Patterns for PeaceSample

Get Your Hands Dirty


Because division and strife happen whenever we find ourselves on opposite sides of an issue, we can often become divided on topics ranging from the simple to the severe. Maybe it’s over a political issue. Maybe it’s over a theological issue. Maybe it’s over a moral issue. Maybe you lean more towards grace or maybe you lean more towards truth. The opportunities abound for us to become divided in where we stand.

Even though we’re not always going to agree, Jesus gives us a pattern for how we all can respond. In John 8 there is a great example of how Jesus responded in a tough situation.

Early one morning Jesus came from the Mount of Olives, just east of Jerusalem. He went into the temple courts and began to teach the people who had gathered. But suddenly while He was teaching, there was a rude interruption. The Scribes and the Pharisees broke into the assembly bringing a captive woman whom they had just caught in the middle of the act of adultery and dragged her right into the midst of the group.

The Scribes and Pharisees were the religious experts of the day. The Scribes were the ones who would copy down the written law on scrolls and the Pharisees were known as the strictest of Jewish sects.

Having positioned her prominently, for everyone to see, they began to fire questions at Jesus in an effort to get Him to pick a side, to stand with the scriptures or to stand with the sinners.

In this moment Jesus is faced with a choice. Is He going to uphold what’s sacred or is He going to support the sinner? Is His loyalty to the law or to the lost? But Jesus did something no-one expected. Instead of standing, the next verse says, "Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger."

He didn’t make a comment. He didn’t argue His point. We don’t know what He wrote, but we do know what He did. He stooped down and wrote in the dirt. In other words, Jesus got His hands dirty. He got involved.

It’s worth pointing out that the Scribes and the Pharisees weren’t wrong. According to the law, she was deserving of death. But Jesus wasn’t going to condemn her. Instead, He got involved. That’s a good principle for us to remember. A lot of people want to make comments before they’ve ever made a commitment to get involved. They want to take a stance before they’ve ever stooped. As Christ-followers we have to do better.


Questions for reflection.

Have you ever taken a stand on an issue without ever getting involved in the issue?

What does it look like to get involved before giving input?