Well, please turn with me in your Bibles if you have one with you, the 8th chapter of John's Gospel.
If you do so, allow me to say for a moment what a pleasure and privilege it's been for me to be with you these past few weeks.
I'm not sure if the pleasure exceeds the privilege or the privilege exceeds the pleasure.
But I want to thank you for your kindness, the warmth of your welcome.
Again, it's a sign of remarkable grace when English people in particular can welcome so warmly a Scot.
I'm not sure it's easily reciprocated, sadly.
It's lovely to be in a congregation so diverse as this.
When I ministered in Scotland, everyone in the congregation was like me, pasty white.
We had foreigners, but they came from Cheshire.
But in Cambridge, we had a United Nations.
We had about 14, 15 different nationalities.
And I loved that.
And I loved looking out and seeing people of different backgrounds, cultures, colours.
But confessing the one God, the one Saviour, the one Lord and the one baptism.
You'll notice there is an unusual heading to this passage if you have an ESV translation.
The earliest manuscripts do not include 7, verse 53 to 8, 11.
Well, and that's somewhat true.
It's a partial truth.
And often partial truths do not begin to reflect the whole truth.
So I don't intend to spend any time on textual criticism, seeking to vindicate why I think this passage is authentic to the Gospel of John.
You can take my word or you can go away and do some research on your own.
One caveat as we begin.
There is a never-present danger when Christian believers come to read the Bible.
And the danger is this.
We go to the Bible to find ourselves and not to find God.
What I mean by that is we can read a passage like this and we can come away from it and someone might say,
What were you hearing about this morning?
And you reply, well, we were hearing about a woman who had sinned greatly, but she experienced the mercy and kindness of God.
And the danger is that we remember the extremity of the woman and her sin.
And we somewhat downplay what actually is the great emphasis in this passage, which is not actually about the woman.
The great emphasis in the passage, and I hope you at least began to see that in the reading,
the whole emphasis in the passage is to set before us Jesus Christ.
Jesus had been scandalising the religious establishment.
This man, they said, welcomes sinners.
How can he really be the Messiah if he consorts with people like this woman?
And John wants to show us that Jesus Christ truly is the Saint-One of God.
That he is the one who has come from God.
To reveal to us the heart of God.
And so when we read the Bible, our first concern should always be,
Lord, show me yourself.
Show me your glory.
Show me your grace.
Show me your goodness.
Show me your kindness.
Show me your mercy.
Lord, show me yourself.
And so I hope this morning we will, in some measure at least,
begin to see the Lord Jesus Christ as he is set before us by John.
As I said in my introduction to the Bible reading,
the Gospel of John is really an evangelistic tract.
Of course, John is seeking to instruct believers in their faith in Jesus Christ.
But he specifically tells us at the end of chapter 20,
these things I have written that you might believe that Jesus truly is the Christ,
the Son of God,
and that by believing in him,
you will have life,
eternal life,
fullness of life,
with him.
So John is out here not simply to educate us
and instruct us,
he is out to get us.
He is out to persuade us.
He is out to win us to Jesus Christ.
It's a very dramatic encounter.
The Gospel of John is significant for any number of things,
but one of the significant features of John's Gospel
is the way that John shows us Jesus
in a number of dramatic encounters
all the way through.
You find him encountering Nathaniel
at the end of chapter 1
and disclosing to Nathaniel
that he knows what's going on in his heart.
In chapter 3 we find Jesus encountering Nicodemus.
Now Nicodemus is called by Jesus
in verse 10 of chapter 3,
the teacher of Israel,
the reverend professor,
Dr. Nicodemus.
But Jesus said to this man
with all his religion,
you must be born again
or born from above.
All your religion
does not make you right with God, Nicodemus.
You need a new heart.
You need a new beginning with God.
You need God to come
and make you new from the inside out.
And then in dramatic contrast
in chapter 4,
we find Jesus meeting
this woman,
this woman from Samaria
by the well of Sychar.
It's a remarkable picture
that's being painted for us
in John chapter 4
because Jews
had no dealings with Samaritans.
But we find Jesus
breaking every conceivable convention.
He breaks religious convention
by meeting with the woman.
He breaks social convention
by meeting with her alone.
And he breaks moral convention.
This woman had five husbands
and she was now living with a six.
He was a live-in lover.
He was not her husband.
But Jesus was going to be
her seventh and last man.
And Jesus evangelizes her.
Not like the way he did
with Nicodemus.
His first words to Nicodemus were,
you must be born again
with the woman.
Jesus starts very gently.
He starts where she is.
He's there to draw water
and Jesus asks her for a drink.
It's a very remarkable
encounter that Jesus has.
And slowly but surely
he evangelizes the woman
and draws her to himself.
And John's gospel
proliferates with these encounters.
And here is another
of those remarkable,
dramatic encounters
that are intended
to do two things.
Number one, principally,
to set before us
the heart of God.
Behold your God.
Is what this passage
is saying to us.
Jesus Christ is the revelation
of God.
John chapter 1 verse 18.
Jesus is the exegesis of God.
He has come to make God known.
There is no un-Christ likeness
in God.
Behold your God.
And the second note
that is struck in these encounters
is no matter who you are,
no matter how badly you have failed
and fallen,
no matter how messed up
your life is,
no matter how miserable you are,
no matter how religious you are,
what you need,
Jesus Christ alone can give.
let not conscience make you linger,
nor of fitness fondly dream.
All the fitness
he requireth
is to feel
your need
of him.
So let me look with you
at this passage.
Notice
three very simple things
as we introduce
this sermon
focusing on this encounter.
Notice first of all
the human heartlessness
that confronts us.
These religious leaders,
these scribes
and Pharisees
find a woman
obviously
and the narrative
doesn't tell us this,
but this is very
peculiar
and peculiar
to Hebrew narrative.
These men
have been lying
in wait.
They've heard news,
it would seem,
that this woman,
and we don't know
about the man,
I'll come to that
in a moment,
they're lying in wait
and they,
instead of
stopping
this
illicit
encounter,
they let it happen
in order
to catch
the woman
in the very
act
of sexual
adultery.
There is a
human
heartlessness
about this
encounter
as John
introduces it
to us.
How cold
hearted
these men
must have been.
But then
there was
religious hypocrisy.
Where is the man?
Why are we not
bringing him
to Jesus?
Why are we dragging
this poor woman?
Where is the man?
There is a
selectivity
about these
religious leaders.
They're not only
humanly heartless,
they're religious
hypocrites.
They say
that they are
concerned about
honouring the
law of God.
But the law
of God
equally condemned
the man
as well as the
woman caught
in adultery.
Where is the
man?
And then we see
thirdly a
satanic
wickedness.
Human
heartlessness,
religious
hypocrisy
and satanic
wickedness.
What are they
doing?
They're out
to
entrap
Jesus.
They bring
the woman
to Jesus,
teach
of us
women to be
caught in the
act of
adultery.
now in the
law,
Moses
commanded us
to stone
such women.
Actually it
didn't.
It's probably
inferred,
but it doesn't
actually say
they were to
be stoned.
So what do
you say?
They said this
to test
him or
entrap
him that
they might
have some
charge to
bring against
him.
They're not
interested in
the woman.
they couldn't
care less
about the
breach of
the seventh
commandment,
you shall
not commit
adultery.
They were
out to
get Jesus.
They wanted
to place
Jesus on
the horns
of a
dilemma.
If Jesus
said,
yes,
take her
out,
stone her
to death,
they could
immediately
report him
to the
Roman
authorities,
who alone
had the
power and
the
authority
to put
anyone to
death.
But if
Jesus said,
no,
he is
not
worthy
of death,
they could
say,
well,
there you
go.
He's
denying
the plain
teaching
of the
Bible.
You see,
the Pharisees,
and the
word literally
means the
separated
ones,
the elite,
they believed
every word
in the
Bible.
They were
Bible
literalists.
But they
had sucked
the marrow
of grace
and mercy
out of the
Holy Scriptures
because they
didn't know
the God
who gave
the Holy
Scriptures.
They interpreted
the Scriptures
others apart
from the
character of
God.
And there
is a
satanic
wickedness
here.
They're out
to further
their own
aims and
ends.
They want
to get
Jesus at
all costs.
And so
they bring
this woman
to Jesus.
You don't
need much
imagination
to think
how
humiliated
she must
have felt.
Publicly
shamed.
Perhaps
in the
state of
some
undress.
Dragged
through
the dust.
humiliated
shamed
and now
brought
to
Jesus.
So this
morning I
want to
look with
you especially
at Jesus
response
and reaction
to
the
events
that
unfolded.
There are
four things
to notice
first of
all.
Number
one
noticed
Jesus
silence.
So they
say to
Jesus
the
law of
Moses
commanded
us to
stone
such
women.
What
do you
say?
Jesus
bent
down
and
wrote
with
his
finger
on
the
ground.
Initially
he's
silent.
Why
is he
silent?
well we're
not told
are we?
Again that's
very
Hebrew
narrative.
We're
left to
infer.
Was he
stunned
by the
heartlessness
and the
wickedness
of these
religious
leaders?
Was he
speechless
at their
heartlessness,
their
wickedness,
their
hypocrisy?
Well we're
not told.
What he
does is to
bend down
and write
on the
ground.
And again
we might
ask, well
what was he
writing?
If you
can read
that
passage and
not ask
yourself,
what exactly
was he
writing?
Well we're
not told.
But again
this is the
way Hebrew
narrative
operates.
It's a
Greek text but
it's very
Hebraic.
We're
expected to
join up the
dots, we're
expected to
know our
Bibles well
enough to
think perhaps
this, ah,
ah,
ah.
That's
Jeremiah 17.
isn't it?
That's what
you're all
thinking.
That's
Jeremiah 17.
Listen to
these words,
O Lord,
the hope of
Israel, all
who forsake
you shall be
put to
shame.
Those who
turn away
from you
shall be
written on
the earth.
For they
have forsaken
the Lord,
the fountain
of living
water.
O Lord,
the hope of
Israel, all
who forsake
you shall be
put to
shame.
They
brought this
woman and
shamed her.
And what
Jesus is now
doing is
shaming them.
Now I
don't know for
certain that
that's what the
Lord was
doing.
There are
other
interpretations
but I
think perhaps
the Lord was
saying to
them, so
you want to
quote the
Bible?
Well let's
quote the
Bible.
what do
you make
of Jeremiah
1710?
All who
forsake me
the fountain
of living
water shall
have their
names written
in the dust.
Some
commentators
think as
Jesus goes
on and
they continue
asking him
and he
continues to
write.
Some even
suggest that
he's writing
their names.
I don't
know that.
sometimes
silence is
the only
fitting
response to
human
heartlessness
and religious
hypocrisy.
One of the
things I
would often
tell my
assistants in
Cambridge
and the
students that
I teach
is that
you can't
quantify it
but I
would often
say 90%
of pastoral
ministry is
learning to
cultivate the
art of
silence.
But here
our Lord
his initial
response is
one of
silence.
But then
secondly
notice Jesus
challenge.
They continue
to ask him.
They're
pressing
Jesus and
so he
stands up
and says
to them
let him
who is
without sin
among you
be the
first to
throw a
stone at
her.
You want
to throw
stones?
Well what
does the
law say?
Well in
the book of
Leviticus it
says that
when you
accuse someone
of adultery
and it was a
capital charge
because adultery
was not
simply conceived
of as an
illicit
physical act
it was
seen to be
stabbing a
dagger into
the very
heart of
society
breaking
asunder
families
destroying
lives
dismembering
children
and those
who brought
the charge
they were
to be the
ones to
throw the
first stone.
And so
Jesus says
okay
let him
who is
without sin
cast the
first stone.
Now Jesus
could hardly
be saying
you can
only judge
other people
when you're
sinless.
He's not
saying that
otherwise
there will
be no
law courts
no judges
no anything.
Jesus is
putting his
finger on
their
consciences.
He's
probing
their
hearts.
He's
seeking to
bring the
law of
God to
bear
upon
their
heartlessness
and
inhumanity.
Some
suggest
the way
the language
is
constructed
that Jesus
is saying
you want
to talk
about adultery?
Okay
let's talk
about adultery.
You remember
earlier
in the
gospel
accounts
Matthew 5
Jesus says
when a man
looks at a
woman
lustfully
and mentally
copulates
with her
that's as
bad in
God's
sight as
the physical
act itself
and some
suggest
Jesus is
saying to
these men
so this
woman's been
caught in
the act of
adultery
what about
you?
God has
caught you
many a
time in
the act
of adultery
I'm not
sure about
that I
think it's
simply more
likely Jesus
is probing
their
consciences
and he's
challenging
them
and remarkably
once more
he bends
down and
writes on
the ground
some
commentators
think he
was actually
doodling
and you
know that's
not fanciful
sometimes
life can
be so
surreal
sometimes
religious
behaviour
can be
so
tragic
comedic
almost
that you
just
think
are you
serious?
I can't
get my
head around
this
you know
I don't
think he
was doodling
but
when they
heard it
they went
away
one
by one
beginning
with the
older ones
and Jesus
was left
alone
with the
woman
standing
before him
conviction
of sin
had begun
to afflict
their
consciences
but notice
this
conviction
of sin
is not
conversion
from sin
were any
of these
men
later
converted
were not
told
wouldn't
it be
wonderful
to discover
in heaven's
glory
that some
or at
least one
of these
men
would be
around the
throne of
God
saying I
bless God
for the
day
that the
son of
God
said
those of
you without
sin
cast the
first stone
but you
can be
convicted
of sin
and have
your conscience
afflict you
of the
reality of
sin and
not be
converted
from sin
we're told
in the
letter to
the Hebrews
about Esau
Esau was
beside himself
when he
sold his
birthright
for a
mess of
pottage
as the
King James
version puts
it and he
was sorry
he was very
sorry and he
wept tears
but he wasn't
converted
he didn't
come and
prostrate
himself and
say God
be merciful
to me
the sinner
being convicted
of sin
of being a
sinner before
God
it doesn't
even take you
halfway there
you can end
up living all
your life
aware you're
a sinner
and never
yet fly to
Jesus Christ
for mercy
forgiveness
and for
salvation
and so
Jesus
challenge
results in
the men
going away
one by one
and then
thirdly we
have Jesus
mercy
we're seeing
Jesus
silence
Jesus
challenge
and then
Jesus
mercy
Jesus
was left
alone
with the
woman
standing
before him
can you
imagine
what that
woman
must have
been wondering
she's been
dragged
unceremoniously
shamelessly
publicly
she's been
humiliated
the threat
of death
was hanging
over her
and now
all her
accusers
have
vanished
she must
have been
absolutely
bewildered
just
what
what's
happening
what
on earth
is happening
to me
Jesus
was left
alone
with the
woman
Jesus
stood up
and said
to her
woman
where are
they
has no one
condemned
you
she said
no one
Lord
no one
and Jesus
said to her
neither do I
condemn you
Augustine
great early
church father
has a
wonderful
statement
I know
someone here
is a
Latin
so I'm
going to
tell you
Latin
and I
translate it
so you're
okay
he comments
in this
passage
and he
says
relicti
sunt
duo
miserat
et misericordia
there remained
but two
misery
and mercy
neither do I
condemn you
how could
Jesus say
that to
her
she
committed
an
altering
and that
was just
if you
like the
the
efflorescence
the
flowering
the
outward
observation
of her
sinful
life
how could
Jesus
just say
well
I
don't
condemn
you
because
he had
come into
the world
to be a
sin
bearing
sin
atoning
saviour
he knew
the day
would come
when he
would bear
the condemnation
of her
adultery
on himself
the day
would come
when God
would lay
on him
the iniquity
of us
all
Isaiah
53
he
wasn't
sweeping
her sin
under the
carpet
he wasn't
turning a
blind eye
he wasn't
just
saying
well
let's
bygones
be
bygones
in those
words
of
Jesus
Christ
he
was
in
effect
saying
the
woman
wouldn't
know
it
later
she
would
I'm
going
to pay
the price
for that
sin
I'm
going
to die
the death
that sin
and all
your sins
deserved
neither
do I
condemn
you
you see
the great
first movement
of the
gospel
is to
set before
us
the love
of God
John Owen
the English
Puritan
said
many
Christians
find it
hard to
believe
there is
any
sweetness
in God
except
what was
purchased
at the
high cost
of Jesus
blood
but the
Bible
tells us
that God
so loved
the world
that he
gave
Jesus
didn't
come
to
procure
the
love
of
God
he
came
as
the
evidence
and
gift
of
the
love
of
God
the
first
great
movement
of
the
gospel
is
God
so
loved
the
world
that
he
gave
and
that
has
to
be
the
primary
note
in
Christian
worship
in
Christian
preaching
in
Christian
serving
and so
Jesus
shows
this
woman
great
mercy
because
he
himself
would
bear
the
price
of her
sin
but then
fourthly
notice
Jesus
command
Jesus
silence
Jesus
challenge
Jesus
mercy
and then
Jesus
command
neither
do I
condemn
you
go
it's an
imperative
there
go
as a
command
and
from
now
on
sin
no
more
this
woman
was being
forgiven
she
was being
shown
mercy
that
she
might
now
live
a new
life
that
the
dominant
note
in her
life
will
no
longer
be
sin
and
rebellion
against
God
transgression
of his
law
but from
now
on
she
would
be
living
unto
God
she
would
be
a
hater
of
sin
and
a
lover
of
righteousness
you
see
God
doesn't
save
us
to
leave
us
as
we
are
he
saves
us
and
restores
us
to
himself
to
change
us
and
make
us
new
and
fit
us
for
his
fellowship
in
heaven's
glory
if
this
morning
you
are
simply
continuing
!
sin
no
matter
how
eloquent
your
evangelical
testimony
is
it's
a
charade
because
when
we
are
united
to
Jesus
Christ
new
creation
we
begin
to
hate
sin
and
when
we
do
sin
we
are
shamed
by
it
we
are
humbled
by
it
and
we
unceasingly
cry
to
the
Lord
to
forgive
us
for
Jesus
sake
because
of
it
go
and
sin
no
more
that's
the
calling
of
every
Christian
you
see
is
this
not
an
unrealistic
calling
obviously
not
Jesus
Christ
said
go
and
sin
no
more
does
that
mean
it's
possible
that
I
won't
sin
anymore
do
you
know
your
own
heart
at
all
no
we
sin
but
that's
our
calling
to
sin
no
more
to
have
done
with
sin
to
be
quit
with
sin
every
sin
every
sin
you
and
I
commit
is
a
rebellion
against
God
a
transgression
of his
mercy
and love
every
sin
if it
had
its
own
way
would
un
god
the
puritans
would
often
say
sin
is
god
killing
sin
is
god
killing
if sin
could
have
its
way
it
would
kill
god
every
sin
what we
call
little
sins
if sin
had
its
way
at the
heart
of
every
sin
there is
the
desire
to
kill
god
and so
the
christian
who has
been
forgiven
and who
has
received
mercy
has set
before
them
a new
life
to love
god's
commandments
and to
love the
god who
gave the
commandments
so let
me try
and just
in a
moment or
two
highlight
three
great
truths
that this
encounter
highlights
for us
number
one
it shows
us the
gospel
is glorious
good news
that we
can go
to men
and women
whose
lives
have been
utterly
disfigured
and dismembered
by sin
you know
we live
in a
culture
today
in
Britain
where
people
are
three
four
almost
five
generations
many of
them
removed
from
anything
christian
life
is
dysfunctional
someone
maybe one
day will
wake up
and say
have we
ever asked
the question
why
is our
society
so
socially
and morally
dysfunctional
people with
broken lives
broken homes
broken
relationships
partners by
the dozen
life has
just been
a succession
of
miserable
encounters
and the
gospel of
God says
I've got good
news for you
no matter
how mangled
your life
no matter
whether you've
had five
husbands
and are
living with
a six
live-in
lover
here's good
news for
you
God sent
his son
into the
world
not to
condemn
the world
but to
save the
world
through him
there is
forgiveness
with God
that he
might be
feared
there are
new beginnings
to be
had
if you
would have
them
good news
secondly
beware of
being strict
about other
people's sins
and soft
about your
own
these
religious
leaders
they were
strict
about this
woman's
sin
but they
were
soft
on their
own
sins
of human
heartlessness
and religious
hypocrisy
remember
Jesus'
words in
Matthew 11
it will be
better for
Sodom
notorious
for
flagrant
egregious
immorality
sodomy
it will be
better for
Sodom
than for
covenant
privilege
Capernaum
on the
day of
judgment
beware of
being strict
about other
people's
sins
and soft
about your
own sins
remember
Jesus spoke
about people
who are
very acutely
observant
at seeing
specks
in other
people
that they
are blind
to the
sins
in their
own
life
and Jesus
gives this
comedic
word picture
of someone
with a
big tree
sticking out
of their
eye
and saying
to someone
I think
there's a
little speck
somewhere in
your eye
you need to
help me
get it
out
there's
this big
tree
sticking out
of their
eye
we're meant
to see
the absurdity
of it
it's much
easier to
see the
sins of
others
than to
see your
own
sins
to be
strict
about
other
people's
sins
and
soft
and
your
own
beware
of
that
and the
last
thing
never
forget
whoever
it is
you meet
that Jesus
Christ came
into the
world
not to
condemn
the
world
but to
save
the
world
through
himself
John
3
17
I don't
mean you
don't
confront
people
with their
sin
I don't
mean that
I don't
mean you
don't tell
people that
the wages
of sin
is death
I don't
mean you
don't tell
people that
there is a
way that
seems right
to a man
that the
end thereof
is the
way of
death
I don't
mean any
of that
of course
you do
what people
hear from
your
lips
and see
from your
eyes
is very
important
Thomas
Boston
whom some
of you
will have
heard of
early
18th
century
Scottish
minister
one of
the truly
great
men
produced
by the
Scottish
Church
he tells
us
that he
stumbled
across a
book one
day
that
transformed
his
ministry
and he
used a
word
that struck
me when
I first
read it
40 years
ago
his
memoirs
of Thomas
Boston
he said
I read
this book
and it
brought
a certain
tincture
to my
ministry
you know
what a
tincture
is
you drop
a little
tincture
of say
iodine
into a
solution
and it
impregnates
and suffuses
the solution
and changes
its colour
he says
I read
a book
and it
brought
a new
dimension
a new
fragrance
a new
pervasiveness
to my
preaching
and it
was simply
this
he read
a book
that said
the gospel
of Jesus
Christ
is
principally
about a
God
who is
rich in
mercy
who is
slow to
anger
and who
abounds
in
kindness
and mercy
Moses
one day
prayed
to God
Exodus
33
Lord
show me
your
glory
and in
chapter
34
of
Exodus
the
Lord
hides
Moses
in the
cleft
of a
rock
and the
Lord
causes
all his
goodness
to pass
before him
it's a
theophany
and as
he passes
by Moses
he speaks
so what
is Moses
asked
show me
your
glory
and the
Lord
speaks
and he
says
you want
to see
my
glory
let me
tell you
about my
glory
what are
the first
words the
Lord
speaks
the
Lord
Yahweh
the living
one
rich in
mercy
and slow
to anger
yes he
will by
no means
clear the
guilty
absolutely
but what's
the first
thing
Yahweh
rich in
mercy
get your
head round
that
Moses
rich
in
mercy
so
an
adulterous
woman
who
discovered
unfathomable
grace
and a
merciful
savior
you