Everyone in town was talking about this Jesus of Nazareth. I heard that He had fed over 5,000 people miraculously with just five loaves of bread and two fish. He also healed a man who was an invalid for 38 years. He spoke to Samaritans and touched and healed those whom the Pharisees would never even come close to. He seemed like such a good person. But I didn’t dare come close to Him. I knew I lived a life of sin. I wished I could get out of this trap. I felt so desperate for love that I moved from one relationship to the next in search of fulfillment. But after every relationship, I felt used and utterly worthless. None of these men loved me, they just used me to satisfy their desires. But enough about me.
I want to tell you my story with this Jesus of Nazareth. It was a regular day for me. Here I was in one of my relationships. But this time, I knew I was dead. I mean literally dead. I was caught in the act by the Pharisees. And they never missed carrying out the Law… at least on everyone except themselves.
And so they dragged me out of the house I was in. My heart was gripped with fear and shame. It would be moments before I would be stoned to death. I shook with fear as I was dragged out and shoved. Everyone in town seemed to give me those stares… if looks could kill I’d be dead already.
The journey to the Temple seemed to take ages. The pain in my heart was unbearable. I wished I could just cease to exist. I regretted everything I ever did. But it was too late. I was minutes away from death.
We reached the Temple and I was shocked to see the man that I had wished to see but knew I was utterly unworthy. It was Jesus! Oh I didn’t want Him to see me in this state! He was so holy, I was so sinful.
They dragged me to Him, shoving me onto the floor. I fell to the ground, my clothes now ripped from all the shoving and pushing and dragging. I didn’t dare look up to Jesus, so I stared to the ground, with tears running down my face. I knew I was minutes away from death.
Then came my death sentence from the Pharisees, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?”
I didn’t understand why they asked Him. They could have just stoned me as they’ve done to many other women like me.
And I didn’t understand Jesus’ reaction either. He bent down and wrote with His finger on the ground. He wrote with such authority and dignity.
“Now in the Law…” the Pharisees yelled. And Jesus continued to write on the ground. Could Jesus really be God as He claimed? Could this be the same finger that wrote the Law on tablets of stone to our father Moses?
The Pharisees were loud, the crowd was loud, all demanding Jesus answer their question. Then suddenly, Jesus stood up. He was getting ready to speak… I wonder what He would say. Surely, He would declare the same verdict. If He was really from God, He would surely fulfill the Law and have me stoned to death.
Then Jesus spoke. And He said one of the most stunning statements my ears have heard. “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”
Suddenly there was utter silence. And once more Jesus bent down and wrote on the ground.
And then the unbelievable happened. One by one I heard the stones drop from the Pharisees’ hands, beginning with the older ones and then the younger. The sound of the stones dropping from their hands seemed to heal something in me. It was indescribable. Jesus saw what was beyond the external. He could see the heart. He knew that they were all sinners too! Would it really be possible that I might get another chance to fix my mess?
When the sound of stones had stopped, it got really quiet. I lifted up my face from the ground and looked around… they were all gone! Only Jesus was left! Could Jesus be the one who would stone me to death?
But then He spoke to me and said, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
In utter disbelief, I answered, “No one, Lord.”
And then He uttered the final verdict with such authority and love like I’ve never heard, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
Really?! Go?! I was moments away from death and He saved me! I got up and left… utterly speechless. Sin? How could I ever sin again after coming face to face with such grace, mercy, and love? How could I ever sin again after meeting the Holy God face to face!
My friends, Jesus knew that the human heart was the problem. We didn’t have the ability to follow the Law that He had written and given to Moses.
We are celebrating His glorious solution to the problem of the human heart these days. Jesus was born, and lived His life declaring the ultimate remedy for the human heart; Himself! The same finger that wrote the Law, came to write on the ground that day with the woman caught in the act. The Living Word, the Logos, became man to declare that the problem cannot be solved externally. The human heart needed to be reconstructed, reborn, recreated. And only the Creator could do that. Everyone was guilty of sin. The Pharisees who lived in external goodness and internal sin were as guilty as the woman who was caught in the act. The Law was good but the heart was evil. Only Jesus could come to fulfill the Law and give us life through Him. And He did!
May we live lives worthy of the price that was paid on our behalf! May we be ever mindful of this incredible price as we celebrate the Word becoming flesh.
Merry CHRISTmas!