After spending a night in deep communion with the heavenly Father on the Mount of Olives, Jesus went to the temple to continue His work of teaching the truth.
As the Lord stood in the temple, He was interrupted by the unexpected visit of a group of angry Pharisees and teachers of the law who arrived on the scene dragging a terrified woman whom they accused of being caught in the act of adultery, which had really happened.
Those would-be observers of the letter of the law had planned a trap to catch the woman in an immoral act. Their goal, however, was actually to involve Jesus in the issue and find a way to accuse Him of something serious enough to warrant death.
Thrusting the woman into the presence of Jesus, they made an accusation and a humiliating question: "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery. Now, in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women—but what do you say?"
If Jesus had responded to the question directly with a yes or no answer, He would have been involved in a difficult problem either way. If He had confirmed that the woman should be stoned, He would be accused of condemning someone to death without the approval of the Romans, to which the Jewish nation was subject. He would be accused before the Roman authorities as being subversive to their law. But if He said that the woman should not be stoned, He would be cornered as an enemy of the law of Moses. It was a really difficult situation. It was as if someone were to ask you: "Have you stopped beating your wife?" This question cannot be answered with a simple yes or no.
Although Jesus hates sin, He loves the sinner. Human nature, however, loves sin and hates the sinner.
As Jesus was taking long to answer their question, the accusers came closer. There, in the sand, they saw written their own sins which were most interested in keeping hidden. What did Jesus do? Apparently indifferent to their clamoring, He began to write in the sand the secret sinful actions of the accusers.
When they insisted that Jesus respond concerning the verdict of the woman, they heard the Savior's words: "Whoever among you is without sin, let him cast the first stone at her."
Seeing the change in the faces of the accusers, those present were interested in knowing what Jesus was suddenly writing in the sand. And then, one by one, the embarrassed accusers began to withdraw.
The Pharisees and teachers of the law had actively committed serious sins in order to denounce the woman. In cases of adultery, the husband with the witnesses of the act were the ones who made the charge. Further, the law stated that all who were involved in the sinful act and not just a part—in this case, the woman—were to be stoned.
Upon hearing the words of Jesus, the woman prepared to receive the hit of the first stones, but she was surprised to find that her accusers withdrew.
Finally, once only Jesus and the woman remained, the Master asked her, "Woman, where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?" "No one, Sir," the woman replied. "Neither do I condemn you," Jesus said to her, meaning that she was fully forgiven. "Go, and sin no more."
At that moment, one trembling sinner was justified by Jesus, starting a new life of purity and service. Though Jesus hates sin, He loves the sinner.
No one was ever converted by being stoned. If we want to help anyone caught in sin, we should help him or her with the love from divine origin that seeks to recover the soul without ever accusing.
Human nature, however, tends to love sin and hate the sinner. Only the soul that is actually transformed by the grace of Christ will be able to treat the sinner as Christ did. Our mission is not to condemn, but to save.
God turned that accusatory action into a saving act. Those Pharisees and teachers of the law, hypocrites, had actually led the woman into sin in order to try to condemn the Savior, but God turned that action into the beginning of a new life for the woman who became one of the most effective missionaries for Christ.
"It is not Christ's follower that, with averted eyes, turns from the erring, leaving them unhindered to pursue their downward course. Those who are forward in accusing others, and zealous in bringing them to justice, are often in their own lives more guilty than they. Men hate the sinner, while they love the sin. Christ hates the sin but loves the sinner. This will be the spirit of all who follow Him. Christian love is slow to censure, quick to discern penitence, ready to forgive, to encourage, to set the wanderer in the path of holiness, and to stay his feet therein."—The Desire of Ages, p. 462.
The true followers of Christ are severe with themselves and tolerant of others. But the hypocritical Pharisees are more lenient with themselves and intolerant of others. What is our real condition?
"Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." Galatians 6: 1, 2.
Originally posted on tadreforma.com.br
Translated by Larissa Tenorio