John 8:1-11; Romans 3:1-31; Isaiah 45:18-25; Psalm 32
Jesus Christ, My Lord: From Guilt to Innocence - Legal
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
“If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death” (Lev. 10:20). That’s what justice under the law of Moses requires. Thus, when the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery into the temple before Jesus, it was not justice they were seeking according to the law, but it was to trap Jesus. How do we know this? Where was the man? The law of Moses required that the adulterous man also be brought to justice, nor just the woman.
Ah, but there was a man present, and he was not an adulterer, but he was innocent. That man was Jesus, the true husband of an adulterous bride, Israel, the Church, you and me. Jesus submitted himself to the law, kept it, and fulfilled it. And then he suffered and died for his adulterous bride so that she could live and be free. The scribes and the Pharisees were not seeking justice but entrapment. They desired to judge, condemn, and kill Jesus. But they had nothing on him, no violation of the law. They suspected, however, that Jesus would break the law, as they interpreted it, and let the adulterous woman go free. So, they set him up. If Jesus let her go, they had him. If he upheld the charge, then they still had him, for Jews were not permitted to execute anyone under Roman law. The law of Moses was handed down to curb and expose wickedness and protect the innocent, but they used it as a tool to trap an innocent man.
Knowing it was a trap, Jesus sprung it – He sprung it on the scribes and the Pharisees. Jesus knelt and wrote something in the dirt. While the Scriptures are silent regarding what Jesus wrote in the dirt, it seems likely that he wrote his verdict: “Guilty. Stone her.” Then he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” While they were considering Jesus’ words, Jesus knelt once again and wrote in the dirt. Once again, Scripture is silent concerning what he wrote. Perhaps he wrote: “Guilty. You too should die,” or something to that effect. Whatever he wrote, we do know the result: “they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones.” They all left in shame, and the only innocent and just man stood before the guilty woman. He alone had the right to condemn the adulteress woman, but rather than condemn her he said, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
Jesus is the lawgiver, and Jesus is the fulfillment of the law. The woman had been caught in the act of adultery; she truly was guilty and deserved death. But the scribes and the Pharisees were also guilty. They were guilty of using the law, not for justice, but for evil. They were guilty of injustice in bringing only the woman for trial. And they were guilty for who knows how many secret sins plaguing them with guilt in their hearts, just like you and me. The woman was guilty. The scribes and the Pharisees were guilty. You and I are guilty. Indeed, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” so that there is “none who is righteous; not even one” – except for Jesus. Jesus is the lawgiver, and Jesus is the fulfillment of the law; and if the Son has set you free, you are free indeed.
“Go and sin no more.” Is that law? Yes, it is, to those enslaved to sin. But to those washed clean in the blood of Jesus, “Go and sin no more” is a proclamation of freedom from sin. You are free! You don’t have to fear the law anymore. Jesus is the lawgiver. Jesus is the law. Jesus was the law of God written on tablets of stone given to Moses. Jesus is the law now in human flesh. Jesus is the one who has fulfilled the law for you in his own perfect obedience, suffering, and death. And Jesus is the one who has declared you innocent, not guilty, and has set you free. There is no one left to accuse you. Do you believe this? Do you trust this? Faith in this declaration, this promise, not guilty through Jesus, is what makes you free.
You are free to worship him without fear, holy and righteous all the days of your lives. You are free to keep and do the law in love for God and for each other, and to not fear when you slip up and sin, for you are free to return in contrition and repentance in the full knowledge that you are forgiven in the one innocent and righteous man who was convicted, found guilty, condemned, executed, and died for you, in your place. And moreover, Jesus was raised to new life that cannot die, a life he invites you to believe in and to trust in; a life into which you have been baptized; a covenant made by God in the blood of his Son; a covenant that cannot be broken.
Jesus is the friend of sinners. He was not sent to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. This is good news for you and me! This is the Gospel! God has so loved the world in this way: He gave his only Son over to death in our place upon the cross. There is no safer or better place for a guilty, contrite, and repentant sinner than at the feet of Jesus. He has taken all of Satan’s accusations upon himself and he shields you with his innocent blood and righteousness. Satan is forced to drop his stone and walk away defeated; nah, that’s too good for him, but he will spend eternity in hell with his demons and those who, tragically, believed his lies and rejected Jesus.
The law of God was written on tablets of stone because that is what our hearts are like. Jesus, who is the law of God incarnate, wrote the judgment of the law in the dirt of which we were made, that is, he wrote it upon our hearts. We were created in accordance and agreement with the law. The law is not our death, but our life, when our life is Jesus. We do not gain life by fulfilling the law, but through Jesus who has fulfilled the law for us, and suffered its penalty for our failing to keep it, thus removing its sting forever. Go and sin no more, for “the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.
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