preach or teach these sections, I just make it clear to you that this might not be part of the original and just warn you Don't get a major doctrine just from this text, because it might not be original. So like, the snake handlers get their doctrines from Mark 16. Well, that's a bad idea, because that text might not be original. Okay. I also think that verses 1 to 11 flow very well with the rest of the chapter. So, all right, enough of that. On to the story. So Jesus is teaching at the temple. And the scribes, they kind of just interrupt. It's almost like being in Sunday school and somebody just comes up and throws a woman down in the middle of my Sunday school. And they say to him, teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. Now, something should immediately jump out at you here. This woman was caught in the act of adultery. Where's the guy? This isn't something that you do alone. Now, I mean, there's theories as to why the man's left out here. Maybe they're being, what's the word, misogynistic. I mean, it is true that they look down on women in this culture. Some even theorize that the man was among the Jews that brought her. So I don't know why the man's left out, but there is something that we can know from this missing information. We know that it's fair to say these Jews were not seeking justice because they would have brought the man if they really cared about justice. So the absence of the man shows you what's in their heart. But then John just flat out tells you in verses 5 to 6. They say, now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such a woman, so what do you say? And then John's little commentary here, this they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. So, these men are trying to set up a trap for Jesus. They believe that he either must condemn the woman and seem merciless to his little class there, Or he must deny Moses and seem unjust and seem like he's breaking the law somehow. Now, Jesus does something weird here. When they come and confront him, he stoops down and starts riding in the dirt. There's some theories about what's going on here. Maybe you guys have some. You can tell me afterwards. I personally like the one that says Jesus stooped down and started writing the sins of their hearts on the ground. We don't know that, but that's a fun theory. But I do think it shows us something. Jesus was not concerned about this little trap. It's almost like he's just aloof. I'm so worried about this, I'm going to ignore them and start writing something on the ground. And in verse seven he says, let him who is without sin throw a stone at her. He just says that, then he turns around, bends down, and starts writing again. And as he does this, you can almost kind of feel in the text the rocks thudding on the ground as they walk away. These people who were seeking the blood of this woman to trap Jesus, they actually become convicted by just this one little sentence of Jesus. And I think also, just Jesus' presence was convicting in that moment. And so Jesus turns to the woman and says, where are your accusers? They became accusers of themselves because they realized their own sins. And she says, they're not here, Lord. He says, well, I don't condemn you either, so go and sin no more. These Jews wanted to use this woman as a tool to wield against Jesus. But these accusers who worked so hard to set up this evil plot were foiled by Jesus. They gave up their plan. They walked away and Jesus had mercy on the woman and did not deny the law of Moses. And I think this is like a little foreshadow of the cross. Because it's in the person and work of Jesus where the problem of us receiving mercy and God being just is resolved. Jesus died for your sins, the wrath of God taken away in your place. So God was just because you received the wrath of God in Jesus and he was able to show mercy on you in the person of Jesus Christ. So you have this little standoff with a woman. Their plan is foiled, but do you think they stop there? No. They come back in verses 12 to 20. They attempt to judge Jesus' claim to be the light of the world. And this brings us to our second point, judging Jesus. Beginning in verse 12, it says, Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. So the Pharisees said to him, you are bearing witness about yourself. Your testimony is not true. Jesus answered, even if I do bear witness about myself, my testimony is true. For I know where I come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge according to the flesh. I judge no one. Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is true. For it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. In your law it is written that the testimony of two people is true. I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me. They said to him, therefore, where is your father? Jesus answered, you know neither me nor my father. If you knew me, you would know my father also. These words he spoke in the treasury as he taught in the temple, but no one arrested him because his hour had not yet come. In verse 12, we find one of Jesus' famous I am statements. He says, I am the light of the world. Now somehow the Pharisees must have taken this as a reference to him being the Messiah. And so they try to combat his authority because he's setting himself up to be an authority above them if he's the Messiah. And they take up, they pull out a little misapplication of the law. In verse 13, they say, you are bearing witness about yourself. Your testimony is not true because you're bearing witness about yourself. Now, they're kind of misapplying the law in Deuteronomy 19, which says that if someone is in a court of law and they're being convicted of a breach of the law that is worthy of death, you have to have two or three witnesses in the court of law. So you can kind of see this isn't that situation. They're kind of taking it out of context and applying it to this outside of the civil government situation. But the funny thing is that Jesus does have other witnesses that could testify to him being the light of the world. Human witnesses. He could have called in John the Baptist. He could have called in anybody who he's healed. He could have called in the disciples. So there were a lot of human witnesses that he could have brought in, but Jesus doesn't go there. I mean, you can kind of see Jesus's lack of concern for their accusations. In verse 14, he says, even if I do bear witness about myself, My testimony is true. Now, if I told you that I went over to Art's house, he's got a workout area over there, right? And I said, hey, guys, I just saw Art bench 300 pounds. OK. Now, you might be tempted to say, prove it, right? Maybe not. Maybe you'd be satisfied. So, but if you didn't believe me, you wouldn't be satisfied if I said it's true because I say it's true, right? You wouldn't be satisfied with that. But when Jesus says it's true because I say it's true, it is true because there's no one higher for Jesus to appeal. If Jesus is God, whose testimony trumps his testimony? If we were in that situation and I said, I said, Jesus, I'll believe you if Clay Veazey verifies what you're saying. What would that make Clay? It would make him an authority higher than God. But Jesus, he does kind of, Jesus likes to condescend to us, and so he does kind of accommodate their request for a witness in verse 18, he says, I'm a witness and my father bears witness about me. So there, there's your two witnesses. And in verse 19, the Pharisees, it's almost like they think, okay, bring out the father so he can bear witness about you. But Jesus knows that no evidence is gonna convince these guys of the truth that he's trying to share. In their hearts, they were the judge. Even God standing right there was on trial. That's how much they thought of themselves. And they didn't need to see the Father anyway. In John 14, Philip says to Jesus, Lord, show us the Father and it is enough for us. So kind of saying the same thing. If you show us the Father, then we'll believe you. And Jesus' response is, whoever has seen me has seen the Father. Because Jesus and the Father are one. Now, before you accuse me of Trinitarian heresy, I'm not saying that their persons are mingled. I'm just saying that in their deity, they are so united in will that the testimony of one is the same as the testimony of all three. But these self-appointed judges, they would see the Father one day. And for them, that day would not be a day for them to determine right from wrong for themselves. It will be a day of terror for them, like what Nathan read in Amos chapter 5. The day of terror. But Jesus says in verse 15, I judge no one. Now this doesn't mean that Jesus does no judging on the day of judgment. I think what he means here is that it's not time for me to condemn you guys. Now is the time for me to be the light of the world. and to show the gospel and the mercy of God to everyone around me. But Jesus is going to allude to their judgment, and that brings us to our final point, judging the Pharisees in verses 21 to 30. So he said to them again, I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come. So the Jews said, will he kill himself, since he says, where I am going, you cannot come? He said to them, you are from below. I am from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins. So they said to him, who are you? Jesus said to them, just what I have been telling you from the beginning. I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him. They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father. So Jesus said to them, when you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and I do nothing on my own authority but speak just as the Father taught me. And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him. As he was saying these things, many believed in him. In these verses, Jesus is explaining to these Pharisees how they're gonna turn from being the judge to being judged. And that is if they do not believe the things that he's saying. And the first judgment is very simple. Pharisees, I'm gonna give you what you want. Verse 21, he says, I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come. This is what the Pharisees wanted. They wanted Jesus dead. They wanted him gone. And Jesus is saying, you know what? I'm gonna be gone. And when I'm gone, that's gonna be the first ripple towards the judgment day for you. You will seek me. What does this mean? It's not completely clear, but I think it's kind of like the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, where the rich man is in hell, and he's actually seeking God. It's a situation where it's too late, and you'll know too late. At that moment in their death, they'll realize that they're being judged, not Jesus. And the world's like this. Doesn't the world want Jesus gone? They want his teaching gone? They probably want some of you guys gone. People don't like to be preached at. That's even a bad phrase, right? Don't preach at me. But sadly, one day, those who continue in the hardness of their hearts are gonna long to hear that preaching and long for the opportunity to embrace that preaching. Now, in verses 25 to 28, Jesus gives the main reason as to why they will be judged in their sins, because they don't really want to know who he is. In verse 25, they ask, Who are you? And you know, those of you who have young children, it's almost like a parent surrounded by two-year-olds, and you've answered their question over and over. You can almost just feel Jesus' eyes rolling in this text. He says, I have told you who I am. I've proven it to you over and over. And he says, I could even do some judging of you right now, but right now it's time for me to shine the true light of the world into your life. And the bottom line is this, who is Jesus? He is their only hope. And that's who they're rejecting. That's who they're judging, their only hope. In verse 28, he says, when you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He and that I do nothing on my own authority but speak just as the Father taught me. Their plan to kill him would bring about the very thing that would glorify him and prove that he was who he said he was. But what does it mean when Jesus says to these Pharisees, you will know that I am he? Is he saying that the Jews will one day come to faith? Well, that's possible. There were a lot of Jews who came to faith on the day of Pentecost. But I don't think the context here is alluding to a future repentance, coming to faith. I agree with what William Hendrickson says. What Jesus means is that having refused to accept him by faith and having nailed him to the cross, they would one day acknowledge to the terrorizing reality that this one whom they despised was what he claimed to be. Too late, this truth would crash in upon them in the hour of death and the final judgment. These men are being forewarned that their judgmental attitudes towards others is going to be turned back on them on the day of judgment. The good news is that not everyone in this group judged Jesus. Some of them actually looked inside themselves and said, Jesus, shine the light here and there. I will take it. They repented of their sins. Verse 30 tells us that many believed. I love how it's just kind of just tucked in there at the end. Many believed in him right then and there. So much focus on the negative. And then at the end, we see that the light was shining and doing its work in the hearts of many. So let's turn that light around back on ourselves. Who are you judging? Who do you look down on? Who is that person that you desire to be taken away because they're interfering with your power, your agenda, happiness? Now, are we called to judge as Christians? Yeah, yeah. We always overcorrect. We're always like, oh, you can't judge anything, or we judge everything. Right in the middle is where Jesus is. In the call to worship that Nathan did, John 7, 24, Jesus says, do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment. So Jesus is telling us there that you're called to judge, but you are called to judge and make right judgments. It's your job to judge me right now as to whether I'm teaching the text, whether I'm veering into error or heresy. The Bible teaches that, that you are supposed to Don't be super critics. Don't tell me everything I did wrong at the end of the sermon. But it's your job to judge your teachers. Or you could just be led into false teaching. It's the church's job to judge whether someone's sin has risen to the level of whether it needs to be called out, or refrained from communion, or maybe even excommunication. So there's judging that is commanded in the Bible. But you know when we're given something like judging, it's almost like handing a seven-year-old a power saw. It's appropriate to use in certain ways, but we're going to misuse it. So I like to say we need to ask ourselves when we're in the situations, even when it's appropriate to judge, what is my motive? In John chapter 8, what was their motive? It was not good. It was wicked. They wanted Jesus out of the way while they were judging. They just wanted to keep their power and silence Jesus. And they didn't care if this woman was collateral damage so that they could get their way. I mean, it should be obvious that our purpose in judging should not be this. Sometimes it might be. It's not our responsibility to condemn when we judge. As Nathan so eloquently said, we see through a dirty glass. So we might see bits and pieces. We might say something like, oh, why didn't such and such come to church this morning? Oh, they must be lazy. But we don't know. We don't know all the things that are going on in their life. But when we judge, we should be thinking, am I correcting bad thinking? Am I helping someone to find repentance? Am I keeping someone from going down a path that is destructive to their soul? When you judge somebody, even in the ways the Bible commands, your motive should always be washed in love. for the person who is the object of that judging. And the second question we should ask ourselves is this, do I judge myself? Do I judge myself at least as much as I judge others? Because if you're not, if you don't ever have the thought, well, I could be wrong about this, then you might be setting yourself up for self-righteousness. Galatians 6.1 says, Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Now, restore here is just a nice way of saying judge the person. You are judging the person with the loving motivation of restoring them. But the text goes on to give this warning. It says, keep watch on yourself. lest you, too, be tempted. Don't be foolish enough to say in a situation where you were having to call out somebody else's sin, to say, oh, I would never do that. I would never do this or that. Just because you're the spiritual person in one situation doesn't mean that you won't be the one who needs to be corrected in a different situation. We all find ourselves in those situations. Are you a judgy Christian? It's not an easy thing to admit. Do you feel superior in your opinions, in your decisions, your intelligence? Well, I'm going to tell you something shocking. Every one of us are in some situation. I don't care if you're the meekest, mildest Christian in the world. There are situations where you think, I know better than everybody else here. So we all need to hear this. But of course, we're very thankful that there is wonderful, great news. If you at least know yourself well enough to recognize this sin, and you put forth effort to fight against it through prayer, maybe asking somebody, if you're brave enough to ask somebody, do you think I'm judgy? and meditating on God's Word, those types of fruits are evidence that the Word of God is working in you, and that the Spirit of God is changing your heart. And why are we, judgmental people, able to escape the judgment? Well, I hope you know the answer to that. Because somebody was judged. Somebody was judged for you and sentenced for you and condemned for you. And it pleased the Father to do it. And he did it not because Jesus was guilty of the sin of judging others. He did it because we are guilty. So next time you want to wrongly judge your spouse, parents, your friends, your elders, or elders your congregation, Remember, that judgmental attitude is a sin that your Savior was crushed for. And remember, he was crushed for it so that you could have the power to fight against it. So fight against it. Amen.