Psalm 85: 1											Rev. S. de Marie
Psalm 145: 4
Psalm 86: 1, 3
Psalm 51: 1, 2								Reading:	Luke 6: 27-42
Psalm 51: 3, 4								Text:		John 8: 3-11

Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ!
As believers, we may live from the forgiveness of sin. But that does not mean that we are completely free from sin. That is no small matter. That will have to bring us to the sacrifice of Christ over and over again, and our prayer for the Holy Spirit. A fight is still needed against the sin that remains in us. That applies to all of us.
But what if you notice a serious sin in someone else in the church? A brother or sister commits a public sin. How do you deal with that? Do you ignore him or her? Do you slight him or her because you do not want contact with a sinner? Or will you rely on what you have heard and will you explain to the brother or sister what is wrong and how God will punish it? Congregation, how do you approach that brother or sister? The Lord Jesus teaches us this in our text.
I may proclaim God's Word to you from John 8 under the theme:

The Lord Jesus did not come to earth to judge the world but to save it.
1. Jesus rejects unauthorized judgement
2. Jesus points out sins
3. Jesus gives the presence of grace

1. The story John records here concerns a woman caught, red-handed, in adultery. She makes love to someone who is not her husband. The scribes and Pharisees take her to Jesus. That in itself is remarkable. For how did the scribes and Pharisees see Jesus? While crowds follow Jesus in admiration for what he does, they already have plans to kill Him! The Lord knows that, as we read in Chapter 7: 1. Not only the Pharisees but also among the people there are all those who want to seize Him. Chapter 7:44. They regard Him as a deceiver of the people. But they also do not have a good word to say about the people themselves:
"But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed" (Chapter 7:49).
They consider themselves pious and acceptable to God. But the common people who do not follow them, but go after Jesus, are lost under God's judgement.
Congregation, what devilish thinking control these pious church people! This is why they now come to Jesus. They are out to silence Him. They want to make Him say something that they can accuse Him of. Verse 6. If He argued against the law of Moses, yes, then they would have Him. That is how the devil works here in their hearts, to stop the preaching of Jesus. To block His work of redemption.
It's a very cunning plan. They have caught a woman red-handed in a public sin and are taking her to Jesus. It is early but Jesus is already busy with his teaching in the temple. Thus they bring her, before the eyes of all who were listening. Everyone can clearly see her. And everyone can now also hear what the Master will answer. This woman has committed a serious sin. That is clear to everyone. But the devilish thing is, the Pharisees do not care for the woman. Her welfare, her salvation does not interest them at all. Their purpose is quite different from stirring her to repentance. No, they misuse this woman to trap the Lord Jesus, in order to eliminate Him. Disgusting!
They probably think the Lord will want to condone her sin and just let her walk away. Doesn't he eat with sinners and tax collectors? What does He now know about the seriousness of sin? They hoped that Jesus would let this woman go free and not be stoned as Moses prescribed. But then He would publicly break the law. And that, for such a serious sin. Then he would nicely fall into the trap. And then his sweet talks of mercy and love will become completely discredited. And as for the fate of the woman, they couldn't care less. She belonged to that "accursed people that know not the law"?
Congregation, how active the devil is here! In the church! Now when they bring her before Jesus into the circle of his hearers, they say, verse 4:
Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act;
Now Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stoned;
But what do You say?”
They put Moses next to Jesus: “Moses says that we must stone her, but what do you say? How will the Lord Jesus answer this?  Well, the Lord Jesus, who also knows the hearts of these people, does not answer at all, at first! He even turns His face and attention away from them. He bends down and writes something on the ground with His finger. Thus the Lord Jesus takes the attitude of one who withdraws!
 What He exactly wrote on the ground, we do not know. Evidently that is not important. He will do it again later. But even then, it is not mentioned. Evidently the only important thing is that He writes on the ground. In so doing, Jesus silently expresses His utter bafflement at this devilish action. He will not participate in something like this.
Because this is violation, overthrowing what God meant by his covenant law. They wanted to get rid of Him, the Redeemer of His people. In this way they oppose God Himself. But Jesus distances himself from this. He does not participate in this. But the scribes and Pharisees persistently insist. Then Jesus gets up again and addresses them briefly and clearly:
He who is without sin among you, let him cast a stone at her first.
What is the significance of that? We will talk more about that later. But first this: who is actually authorized to convict, who is allowed to convict?
By being silent and by what He is saying now, Jesus makes it clear that these scribes and Pharisees are not qualified to make that judgement. They are not allowed to make any pronouncement on this matter.
The Lord Jesus certainly does not want to break the law of Moses. He does not want to set that law aside either. He Himself has always kept this law as the Word of God. To its letter and Spirit. Now the law says, that is, the content of the books of Moses,  that an adulterous woman is to suffer the penalty of stoning if her sin has been proven. But that must be pronounced by the competent judge, that is, the priest. Only the priest may, because of his office, proceed to the judgement, the sentence and the execution thereof. Yes, the priest himself is also a sinner. But he does act on behalf of God, who judges. Every brother or sister in the church who is not qualified must look to his own sins and not judge the other. These Pharisees are not qualified, on the contrary they are totally unsuitable as judges.
But congregation, what does this tell us? Are you not allowed to judge the actions of your fellow brother or sister? Now, in that question, let us include the word of the Lord from Luke 6. We read there 6:37:
“Judge not and you shall not be judged.
Condemn not and you shall not be condemned.”
The words of the Sermon on the Mount were mainly spoken to Jesus' own disciples. “Judge not”, it says there. It actually means, "stop judging." Stop judging one another as brothers and sisters.
That is also: also stop speaking ill about someone else. The LORD forbids unauthorized judgement, as occurs with meddling, if you want to interfere in other people's affairs. Because that is speaking evil. Calvin calls this in his commentary a “morbid quality that is innate to almost all people”.
In that wrong judgement you are easily indulgent to yourself; you don't see your own sins, but you take pleasure in pointing out faults in another. Then it can come to the point that you think evil of one another. You do not want to judge and speak favourably about the other. But you'd rather give yourself a license to speak ill of others.
But congregation, that is precisely contrary to the law of love, which the Lord Christ teaches us in his Sermon on the Mount. In it, Jesus teaches you to value the other. To always defend and uphold the name of your neighbour.
So this is not about distinguishing between good and evil. That is always necessary. But if you see evil in your neighbour, you should address him in the way of Matthew 18 and, if necessary, admonish them. And with public sins you will pray for the other. In any case, by your addressing and admonishing, you will want to serve the salvation of the other. You will want to show that you care about the other in love.
The prohibition to judge in the Sermon on the Mount refers to unauthorized and merciless judgements, pride judgements, where you consider yourself better than the other. Congregation that is not nothing. That will provoke God's wrath!
He who is without sin among you, let him cast a stone at her first
In saying this, Jesus makes it clear that He rejects those who are without mercy, unloving, haughty, and make unauthorized judgement. Although He does not specifically state this, it resonates with what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, Matt 7: 2:
for with what judgement you judge, you will be judged,
and what measure you use, it will be measured back to you.
In other words, pay attention to your own sins when you think you have to judge someone else. Words of the Lord Jesus which concern each of us, personally.
  
2. The Lord Jesus did not come to earth to judge the world but to save it. 1. Jesus rejects unauthorized judgement. 2. Jesus points out sins.
After the words of Jesus to the Pharisees it becomes quiet. His penetrating words have an effect. They are full of authority and penetrate deep into their hearts. But then Jesus is silent again, still baffled by their diabolical and hateful action. Jesus bends down again, and again writes on the ground. In this way Jesus avoids the discussion of what He has said. The Pharisees and scribes now realize that they have not been able to trap the Lord. His words are not against the law, but uphold the law. Because Jesus even talks about stoning.
But Jesus especially touches them deeply by making them realize their own sinfulness and with that: their incompetence. They can't deny this, can they? Their conscience does not allow this. And then, they leave, one by one. The oldest, who may still have the best self-insight, goes first, and the rest follow.
He who is without sin among you, let him cast a stone at her first.
Congregation, that applies to everyone, is there anyone without sin?
But what if you see someone else sin? Or if you are convinced that the other person is committing sin. Yes, the scribes and Pharisees, because of their blindness, were incapable of merciful judgement. They didn't care about the woman. But that does not apply to every believer?
Well, congregation, with this question we have to go back to the Sermon on the Mount. If you want to look for the good in another, but yet, come across something that is really sinful. Then you must warn the other, and call for repentance? James even says in chapter 5:19:
Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone brings him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner back from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.
How do we apply this? We listen to another word from the Lord for this, Luke. 6:42:
First take the beam out of your own eye then you will be able to see well
to take out the mote that is in your brother's eye
So first remove the beam from your own eye. That is, take care of yourself first. Put away your own sins first. Especially the sins of pride. Feeling that you have sinned as much as the other. The sins of not wanting to be addressed on your flaws, shortcomings and sins. Get rid of that first.
In concrete terms, this means: pray for the discovery of your own sins. And then first flee to Christ with your own sins. Confess your sins and ask for forgiveness. And then have a humble attitude towards the other, while you consider your own self.
But if you have confessed your own sins, don't stop there. The Lord Jesus does not say, just watch out for yourself, closing your eyes to his or her sins. No, go to your brother or sister, but do so knowing your own humiliation, with the right attitude of meekness. Then position yourself in such a way that you will be able to win the other to Christ. You must pray for that too, for the help of the Holy Spirit.
Without that beam in your own eye, you can clearly see how things are going with him or her, in order to remove the splinter that is in your brother's eye. That also means here: take into account that your brother or sister is a child of the LORD, who, just like you, must live by grace. And help him or her so rightly, Not judgemental. But reproving, in a spirit of meekness.
Paul says this also in Gal. 6: 1:
Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.
No, no stones are involved here. Not figuratively either. But a reproof in meekness. Knowing that you yourself must also live by grace. Grace in Christ. Because you yourself are also sinful, and can also fall.
When all the Pharisees and scribes have disappeared, only then does Jesus stand up again and now he addresses the woman for the first time:
Woman where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you? And she said, no one, Lord. And Jesus said to her, Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.
Remarkably, the Lord is without sin, but He is now also not appointed for judgement. He does not make use of it. Because He did not come to this world for that. He did not come to judge this world, but to save it!
Nor do I condemn you.
A clear message, the judgement of sin belongs to God the Father. And therefore, only to those whom God the Father appoints as judge. But at the same time the Lord says more than that. He does not overlook the sin of the woman. He does not say to the woman: well it is not that bad with you, you must have meant it differently. No, the Lord does not circumvent sin, but calls sin what it is.
The Lord does not condemn. Nor does he speak of forgiveness given. The woman is not asking for this.  It is clear to the Lord that this woman has indeed sinned. He does not pass over that quickly. No, He says:
sin no more.
He the Lord, the Christ, is after restoration. He wants to see repentance and the fight against sin. Like the LORD God says in Ezekiel 18:23:
“Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die”, says the LORD God,  “and not that he should turn from his ways and live?”
Brothers and sisters, see how gracious and just the Lord Jesus speaks here. He shows her the way that leads to life, the way of conversion. That is different from the way of condemnation.
But also different from the way of wrong tolerance. Let us imitate the Lord at this point when dealing with sin in the congregation.

3. The Lord Jesus did not come to the earth to judge the world but to save it. We saw first. Jesus rejects unauthorized judgement. And secondly, Jesus points out sin. We now see as the last point Jesus gives the presence of grace.
The Lord Jesus is the only One who is without sin. Yet He tells the woman: neither do I condemn you. In another place the Lord says more on this matter.
Namely John 12:47. There He speaks of someone who does not believe in Him. He says:
I do not judge him; For I have not come to condemn the world but to save the world.
The Lord was not a judge while He was on earth, He was sent as a redeemer to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). To give His life for all who believe in Him.
In the Old Testament, the Law of Moses pointed to the need for His coming and His work as a Saviour. The people were pushed, by the law, to the Messiah, the Christ. The law made it clear that God's people always commit sins, and so always deserve death. The law revealed sin and misery.
In the OT the death penalty was the sign of how great the misery was, as a result of sin. But while sin then had to be pointed out and punished, the sinner could still be saved. He or she could also ask for forgiveness in the Old Testament. To this end a sacrificial lamb or some other healthy animal had to be offered, pointing to the sacrifice of Christ. Also in the Old Testament with its foreshadowing customs and punishments, people were allowed to live out of the grace of Christ that was yet to come.
And now here Christ has come to earth. Not as an avenger of all iniquity but as the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. That is exactly what Christ wants to show publicly to this woman and the people. In this way He indicates to the woman that she may live in the presence of grace. That her sin, even her serious sin against the seventh commandment, may be forgiven her. For the Messiah does not condemn her.
Then she will have to be aware of this sin. She must therefore confess it before God as sin against Him. And she will have to ask God for forgiveness. But now she already knows that the Messiah, whom she calls “Lord,” has not rejected her.
Jesus says to her: Sin no more: Make sure that sin no longer controls you. But surrender yourself to God the Father. No, the Lord does not condemn. He gives room for conversion!
Brothers and sisters, our Lord, as our Redeemer, also wants to give us space for our conversion. Every day. He works on that through Word and Spirit. He calls you to this in every worship service and in the opening of His Word. To believe, that is, to receive Him as Redeemer and Savior. And to be converted to Him. That is, to let His Spirit work in you. By His Spirit you can feel sad about your sins and want to fight against them in His strength. Through His Spirit you regain the desire and love to live in covenant fellowship with God, from His promises and according to His laws.
The Lord Christ has moved on after this encounter. Through His sacrifice He has made atonement so that there is plenty of room for us to live with and out of forgiveness. There is still a presence of grace. That is true even for everyone in the church and outside the church.
While this faith is our steadfastness in our life on earth, let us uphold each other to this. Especially when you discover a serious sin in someone else. Do not judge the other person, do not ignore him or her. But show, with mercy, that there is a presence of grace under an open heaven. Help your brother or sister to see that.
In this way you show that you have understood how you yourself may live by God's grace. Yes, then you have noticed God's grace in your own life! That is also what Jesus teaches us here.
Congregation, Christ is still busy with his redemption. There is still a presence of grace. But one day He will return as a judge to judge the living and the dead. Now it is still a presence of grace. Soon when He comes back it will be too late.
Yes, thank God now there is another presence of grace. Let that be the rule in order to discover and confess our own sins in the first place. Let that also rule our call to others. Then we will say: repent and go to the Lord Jesus Christ. Is he not your Savior? He has paid.  He is now only asking you to sincerely confess your sins. Go to Him and seek the assistance of the Holy Spirit.
Then, for yourself and for others, what Isaiah already prophesied will be reality (Isaiah 1:18):
Though your sins were like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become as wool.
Amen