More Thoughts About Divorce, Stones, And Mirrors
A favorite story of mine concerning Jesus is the account of the encounter with the woman caught in the act of adultery. It reveals so many elements concerning the heart of Jesus. Here it is:
John 8:2-11 NASB
(2) Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them.(3) The scribes and the Pharisees *brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court,(4) they *said to Him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act.(5) "Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?"(6) They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground.(7) But when they persisted in asking Him, 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."(8) Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.(9) When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court.(10) Straightening up, Jesus said to her, "Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?"(11) She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more."
When it comes to the subject of adultery, the teachings of the Old Testament are pretty clear. And since Jesus and the religious leaders of the day are students of said scriptures, all are quite aware of the ramifications. The adulterer is to be served the death penalty, by stoning (Lev. 20:10, Deut. 22:22). The pious crowd is quite willing to carry out the verdict. At other times the Scribes would be studying the minute details of the Law of God, and the Pharisees would be busy with exacting interpretations of those same rules. However, at this moment they have zealotry in their eyes and stones in their hands, quite willing to kill this woman in the names of God and piety.
Interestingly, Jesus is most concerned with the lack of empathy on the part of these accusers, even more than the breaching of the Law of Moses by this pitiful sinner. These men, with stones in hand, have no clue of their kinship with the woman, for if they did then they would be quicker to forgive and slower to inflict pain.
"He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."
So, here is the test I must pass in order for me to claim the right to condemn another person. It’s a simple test, with only two questions:
(1) Concerning my own heart and life, am I beyond reproach?
(2) Concerning Jesus, am I absolutely sure that he would pronounce condemnation?
That’s it. If I can answer “Yes” to these two questions, then I can pick up a stone.
Interestingly, Jesus never condemned this woman. With grace, he offered to her forgiveness and another chance. However, he did condemn the Scribes and Pharisees many times and with strong language. “You brood of vipers. You hypocrites…” They hated Jesus. Such people usually do, even as they feign to be his friends. It is rather clear that the best way to be claimed an enemy of God is to seize the right that belongs to Him alone- to condemn the worth of another human being.
And so our little lesson about Adultery can be applied to the subject of Divorce. The scriptures are abundant in opposition to the matter.
Thus the Divorcee stands before us, perhaps defiantly, perhaps fearfully. We gather up our rocks and we say to Jesus, “This person was caught in Divorce, in the very act…” “And The Law says…
He can’t remarry
She cannot hold a position of leadership in the church
They are to be relegated to second-class status. But, we’ll take their money-
And Jesus will look at the accusers, with fire in his eyes, and state: “Let He who is without sin cast the first stone.”
Why are you not in his shoes?
Why has your life turned out differently? Be very carefully with your response, that you do not speak as a Pharisee in what you proclaim. More likely, it is simply and profoundly by the grace of God that you have avoided the snares that have claimed others.
Look at other areas of your life, other events. Granted, this person has a Divorce, considered by some to be a black mark upon his life. Yes, you can give yourself a big smiley face because you passed that test of life! But, how about the other tests? You know, of course, there are other Commandments in addition to this 11th Commandment, “Thou Shalt Not Divorce”? For example: …no other gods..- Ex. 20:3, …remember the Sabbath…- Ex. 20:8, …Honor thy father and mother…- Ex. 20:12.It
Let’s cut to the chase. If anyone deserves to be stoned, it is the Pharisee, not the adulterer. How dare he be so self-righteous, so opposite of the very heart of Jesus with his stone cold lack of love? The biggest difference between the two is that her sin is public, while his is of the heart. And, apparently, she is closer to finding forgiveness. Yet Jesus is amazing. He tolerates a lot of Pharisees and Scribes in the church of today.
It is time for us to drop the stones, and the pretense.
