Daily Scripture: John 8:3 The Torah-teachers and the P’rushim brought in a woman who had been caught committing adultery and made her stand in the center of the group. 4 Then they said to him, “Rabbi, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. 5 Now in our Torah, Moshe commanded that such a woman be stoned to death. What do you say about it?” 6 They said this to trap him, so that they might have ground for bringing charges against him; but Yeshua bent down and began writing in the dust with his finger. 7 When they kept questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “The one of you who is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Then he bent down and wrote in the dust again. 9 On hearing this, they began to leave, one by one, the older ones first, until he was left alone, with the woman still there. 10 Standing up, Yeshua said to her, “Where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, sir.” Yeshua said, “Neither do I condemn you. Now go, and don’t sin any more.”
-------Reflection Questions:
In verse 6, John made it clear that this wasn’t a random occurrence, but a set up by Jesus' enemies to try to put him on the spot. Nothing much had changed since Tamar’s time—once again, the “prosecutors” seemed to think only the woman deserved punishment. (Her missing partner was probably the accusers’ ally. The woman was likely a prostitute they hired—that made it easier to catch her “in the act of committing adultery.”) But Jesus refused to play their game of judgmental “righteousness.” Instead, he gave the woman mercy which pointed her toward to a new quality of life.
- Jesus told the woman’s accusers, in effect, “To condemn others, you’d need this credential: anyone who is sinless gets to cast the first stone.” (Jesus, of course, was the only person in the scene who would have qualified. But, precisely because he was sinless, he hadn’t come to throw stones—cf. John 3:17.) Given Jesus' teaching and example, do you qualify to throw stones at anyone else? Does anyone? What steps can you take to make sure that in your home, your office, your church, stone-throwing becomes a thing of the past?
In verse 6, John made it clear that this wasn’t a random occurrence, but a set up by Jesus' enemies to try to put him on the spot. Nothing much had changed since Tamar’s time—once again, the “prosecutors” seemed to think only the woman deserved punishment. (Her missing partner was probably the accusers’ ally. The woman was likely a prostitute they hired—that made it easier to catch her “in the act of committing adultery.”) But Jesus refused to play their game of judgmental “righteousness.” Instead, he gave the woman mercy which pointed her toward to a new quality of life.
- Jesus told the woman’s accusers, in effect, “To condemn others, you’d need this credential: anyone who is sinless gets to cast the first stone.” (Jesus, of course, was the only person in the scene who would have qualified. But, precisely because he was sinless, he hadn’t come to throw stones—cf. John 3:17.) Given Jesus' teaching and example, do you qualify to throw stones at anyone else? Does anyone? What steps can you take to make sure that in your home, your office, your church, stone-throwing becomes a thing of the past?
Dear God, help me remember clearly how much it hurts when someone else throws stones at me. Help me learn from Jesus’ merciful example, and to every day grow more like him. Amen.
Family Activity:
Jesus often shows us the power of forgiveness. Blow up one balloon for each family member. Place them in the center of the room. Invite each family member to choose a balloon. Ask each person to draw on it with a marker a picture or write words expressing something they have done wrong. Read 1 John 1:9[1 John 1:9 If we acknowledge our sins, then, since he is trustworthy and just, he will forgive them and purify us from all wrongdoing.] aloud. Explain: this means no matter what we do, we can truthfully tell God we are sorry and God will forgive us. Begin a time of prayer, asking God to forgive what you wrote on your balloon. Have each person pray, then pop his or her balloon, representing God forgiving and forgetting your sin. Thank God for forgiving our sins.Insights from Rev. Steve Langhofer
Rev. Steve Langhofer is a Congregational Care Pastor, serving the 7:45 am and 10:45 am worship communities.
It continues to impress me how men saw the woman in this story as the problem. Their solution was to silence her. Forever.
My wife Karen and I were deeply touched by the recent movie“Suffragette,” now out on DVD. It stars Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter and Meryl Streep. Rated PG-13, it tells the story of women organizing and demonstrating for the right to vote during 1912-1913 in London. One scene shows police beating women with clubs in the street where they marched. After that they were forced to work underground for survival.
We heard one man shout, “If women get the vote, it will destroy our families! Pretty soon they’ll want to become judges and run for office!” It was not until 1928 that all British women were able to vote.
Karen and I said afterward, “Let’s give a copy of this film to each of our three granddaughters so when they’re older they will better appreciate how hard their great-great-grandmothers fought for their freedom.”
Jesus, in John 8, made it clear that silencing a woman was short-sighted and unjust. He treated them with dignity and esteem. He called forth their voice. And he challenges me, a privileged man, to go and do likewise.
Download the GPS App
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
It continues to impress me how men saw the woman in this story as the problem. Their solution was to silence her. Forever.
My wife Karen and I were deeply touched by the recent movie“Suffragette,” now out on DVD. It stars Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter and Meryl Streep. Rated PG-13, it tells the story of women organizing and demonstrating for the right to vote during 1912-1913 in London. One scene shows police beating women with clubs in the street where they marched. After that they were forced to work underground for survival.
We heard one man shout, “If women get the vote, it will destroy our families! Pretty soon they’ll want to become judges and run for office!” It was not until 1928 that all British women were able to vote.
Karen and I said afterward, “Let’s give a copy of this film to each of our three granddaughters so when they’re older they will better appreciate how hard their great-great-grandmothers fought for their freedom.”
Jesus, in John 8, made it clear that silencing a woman was short-sighted and unjust. He treated them with dignity and esteem. He called forth their voice. And he challenges me, a privileged man, to go and do likewise.
Download the GPS App
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224, United States
913.897.0120
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