the option of mercy and love

Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?” They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” (John 7:53-8:11 NLT)Jesus encounters a woman caught in the act of adultery and those who bring her to Jesus want to see what Jesus will say.  If he says “Kill her” they will say, “Well, what about your message of love?  You’re as mean as anybody else.”  If he says, “Let her go”, they will say “Aha, you’re a lawbreaker after all.” 

He, as he always did, saw a third option – the option of mercy and love.  He said, “Let the one who is without sin cast the first stone.” 

No answer to that, of course.  Whoever would be audacious to cast the first stone would surely be looked down on by the others for pretending he was perfect.

Mercy. That is what Jesus was saying.

Yes, she was wrong. Yes, she disobeyed the law. Yes, she was guilty. Yes, she deserved to die.

But who is judging here? Is it the job of those who were surrounding this probably naked young woman, trying not to leer at her and trying hard to look righteous, was it their job to judge her?

No. And Jesus tells them this.

That doesn’t mean you put up with sin. And it doesn’t mean you let everybody do what they want anytime they feel like it in the name of mercy.

The apostle Paul also said, in Romans 13: Anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you. The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God’s servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong. So you must submit to them, not only to avoid punishment, but also to keep a clear conscience.

So how does that jibe with what Jesus said?

Jesus said that it is not your job to judge. He was speaking, first of all, to a group of men who were trying to trick him. Not an easy thing to do. And second, he was trying to show them the idea of compassion. Also not easy when the bloodlust is up, when the lynch mob has the knot already tied in the rope.

Of course, no one wanted to admit to being perfect, so they left.

And we are not either. Our job is not judging, but loving. Sometimes, of course, love demands that we do something about a situation, but this was not done in love. It was done in plain old meanness.

Jesus doesn’t deal in that.

Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples. (John 13:35)