Day 6 - Love First: Beyond Shame

Love First: Beyond Shame

At dawn he [Jesus] appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 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.”
John 8:2-11

We’ve talked about this before. There are always consequences to our choices. If we could remember this on the front end, we could save ourselves—in many cases—a lot of heartache and hassle. We know that this woman in the story was caught in adultery and felt shame. She was on the receiving end of some really humiliating consequences for her choices.

What about the religious leaders who brought her to Jesus? Their motives were so not pure. They thought they had righteous indignation on their side. They felt virtuous in their behaviors....on the outside. Inside, they were working every angle they could think of to trap Jesus. And while they maintained righteous indignation, their behavior was unrighteous.

Jesus saw through that...he always did. So he called them on it—not their hidden agenda—but on their own sin. Instead of making a big production about it—like they did—he quietly asked them to look inside their own hearts and determine any sin they had. Do you see the Love First response of Christ there? He didn't try to humiliate or shame these hypocrites. Instead, he asked them to examine their own hearts and lives...and if they didn't have any sin, then they could go ahead and stone her. Beginning with the oldest (and isn't that a telling thing?), they dropped their stones and left, until only Jesus and the woman remained.

How did the woman benefit by Jesus’ Love First actions? She knew she had sinned...and knew that, according to the Law, she could be punished. Jesus made a teaching moment for both the religious hypocrites and the sinful woman. How do you think the religious leaders benefited? What about any bystander—they were in the temple courts, after all? Love First responses benefit more than just the direct recipient.

Your Mission
Pray for God to help you rid yourself of any hypocrisy in your heart and in your lifestyle. He loves you and wants you—the real, imperfect you.