Now, please open in your Bibles to the Gospel of John, Chapter 8. Looking this evening at John, Chapter 8, actually beginning in chapter 7, verse 53. Before I begin reading, though, I'd like to give you a little bit of context to where this passage falls in the Gospel of John. Jesus had just been celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles, which was a week long feast of the Jews. And just the day before was this great seventh day of the feast. Now, on this day, Jesus stood up and invited everyone to come, and everyone who thirsted to come and drink of Him, and they would receive everlasting life. So Jesus calls many to believe in Him for everlasting life, and the people aren't sure how to respond to Him. There's a mixed response among the people, and even among the leaders as well, which we see in chapter 7, verse 45 to verse 52. After Jesus' great speech amidst the crowd, there's this private meeting of the leaders and rulers of the Jewish people. The Pharisees are there, the officers are there, the rulers are there. It's a Sanhedrin meeting, a private meeting, and they're trying to figure out what to do with Jesus. Their attempts to arrest him have failed. Nicodemus seems to be turning against the rulers and leaning more towards Jesus and sympathy with him. They're not sure what to do. It's here that we pick up in the Gospel of John chapter 7 verse 53. So here now the reading of God's holy and inspired word. And everyone went to his own house. But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Now, early in the morning, he came again into the temple and all the people came to him and he sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought to him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to him, Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery in the very act. Now, Moses and the law commanded us that such should be stoned. What do you say? And this, they said, testing him that they might have something of which to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with his finger as though he did not hear. So when they continued asking him, he raised himself up and said to them, he who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first. And again, he stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it being convicted by their conscience, Went out one by one, beginning with the oldest, even to the last. And Jesus was left alone and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised himself up and saw no one but the woman, he said to her, Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you? And she said, No one, Lord. And Jesus said to her, Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more. Gracious God and Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for your word. We thank you so much for how it reveals you to us so clearly. It reveals all of your marvelous characteristics to us. We pray, Lord, that as we look at your word this evening, that we will see Jesus more clearly than we have before, that we will understand you more clearly than we have before, and that we will understand what you have done for us. more clearly than we have before. We pray, Lord God, that you would anoint the reading and the preaching of your word by your spirit and not just the reading and the preaching, Lord, but also the hearing of your word. We pray, Lord God, that you would grant us faith to believe what we hear. Faith to trust in you more fully, Lord. We ask these blessings for Your glory's sake and for our good. And we pray that You would use this jar of clay for Your glory's sake. In Jesus' name we ask it. Amen. Well, this portion of John's Gospel is a very touching portion of John's Gospel. It's a very beautiful portion of John's Gospel. And throughout his gospel, John is painting a picture of Jesus for us. He's showing us the multifaceted glory of our Savior. And this is just one of the many brush strokes that he gives us of the Lord Jesus Christ. But we not only see the character of Jesus Christ in this gospel, but we also see the character of God the Father. Because Jesus tells us in this very gospel that He Himself represents the Father. That when you see Jesus, you see the Father. In this passage, we get to see the characteristic of mercy in God. And I hope that that's what you see by looking at this passage, by looking at this woman and the experience that she has with Jesus Christ, what Jesus does with her, how he deals with her. I hope you see the mercy that she has received, the immeasurable mercy that she has received. And I hope that you as well will see the mercy that you have received because you know this same Jesus. And so my main point for you this evening is this, that in light of God's mercy shown to you, you would respond with thankful obedience. In light of God's mercy shown to you, respond with thankful obedience. Before discussing the contents of this passage, I think some time should be spent on the reliability and the originality of this text. And so we'll start there. Before I began reading this portion of John's Gospel, many of you probably noticed, if you're using the ESV or the NASB or the NIV, that the text is found in brackets. Did you notice that? Did you see that? And perhaps you see the footnote directing your attention to the bottom of the page. Now there's a notation perhaps before the text or a footnote at the bottom. And what these brackets are here to indicate, what these notations suggest, is that this portion of John's Gospel, chapter 7, verse 53, through chapter 8, verse 11, is more than likely not original. What they suggest is that this text wasn't there to begin with. It didn't flow from John's pen. Some of the notations will say something to the effect that the earliest manuscripts do not contain John 7, 53 through 8, 11. And the scholarship behind such notations has led many people to believe that this text is not the inspired Word of God. And the scholarship behind this position or this understanding has led many pastors and even many seminary professors to say that they would never preach on this passage of Scripture, because they believe it to not be the Word of God. So what are we to do with this passage? Is it original? Is it reliable? Although there's a whole lot that can be said about this passage, I briefly want to give you three reasons why we should accept it as original, as reliable, and as the inspired Word of God. And the first is the manuscript evidence. The manuscript evidence. It's claimed that the earliest Greek manuscripts do not contain this passage. Well, of the seven oldest Greek manuscripts, the oldest of which dates back to the fourth century, which is the 300 AD, of the seven oldest manuscripts, one actually does have the passage in it. Now, keep in mind, these are the seven manuscripts which we know of. which we have. There were plenty more in the day of the first and second and third century. These are just the ones that we have. So one actually does have the passage in it. Two of them can be discounted immediately because two of them are defective because the pages on which this passage would be found are missing. They are removed, they're torn out, they're not in the manuscript. This text, along with surrounding portions of the text, just aren't there because they had fallen out or they were removed. So those two texts don't count. Two other manuscripts actually leave a vacant space after verse 53. There's a big gap between 7.53 and 8.12. indicating that the scribes knew that they were leaving something out, that something was supposed to be there and they just didn't copy it. And the other two manuscripts don't have the passage at all. The text flows seamlessly from verse 53 to verse 12 of chapter 8. However, what's interesting about these two manuscripts in particular is that between the two of them, there are over 3,000 differences in the Gospels alone. And these two particular manuscripts originate from the same localized area of the Christian world known as Alexandria, Egypt. And the reason this is significant is because that 99% of all of the other Greek manuscripts from all over the Christian world do contain this passage. But people say, well, these are the oldest manuscripts, so they must be the most reliable, right? Well, you can judge the case based on the information that I just gave you. What's more, is that other versions of John's gospel, meaning copies of the gospel of John in other languages like Latin, which date back to 150 A.D., do contain this passage. So translations of the Greek manuscript and the other languages which date back further than the oldest Greek manuscripts we have contain this passage of the Gospel of John. So I actually do think the manuscript evidence is pretty strong that this passage belongs in the Word of God. Secondly, the context and character of the passage, the context and character of the passage. Well, the surrounding context and of this particular passage shows that the passage belongs in the gospel, because if the passage were removed, there would be an awkwardness left in the text. There's an awkwardness if the text goes from that private meeting of the officers and chief priests and Pharisees in Nicodemus in John 7, 45 through 52, straight to John chapter 8, verse 12. Listen to the way this would sound if this passage were missing. So in verse 52, they answered and said to him, Nicodemus, Are you from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee. Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, I am the light of the world. You see, there's an awkwardness there. There's an awkwardness because he wasn't there to talk to this particular group. He wasn't in that scene and all of a sudden Jesus is talking to them again, John says. No, it makes more sense that verse 12 follows naturally from the fact that Jesus was already teaching in the temple in verse 2 of the passage in question. Not to mention the character and content of this passage are consistent with the character and content of the whole gospel itself. Jesus is acting very much like himself, isn't he? This passage fits very well in this gospel. The third point and final point is church history. Church history. The early church fathers, men like Ambrose, Augustine, and Jerome, all attest to the genuineness of this passage. Jerome was the one who translated the Bible into Latin, the Latin Vulgate, and he even said that he used manuscripts which contained this passage. So he knew of Greek manuscripts in his day that had this passage in it, and he used them to translate them into Latin. But one of the most important early church witnesses is Augustine, who actually gives us the reason why this passage is missing in some of the Greek manuscripts. He says very clearly that certain individuals were removing from their manuscripts the section regarding the adulteress because they feared that women would appeal to this story as an excuse for their infidelity. So you hear what Augustine is saying. that there were people who were taking this passage out of the word of God because they didn't want women to go off and commit adultery and say, well, look, Jesus forgave this woman. He's going to forgive me, too. And so they were taking the passage out of the word of God. It's for all of these reasons that John Calvin says that this passage, quote, has always been received by the Latin churches. It's found in many old Greek manuscripts and contains nothing unworthy of an apostolic spirit. There is no reason why we should refuse to apply it to our advantage, end quote. And so I submit to you that this passage is reliable. It is original. And it is indeed the inspired word of God. OK, so much for that short excursus, let's move into the actual text itself. And the first thing I want us to look at is the fact that the Jews try to trap Jesus by placing him in a dilemma. The Jews try to trap Jesus by placing him in a dilemma. Look at 753 through 86. And everyone went to his own house. But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Now, early in the morning, he came again into the temple and all the people came to him and he sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought to him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to him, Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery in the very act. Now, Moses and the law commands us that such should be stoned. But what do you say? This, they said, testing him that they might have something of which to accuse him. And so the prior attempts to arrest Jesus, they have all failed the Sanhedrin session, it adjourns its court and all of the members of the meeting go home. The end of the day has come as well. And everybody else goes home from the day and Jesus goes to the Mount of Olives. Perhaps he's heading to Gethsemane, or perhaps to the house of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus in Bethany, which is just over the ridge of the mountain. Whatever the case may be, the following day comes. And Jesus returns to the temple court and he continues teaching. Now the feast of the tabernacles has come to an end. It is concluded by this point, but people are still around. Nobody's gone home yet. because it is the eighth day. The eighth day after the feast was a day of solemn rest. It was a holy convocation, as the Old Testament calls it. So no one would have left yet. Everyone is still there. And Jesus begins to engage the people at the temple. But then something quite startling happens. As Jesus is teaching, there's a ruckus that begins to occur from far back in the crowd. There's a whole bunch of pushing and shoving and elbowing and murmuring begins to ripple out through the crowd as this mass starts to move closer and closer to Jesus through the crowd. And the murmuring is getting louder and louder. And all of a sudden, the crowd of people, the sea of people, split open. And you see scribes and Pharisees dragging a terrified woman through this crowd and sets her right in front of Jesus. And the Greek word used to describe her identifies her as a married woman. Now these scribes and these Pharisees, they really shouldn't have been bringing this woman to Jesus. They should have been taking her to the ruling body, the Sanhedrin, because they had a charge to lay against her. But instead, they bring her to Jesus, and they set her in front of him amidst the wide-eyed multitude who has come to hear Jesus speak. And they begin to accuse her. They say that they caught her in the act of adultery, in the very act. Now, whether she had been caught in the act of adultery sometime in the past and is now finally being brought now to Jesus, or she was actually caught in the very act by them and she's being dragged from that situation to Jesus, we don't know. But the fact that they emphasize that they caught her in the very act seems to indicate that she was just dragged from her intimate encounter and placed before the feet of Jesus. Whatever the case may be, you can imagine the utter horror that this woman is experiencing at this moment. You can imagine the utter humiliation of being dragged by a group of angry men through a countless multitude of people. You can imagine the shame that she was experienced, experienced that she's placed in the midst of all these people and of Jesus and accused of a sexual sin. She very well may not have been fully dressed either or at least dressed respectively to be out in public. And then you can imagine the fear she would have experienced whenever she heard these men say that the law of Moses commands that we stone such. It's true that death was the punishment for adultery. The Lord God says in Leviticus 2010, the man who commits adultery with another man's wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress so surely be put to death. Death is the punishment according to the word of God. The sanctity of marriage is that important. The holiness of the marriage covenant is that honorable and precious in God's sight that he commands death for the violation of it. And the fact that we might recoil from such a judgment against adultery doesn't show an excessiveness or an unjustness in the law giver. But what it does is it shows that we do not esteem the estate of marriage enough, that the church and the culture do not esteem the holiness and the sanctity of marriage enough. It's a picture, a representation of Christ and his bride, the church. And so death is the punishment. And they'll notice they don't bring the man for Jesus for judgment, do they? This shows that they're not ultimately concerned for justice at all. In fact, they're simply using this woman as a tool to accomplish the aim of their wicked hearts, which is to ensnare and trap the Lord of Glory. John says they were testing him, that they might have something with which to accuse him. You see, they're trying to put Jesus in a dilemma. And they do. They place him in a very serious one. They put him between a rock and a hard place. They believe that Jesus would have to choose between either honoring the law of God or Roman law. You see, Roman law stated that the Jews were not allowed to put anyone to death. The Jews were not allowed, under Roman law, to stone anybody. Now, of course, this happened from time to time in secret. but not here openly and in public and before all of these witnesses. And so they're thinking we have him now. We have him now. Will Jesus, the Messiah, God's prophet, uphold God's law and command this woman to be stoned, in which case we can make him both an enemy of the state and perhaps the enemy of the people who have come to love him. Or will he command that she not be stoned, in which case we can say, see, this Jesus isn't from God. He won't even uphold God's law. In fact, he's siding with Roman law. He's one of them. Jesus is a very precarious situation, but Jesus isn't going to play their game. Jesus knows the utter perverse and wicked condition of their hearts, and Jesus dodges the dilemma by showing that the Jews are guilty as well. Look at verse six of chapter eight. Yes, they said, testing him that they might have something of which to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with his finger as though he didn't hear them. So when they continued speaking, asking him, he raised himself up and said to them, he was without sin among you. Let him throw a stone at her first. And again, he stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it being convicted, convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest, even to the last. And Jesus was left alone. And the woman standing in the midst, as I said, Jesus, isn't going to play their game. Instead of responding to them, he bends down on the ground and completely ignores them. And you can imagine the crowd's look of astonished wonder. And these Pharisees are asking him to answer this very serious question. And Jesus just ignores them. And he bends down and he starts writing on the ground, not paying any attention to them whatsoever. And talk about letting the air out of their balloon. But as Jesus stoops down, he begins to write in the sand with his finger. And I imagine the crowd and the scribes and the Pharisees, and perhaps even the woman, begin craning their neck to see what Jesus is writing on the ground. It's possible that Jesus was writing very slowly as well, because John says that they continue asking Him. They're getting impatient with Jesus. Come on, Jesus. Enough of this. What do you say about this woman? Do you agree with Moses? What do you say? Should we stone her as the law of Moses says? What do you say, Moses? Do we let her? Jesus, do we let her go? Come on, Jesus. What do you say? What do you say? They keep badgering him and pestering him, pressing him for an answer. So Jesus stops in the middle of his writing and he stands up. And he says to them, he was without sin among you. Let him throw a stone at her first. And then he just stoops right back down again and continues writing in the sand. This isn't the answer that they were expecting, and perhaps now they're even more interested in what Jesus is writing on the ground, and they take an extra moment to look more closely. Well, the Holy Spirit wasn't pleased to give us what Jesus wrote on the ground. And there have been many explanations and conjectures by pastors and theologians about what Jesus wrote, ranging from the individual sins of each man gathered there to the fact that Jesus was just doodling and drawing pictures on the ground, making little stick figures or army men or something like that on the ground. They don't know what Jesus was writing. So take what I'm about to say as just another opinion from a pastor who can't ultimately give you a true answer of what is said. Not something we can never ultimately know. But I like giving my opinion anyway, so I'm going to do that. Because I think it might connect. It's my opinion that Jesus stooped down and began writing a line from Psalm 130. You see, Psalm 130 is a psalm in the collection of psalms known as the Psalms of Ascent, the Psalms of Ascent. And this collection of psalms from 120 to 134 was sung by the people every time they traveled to a feast in Jerusalem. Now, what had just happened in Jerusalem? The Feast of Tabernacles. This means that these Psalms were on the minds and hearts of the people who had been singing them all the way to Jerusalem, singing them over and over and over and over again. Everyone was just taking these Psalms upon their lips. And so it's quite possible that Jesus stoops down and he writes verse three of Psalm 130. If you, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? And after writing that reminder in the dirt that any sin before God would bring judgment, Jesus stands up and says to them, he who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first. You see, by his words, he reminds them that they are sinners. By his words, he reminds them that they ultimately are just as culpable and guilty in the sight of God as this woman. By his words, he reminds them that they are worthy of judgment. as well. And when Jesus stoops back down, I wonder if he went on to write verse four of Psalm 130 verse three says, If you Lord should mark iniquities, oh Lord, who could stand? And then verse four. But there is forgiveness with you that you may be feared. You see, brothers and sisters, the reality is that we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The reality is that each one of us is a sinner and guilty before God Almighty. Each one of us sins every day and thought, word and deed. And the reality is that each one of us is worthy of judgment and the penalty of death for our sins. How quickly we forget that. And how quickly we want to pursue justice in this life. How quickly do we want to pursue justice, especially against those who have wronged us? And don't get me wrong, justice is not a bad thing. Justice is a good thing. Justice is a beautiful thing. But sometimes in our zealous pursuit of justice, we forget who we are. We forget that if justice were pursued against us, we would be damned. Oh, how true the words of our Lord's brother, James, and how badly we need to hear what he says in James 2, 13. Judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy, but mercy triumphs over judgment. Jesus reminds the scribes and the Pharisees who they are. He puts in their minds that justice would be required of them, and one by one they walk away, the oldest to the youngest. Perhaps it's because the oldest are more keenly aware and they can see better the sins they have committed in their lives. They've had a longer amount of time to reflect upon the wrong choices and bad decisions and sins that have wreaked havoc throughout their whole lives. They can see it more clearly than the younger ones who are blinded by their zealous youth. Whatever the case may be, her accusers walk away, leaving Jesus and the woman still standing in the midst of this crowd. Yet the fact that the woman is still standing there in front of the crowd and in front of Jesus leaves that question of the scribes and the Pharisees still hanging in the air. What should be done with this woman? And though justice could have been rendered, Jesus shows mercy. Look at how Jesus continues in verse 10. When Jesus had raised himself up, he saw no one but the woman. He said to her, Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you? She said, No one, Lord. And Jesus said to her, Neither do I condemn you. Jesus stands up and he looks at her and he looks around. And he doesn't see those men anymore. He says, woman, what happened to your accusers? Has no one condemned you? Jesus doesn't ask this question because he doesn't know the answer to the question. It's not as if Jesus wasn't paying attention and they somehow tiptoed away without him knowing what was going on. But he asks her this question so that she could voice with her own mouth the marvel of what just happened to her. Woman, where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you? Do you honestly think that she could respond to him without tears in her eyes when she said, No one, Lord. No one. And as if the accusations of those people going away were not enough, Jesus, the Messiah, gives her his pardon as well. Neither do I condemn you. There's two important things that we need to note here. The first is that Jesus in no way violated the law of God by responding the way he did. At no point did Jesus ever say she was innocent. At no point did Jesus ever say that she was not worthy of death. At no point did Jesus ever say that she should not be stoned. And at no point did Jesus ever compromise justice. For you see, Jesus knew who he was. Jesus knew why the father had sent him to earth. Jesus knew that this woman, like a sheep having gone astray, had turned to her own way. And Jesus knew that the father would lay on him all of her iniquity. Jesus knew that he who knew no sin would become sin for her so that she could become the righteousness of God in him. He knew that justice would be satisfied because the chastisement which would bring her peace would be upon him. Jesus in no way violated the law of God, but instead he took the punishment of the law of God because she violated the law of God. The second thing we need to see is that out of all of the people gathered around this woman, Jesus was the only one who could have cast a stone at her. He had said, he who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first. And Jesus being the perfect, holy and undefiled by sin, Jesus, though having the right and authority and power to put this woman to death, having the power to render perfect justice against her. Jesus shows mercy. I can only imagine the icy horror and humiliation and shame and fear with which this woman felt when she was dragged into the presence of Jesus, all melting away under the warm rays of the compassionate mercy of Jesus Christ. When her accusers called for death, Jesus says, mercy. When her accusers called for judgment, Jesus says, mercy. When justice demanded punishment, Jesus says, mercy. Can you imagine the joy that this woman must have had by receiving this kind of mercy from Jesus Christ? Can you imagine it? I hope you can. In fact, I hope you know this kind of joy because the experience of this woman is yours. You are like this woman, you are just like this woman, the shamefulness of your sin is exposed before the eyes of God. Just like this woman, you've been caught in the very act of breaking the law of God. And just like this woman, you've been brought before the righteous God by the accuser of the brethren, and the accusations of your own conscience. And they all cry out for your death, for your judgment, for your punishment, and for hell. And yet, Jesus says, mercy. Mercy. Mercy. Mercy. Your sins are taken away. Where are your accusers? I do not condemn you. Does this not make you want to cry out with joy? Though you could have been stoned and crushed under the weight of God's eternal wrath, the prophet Isaiah said that it pleased the Lord to crush Jesus instead. Does this not want to make you cry out? Bless the Lord, my soul, my whole heart ever bless his holy name. Does this not make you want to rejoice to the point where you're jumping up and down or falling on your face with joy because it's been said of you that there is now no condemnation for you who are in Christ Jesus. This is the reality for you. This is your experience of mercy. And this was this woman's experience of mercy as well. And in light of the mercy shown, Jesus calls for thankful obedience. Look at what he says in verse 11. She said, No one, Lord, no one has condemned me. And Jesus says to her, Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more. There's nothing that this woman could possibly do to ever repay Jesus Christ for what you've done for her. And the beauty of Jesus and the beauty of the Gospel is that there is no repayment necessary. But in response to such mercy shown, it's only natural to want to respond with thankfulness and love. And Jesus immediately gives her the avenue by which she can show such thankfulness and love unto Him. Woman, sin no more. Go and sin no more. Turn away from your life of sin and live for God. Live for righteousness, knowing that you are free from condemnation. This is how Jesus wants her and wants you to show thankfulness to him. This is how he wants you to show love to him because of the mercy shown to you. If you love me, Jesus says, keep my commandments. If you want to show love to me, keep my commandments. And brothers and sisters, if you focus on the gospel, if you focus on what Jesus has done for you, if you focus on the immeasurable grace which you have experienced from Jesus Christ, then the commandments of God are not burdensome. They're not a duty. They're not a drudgery. But they're a delight filled thing. They're a joy filled thing. They're a love filled thing. They're a happy thing. Because they flow from a grateful heart who has tasted mercy. Brothers and sisters, in light of the mercy shown to you, respond with thankful obedience. In light of the mercy shown to you, respond with thankful obedience. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for Jesus Christ. We thank you so much that our sins have been taken away as far as the east is from the west, that we will never see the guilt of them again, that all of our accusers have been done away with because of Jesus Christ. When Jesus says, I do not condemn you, then that is enough. All condemnation is gone. And we thank You so much, Lord. Help us to believe this. Help us to embrace this truth by faith. May we live differently because of what You have done for us. Lord, we believe it. Help our unbelief. We ask these things for the glory of Jesus Christ, in His name. Amen.