Jewels From JohnCampione

No Finger-Pointing Please 

John 8:7, “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.”(NKJV)

(Read John 8: 1-11 for the entire account)

Jesus was at the temple, early in the morning, teaching people who had come eagerly to hear His words. The Scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman who was caught in the very act of adultery. Their only aim was to trap Jesus, and to check whether He would keep the Old Testament law as given by Moses (Leviticus 20:10), which actually commanded that both the man and the woman be put to death, but for some reason only the woman was brought to Jesus.

They thought they were putting Jesus in a spot, as they awaited His verdict.  Strangely, Jesus spoke nothing, but simply bent down, and wrote on the ground with his finger. No one knows for sure what He wrote, but we do know that Jesus took the Old Testament Commandment about adultery in Exodus 20:14: “Do not commit adultery,” to a whole new level in Matthew 5:28 when He said, “But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” When they repeatedly questioned Him, that’s when Jesus told them that anyone standing there, who was without sin, could throw the first stone at her. We can almost hear all the stones drop to the ground, one by one, as the entire group got convicted, and left—every one of them, from the oldest to the youngest.

How easy it is for us to find fault with others, and not take a moment to see that the very things we accuse others of doing, we often are guilty of. Notice how we promptly cover up the sins of those closest to us, but feel no inhibition to disclose, and speak about the wrongs of others who are more distant.

Something happened that day to the entire group of people who came in to accuse the woman. The closer they got to Jesus, the more exposed they were to their own sins, and no one could stand in His presence. The only one who had the right to cast a stone at her sent her off with freedom, and forgiveness.

The closer we get to Jesus the lesser we focus on the failings of others, and instead desire to become more like Him.

The next time we are tempted to pick up a stone to aim at somebody, let’s remember Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:3: “Why, then do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, and pay no attention to the log in your own eye?”