In John 8:1-12, we read one of those stories that makes me proud to say I believe in a God I cannot see. Evidently, in these times, the scene was common.
Her age not revealed, a woman, caught in the very act of adultery, was brought before Him. A bloodthirsty mob of those who felt that their choices and lives were always superior to others’ had found this woman, in the act of adultery, and had brought her before Jesus as He was sitting and teaching the people. They understood that under the Law of the day, catching a person in the act of adultery meant that they had to be punished with the ultimate punishment: death by stoning. Thirsty for this penalty to be executed, they had thrown this lady down in front of Jesus as He was weaving a tapestry of truth about the very God who had prescribed this very Law. What would Jesus now say about this woman: about her sin… her state… and her sentence?
Stooping down, even closer to the ground, Jesus did not answer them. Actually, He bent down even further as He stretched out His arm and began to write with His Finger in the dirt. Acting as though He did not hear them at all, He continued to write in the dirt with His Finger. As the mob continued to clamor for His answer, and the clamor grew worse, He lifted Himself up. The mob began to quiet itself, realizing that the Teacher was about to speak. After a pause that seemed like it took a lifetime to fill, Jesus made one simple statement, and then He resumed His writing in the dirt with His Finger. The thing that He said neither excused the sin, nor excused the sinner, but it certainly changed the focus of this bloodthirsty mob. What He said was simple… “He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone…” When He delivered this one line, He simply stooped back down, and resumed writing in the dirt with His Finger.
This story teaches us two very simple things…
The TOUCH Of Jesus Goes Where We Might Not Expect It To Go… So many times, in so many churches, preachers try to make a big deal about WHAT Jesus wrote in the dirt that day so many days ago. They have all kinds of ideas and guesses, none of which can be substantiated at all, about WHAT Jesus wrote in the dirt. The Bible does not tell us or even hint about WHAT Jesus wrote that day…. because WHAT He wrote does not matter. It’s not WHAT He wrote, but WHERE He wrote! On that day, Jesus took the very Finger that had strung the stars into place and crafted the very heavens, and He placed it in the dirt. The Finger that had never sinned, the Finger that had never done wrong, the Finger that had created all life was now in the dirt. Jesus was trying to say that He will touch us WHERE we are.
If there is one thing that is striking about Jesus in the Gospels, it is that Jesus Touched All Who Came To Him. Not only that, but Jesus let those who came to Him touch Him. He was not “untouchable”. From the stories of Jesus embracing children, to Him touching lepers and the sick and the diseased and the sinners and the prostitutes and those cast aside by a religious society, Jesus often and always touched the “untouchable”. Jesus Touched Those No One Else Would! See, WHAT Jesus Wrote In The Dirt Is Not Nearly As Important As WHY He Wrote In The Dirt! Jesus Wrote In The Dirt To Show Us He Can Reach Out & Touch Our Dirt.
The WORD Of Jesus Say What We Might Not Expect It To Say… Jesus spoke two things into this moment of life-altering consequences. To the angry mob, He simply said, “He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone…” This speaks to us when we stand in a place of judgment over others. When we think that we have a right to judge, evaluate, or “fruit-inspect”, the words of Jesus are simple: don’t! God is big enough to sort that out, and deal with what needs to be dealt with.
To the woman, the word of Jesus was no less simple… “…Where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?... Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” If I can paraphrase, Jesus was simply saying this: “I am not here to condemn you or accuse you…what you did was wrong and has consequences, but you already know that…so stop doing it!”
Freeing the woman. Setting the bar higher. He will not accuse, He will not condemn. But He will expect us to make right choices…and follow through to the very end.
I don’t know what kind of dirt is in your life. And I don’t really care. It’s none of my business. Let Jesus TOUCH it. Then let Him speak into your life His WORD, freeing you of the condemnation and setting the bar in your life where He wants it to be.
