WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.380 Living well with failure. George Bernard Shaw said, my reputation grows with every failure. 00:00:09.519 --> 00:00:16.480 It's an interesting one, isn't it? If you ask any business entrepreneur, they will tell you 00:00:16.480 --> 00:00:23.440 not only about their successes, but they will also tell you about their failures. The great 00:00:23.440 --> 00:00:30.760 victory. Victor Kayan, the international business entrepreneur, when asked to say, what was your 00:00:30.760 --> 00:00:37.719 greatest failure, didn't hesitate, and he said, Velcro. He said, I had the opportunity to invest 00:00:37.719 --> 00:00:45.620 in Velcro, and I never did it. In this morning's reading in our Lent journey today, we have this 00:00:45.619 --> 00:00:55.299 picture of judgment, the law, scandal, trickery, seeking to discredit Jesus, mixed with wisdom, 00:00:55.559 --> 00:01:05.159 grace, love, failure, forgiveness, and radical counter-cultural actions by Jesus, faced with 00:01:05.159 --> 00:01:14.939 the imminent stoning of this woman. It's all in this story this morning. And in our reading today, 00:01:14.939 --> 00:01:23.780 we also are faced with the harsh critic. In any community, and you've only got to look on the news 00:01:23.780 --> 00:01:32.560 that critics thrive on other people's failings and mistakes. Have you noticed that? You've only 00:01:32.560 --> 00:01:38.900 got to make a mistake, and suddenly everybody seems to just lump on, but never mind all the great things 00:01:38.900 --> 00:01:45.280 that's happened. But the one thing that you do wrong, everybody's ready to pick up the stone. 00:01:46.020 --> 00:01:52.680 The news, people line up to be critical. People take the high moral high ground. And in our teaching 00:01:52.680 --> 00:02:01.040 today, there is more than one person who has failed in this story. But let's jump in and remind ourselves 00:02:01.040 --> 00:02:10.020 of the dramatic scene, as a woman is facing imminent death at the hands of the religious leaders and 00:02:10.020 --> 00:02:17.240 their followers. The first thing that strikes me is we're not told of the poor woman's name. 00:02:18.460 --> 00:02:24.460 We don't know who she was. She is just recorded as a woman who has been caught in the act of adultery, 00:02:24.460 --> 00:02:31.760 of which the law requires her to be stoned to death. How was her sin discovered? Well, I guess that was 00:02:31.760 --> 00:02:39.719 pretty obvious. No mention of the man, of course. Probably he just walked away. The people who caught 00:02:39.719 --> 00:02:47.600 her and accused her brought her to Jesus. It's interesting. Jesus, at this time of that morning, 00:02:47.599 --> 00:02:54.379 was teaching in the temple courts. It's early in the morning. Jesus was surrounded by people who had come 00:02:54.379 --> 00:03:01.659 to hear his teaching. You couldn't arrange a more public stage for them to actually bring this woman 00:03:01.659 --> 00:03:09.859 before him. The religious leaders appear and present him with this woman and announce that the law says 00:03:09.860 --> 00:03:18.840 that we should stone her to death. What do you say, Jesus? You see, they knew the law. They lived and 00:03:18.840 --> 00:03:27.540 breathed it. Their lives were controlled by it. And Jesus knew the law too. Shockingly, the penalty for 00:03:27.540 --> 00:03:35.600 adultery was death. So why this confrontation? Why did they bring her to Jesus? Well, the leaders brought her 00:03:35.599 --> 00:03:43.400 so that they could publicly discredit Jesus. That's what it's about. They're to catch him out. It's a trap. 00:03:43.979 --> 00:03:52.400 A perfect setup. It's a sting. You know, they didn't care about this woman. They didn't care about her. 00:03:52.699 --> 00:03:59.939 She was just going to be collateral damage, as far as they were concerned, in their aim to discredit Jesus. 00:03:59.939 --> 00:04:08.579 That was their plan. And the religious leaders had heard reports of all the times that Jesus had shown 00:04:08.579 --> 00:04:16.980 grace. Grace to tax collectors. Grace to people who allegedly were unclean by the law. For those who 00:04:16.980 --> 00:04:25.699 were healed on the Sabbath. For those who they had judged as sinners. And so by placing this woman in 00:04:25.699 --> 00:04:33.879 front of the front of her, clearly guilty in their eyes, Jesus would show mercy and forgive her. And 00:04:33.879 --> 00:04:42.279 they could point the finger and judge him and be critical and claim that he is not a rabbi. And his 00:04:42.279 --> 00:04:51.240 teaching and action is contrary to their God's law. That was their goal. That was their aim. That was their 00:04:51.240 --> 00:04:59.540 purpose. But Jesus, who not for the first time, is going to turn some tables. 00:05:02.240 --> 00:05:09.379 He stoops down in our scripture and writes in the dirt. Now hold on to that. Hold on to that fact that 00:05:09.379 --> 00:05:14.180 he stoops down and writes in the dirt. Because I know what you're thinking along with me. Millions of 00:05:14.180 --> 00:05:22.800 others down the years are asking, well, what did he write? What did he write? But during that time in 00:05:22.800 --> 00:05:27.100 our scripture, they keep on questioning him. I would imagine it's probably more like goading. 00:05:28.100 --> 00:05:36.379 Come on, give us that. Who are you? Yet Jesus bends down. Imagine the tension in that moment. That woman 00:05:36.379 --> 00:05:42.600 is knelt there. People are watching. What is going to happen? Because they probably knew what had 00:05:42.600 --> 00:05:53.680 happened from the past. Without Jesus there. Whereupon Jesus straightens up. Can you imagine the pause 00:05:53.680 --> 00:06:00.780 and the stillness? Everybody hanging and waiting on every word that Jesus is going to say. 00:06:03.340 --> 00:06:11.720 Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her. And again, 00:06:11.720 --> 00:06:21.220 he stooped down and wrote in the dirt. Can you imagine the looks that are going around amongst the 00:06:21.220 --> 00:06:31.480 religious leaders? Let anybody who is without sin cast the first stone. You see, Jesus was saying to 00:06:31.480 --> 00:06:39.440 them, you know you're right about the law and you are right about the punishment. But before you 00:06:39.439 --> 00:06:48.019 bombard this woman with the rocks in your hands and judgment in your heart and in your mind, examine your 00:06:48.019 --> 00:07:00.620 own heart. Examine yourself before you make that move. Examine your own life. And more importantly, 00:07:00.620 --> 00:07:05.340 examine your law and your relationship with God. 00:07:09.280 --> 00:07:15.600 They knew that if any one of them had thrown a stone, they too would have been guilty of blasphemy. 00:07:15.600 --> 00:07:21.520 And they too would have been subject to judgment of their law. 00:07:24.720 --> 00:07:32.760 So slowly they all walked away. They dropped their stones and walked away. 00:07:32.759 --> 00:07:43.379 At this, who heard this, they began to go away one at a time. It says, interestingly, it's recorded, 00:07:43.759 --> 00:07:51.879 the older ones first. That's interesting that John records that. Because maybe their hearts were 00:07:51.879 --> 00:08:00.139 convicted first, as many of us are who were in older years, of what is right and what is wrong. 00:08:00.139 --> 00:08:08.319 Because we know our mistakes and we know the great forgiveness of God in our lives. 00:08:10.399 --> 00:08:16.539 Maybe many of them had committed adultery, failed in their own morals, maybe religiously or in other 00:08:16.539 --> 00:08:25.300 ways. Religious leaders aren't immune then and now. Maybe some had broken the law in various ways and 00:08:25.300 --> 00:08:33.100 failed too. Maybe the younger ones, look at them, they were in high arousal, ready and zealous to show 00:08:33.100 --> 00:08:42.440 others how holy they were in exacting the law on this poor woman. Young men may be lacking in discipline, 00:08:43.620 --> 00:08:49.860 may be sinful themselves. Yet one by one who were gathered, 00:08:49.860 --> 00:08:59.620 melted away, melted away, confronted by their own sin and confronted with a need for forgiveness. 00:09:02.419 --> 00:09:12.259 The people who failed that day, that they failed to exact their law. They failed in discrediting Jesus. 00:09:12.259 --> 00:09:24.240 Their credibility failed because they left humiliated because of their action and their plans. This woman wasn't 00:09:24.240 --> 00:09:31.519 the only one who failed that morning. Yet she is the only one that morning who will walk away free 00:09:31.519 --> 00:09:44.600 and live well with failure. So here is Jesus. This beautiful moment of Jesus left with this woman. 00:09:45.439 --> 00:09:53.519 I guess his disciples standing at a distance as they observed. What will he say? The man who had the 00:09:53.519 --> 00:10:05.159 power and courage to dismiss this baying mob on this day? The power of Jesus. We've just sung about it. We've just 00:10:05.159 --> 00:10:14.639 worshipped God and we've said, here was power in action then as it is now. Jesus straightens up and asks her, 00:10:14.639 --> 00:10:22.679 and I love the humour in this. Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? 00:10:25.679 --> 00:10:32.919 No, sir, she said. And then we get these powerful words, which I don't know whether you've heard in 00:10:32.919 --> 00:10:39.460 your life, I have certainly heard in mine. Then neither do I condemn you. Jesus declared, 00:10:39.460 --> 00:10:50.500 go now and leave your life of sin. Leave it behind. Leave it at this point. Go and live a new life. You are free. 00:10:52.500 --> 00:10:59.060 It's a beautiful picture of the grace of God that in a moment this woman who was under judgment is given the 00:10:59.060 --> 00:11:08.120 opportunity to live well with her failure. Free to leave. Free to leave behind her what was certain death 00:11:08.120 --> 00:11:16.139 and very nearly an end to that new life that she has the opportunity to live with Jesus. 00:11:17.360 --> 00:11:24.379 Jesus brings mercy, love, humility and grace into the midst of this conflict. He takes our failings, 00:11:24.659 --> 00:11:32.279 he transforms us, he restores us and I sensed as I wrote this, how many of this have been defined, 00:11:32.279 --> 00:11:40.079 been defined by our failures of the past that come to remind us again and again. 00:11:44.779 --> 00:11:57.039 Go now and leave your life of sin. Live well in that failure. Perhaps you're hearing that afresh today. 00:11:57.039 --> 00:12:04.719 Maybe you, when you get to a point of failure, you have carried that for far too long. 00:12:06.399 --> 00:12:14.860 Maybe the evil one, as he will always do, will come at that point, not to remind you of great things 00:12:14.860 --> 00:12:22.959 that you've done, but will remind you of the failure that you never be defined by the failures 00:12:22.960 --> 00:12:32.440 because there is new life in Jesus. Have a new life. You see, in that scripture it says, 00:12:34.120 --> 00:12:40.440 for those who are in Christ, I've often, this is my prayer for so many that I pray with, 00:12:41.700 --> 00:12:49.320 for in Christ there is no condemnation. In Christ you are not condemned. There is new life. 00:12:49.320 --> 00:12:56.100 And I would encourage anyone listening to this this morning, either here or on the podcast or wherever 00:12:56.100 --> 00:13:03.900 it is, if there is something that comes back to you again and again to remind you of a failure, 00:13:04.800 --> 00:13:10.220 give it to the Lord because in Christ there is no condemnation. And like the woman this morning, 00:13:10.720 --> 00:13:16.840 people, let people drop their stones and you walk away free. And if that is you this morning, 00:13:16.840 --> 00:13:24.040 praise God that maybe you're leaving, leaving something here which you no longer have to carry 00:13:24.040 --> 00:13:32.660 for the rest of your life. Wouldn't that be a great moment? You can see a few people nodding. Do it. 00:13:36.360 --> 00:13:40.320 The other interesting thing in the scripture is Jesus stood down and wrote on the ground. 00:13:40.580 --> 00:13:45.920 Now you may be thinking, wow, Clive's going to enlighten us with those words that Jesus wrote on the 00:13:45.919 --> 00:13:53.259 ground. I'm not. Because there is lots of people who have surmised down through the centuries. 00:13:54.599 --> 00:14:02.860 But maybe the most important thing is, is that Jesus as a Jewish rabbi bent down before a woman. 00:14:04.059 --> 00:14:12.240 He knelt before a woman. That is something Jewish rabbis didn't do. And especially in the presence of a 00:14:12.240 --> 00:14:21.399 woman. And one who everyone has branded a sinner. What does Jesus do? Jesus kneels at her feet. 00:14:23.799 --> 00:14:31.159 Countercultural. Always Jesus countercultural. Gracious, loving, and courageous Jesus. He stoops or 00:14:31.159 --> 00:14:37.419 lowers himself let before this woman. And let me just tell you, this is a sort of disclaimer really, 00:14:37.419 --> 00:14:45.219 for anyone who will ever suggest to you that the Bible is misogynistic or against women. Clearly, 00:14:45.399 --> 00:14:51.799 they haven't read it or they don't understand it. Because Jesus did more in his three years of 00:14:51.799 --> 00:14:58.539 ministry, in public ministry, and since, and in any culture, in these thousands of years, 00:14:58.899 --> 00:15:05.279 to raise up women and their equality in his kingdom values. Amen? Amen. 00:15:05.279 --> 00:15:12.639 What did the religious leaders talk about? And as they plotted and walked away, I'd have loved to have 00:15:12.639 --> 00:15:21.000 been with them, listening to their comments. What they'd set out to do that day, just torn and in pieces 00:15:21.000 --> 00:15:32.459 on the ground. Their credibility, zero. Jesus shows us, yes, there will be a judgment. Yes, 00:15:32.460 --> 00:15:39.259 there will be a death, but it won't be hers that day. And it won't come from these stones, because the 00:15:39.259 --> 00:15:46.120 death that will save us is from the cross. And that is what brings us. And that's where we are in this 00:15:46.120 --> 00:15:53.560 Lenten journey. That under Christ, there is no condemnation, because it's been paid for, and we can 00:15:53.560 --> 00:16:01.580 walk free. We can repent and come back to Jesus. Again, secure as we know. We don't know this woman's 00:16:01.580 --> 00:16:08.700 story after this dramatic encounter with Jesus. The Bible doesn't tell us. One can only imagine, 00:16:08.700 --> 00:16:19.600 or maybe you know, as I know, what it's like when sins are forgiven, and we walk free. Free at last. 00:16:20.300 --> 00:16:26.200 Free at last to follow Jesus, unencumbered by anything that will drag us back, 00:16:26.200 --> 00:16:34.060 and brings us into new life, day by day, when our past failures no longer hold their grip on us. 00:16:34.259 --> 00:16:41.400 So many people say that they are defined by their failures in life. No, the Bible says no. You come 00:16:41.400 --> 00:16:50.460 to Jesus, and there is new life, like this woman. A new life. We are born again in the power of the 00:16:50.460 --> 00:16:58.200 Holy Spirit. It breaks the power that holds us, and once ever had held over us, once we lived only to 00:16:58.200 --> 00:17:05.220 please ourselves. But when we have been forgiven, our motivation changes. I don't know whether you 00:17:05.220 --> 00:17:11.200 have experienced that in your life. When you know you have been forgiven much, there is much that we 00:17:11.200 --> 00:17:16.900 forgive others, because we know that deep forgiveness of what that means in our lives. 00:17:16.900 --> 00:17:25.420 We are raised to new life. Do you know that powerful forgiveness in your life? 00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:34.060 Do we know that maybe this morning we're giving thanks maybe for something that has liberated us 00:17:34.060 --> 00:17:41.360 from death to new life? Perhaps you've been challenged in attitude, maybe in character. How many 00:17:41.359 --> 00:17:49.959 stones may be, do we need to drop today? Many of the things that we have carried, stones ready to judge 00:17:49.959 --> 00:17:57.059 others that need to be dropped. The stones we prepare to cast in judgment when we have no right. 00:18:00.899 --> 00:18:04.259 The thoughts, the comments, the glances. 00:18:04.259 --> 00:18:34.240 The thoughts, the glances. 00:18:34.240 --> 00:18:35.480 The thoughts, the glances. 00:18:35.480 --> 00:18:37.299 The thoughts, the glances. 00:18:37.299 --> 00:18:37.579 The thoughts, the glances. 00:18:37.579 --> 00:18:38.220 The thoughts, the glances. 00:18:38.240 --> 00:18:38.720 The thoughts, the glances. 00:18:38.819 --> 00:18:39.420 The thoughts, the glances. 00:18:39.660 --> 00:18:45.559 I pray that this week, as we come to, next week, as we come to Palm Sunday, and move through that, 00:18:45.839 --> 00:18:49.079 we will know through our Lenten teaching, from dust to glory, 00:18:51.339 --> 00:18:57.900 that each and every one of us will find new life in Christ, a new freedom, a new encouragement, 00:18:58.700 --> 00:19:02.460 a raising up to all that we are meant to be. 00:19:02.460 --> 00:19:32.440 Thank you.