The Presumption of Casting the First Stone

Listen to my narration of the blog below.

The sun was rising above the temple walls, and the shadows filled the temple court. Inside the temple court, Jesus was preparing to speak to those who gathered to hear him. He sat down and got into a comfortable position and prepared to teach. The common people, the teachers of the Law of Moses, and other religious leaders were all gathered and moved forward to catch every word. Jesus prepared to speak but was interrupted by yelling and the sound of wrestling among the crowd. The commotion drew the attention of the people to a woman clutching a bedsheet to cover her half-naked body and being dragged into the court by religious leaders. The scent of dust, perspiration, and perfume permeated the court. The sun was rising, but shadows hung like death over the court.

They took her to the center of the crowd, where everyone could see her. She had been pulled out of the bed of adultery while in the very act of unlawful sexual activity, and now she stood before strangers, half-naked, shamed, full of guilt and fear. The leaders declared that she should be stoned according to the law of Moses. Jesus was quiet. He calmly knelt and began to write in the dirt of the temple court floor. The leaders continued to push Jesus, asking the question repeatedly: What do you say? What do you say? Should we stone her?

Jesus stood up and, with a holy gaze, penetrated the hearts of the leaders and suggested how the stoning should proceed.

Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her. Jesus then stooped back down and continued to write in the dirt. The crowd began to walk away as the woman stood trembling in shame and fear. One by one, the oldest walked away, and then the youngest. Jesus stood up and asked the woman, Where are they? Has no one condemned you?

 No one, sir, she said.

 Then neither do I condemn you, Jesus declared. Go now and leave your life of sin.

For me, this is one of the greatest stories of forgiveness in all of Scripture.

I make one observation when comparing the crowd today and that crowd in the day of Jesus. The crowd had enough Scripture in their hearts and enough self-awareness to walk away. Many crowds today, without Scripture in their hearts and without self-awareness, are quick to pick up the first stone. And today, she would have been stoned by many first stones. We see it in sports, the confirmation hearings, the preachers declaring judgment on Los Angeles, and the news media. My grandma would say it is the pot calling the kettle black. The counselor in me would call it projection. Either way, it means we have lost self-awareness. We have lost the hush of holiness that keeps our mouths shut.

If you are in possession of a first stone, I invite you to lay your first stone down with me as I lay mine down.

The Forgiveness of Our Lord,

John 8:1-11

Dr. James D. Allen

https://overflowinghope180.org