Mercy Seat

John 7:53-8:11

Then each of them went home, while Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people
came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the
Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, they said to him, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the
very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to
stone such women. Now what do you say?’ They said this to test him, so
that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.

When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, ‘Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’ And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus straightened up and said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, sir.’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.’"

I’ve heard this story many times, and if you are a Christian I’m sure you have too. It brings sin, judgment, hypocrisy, and religiosity to the forefront of our lives in a very dramatic fashion. Sometimes we relate more to the woman, ashamed and accused by our sins and especially by other people before God. We find in Jesus a compassionate voice that makes our accusers go away – and when we fear the worst, forgives us.

And sometimes we are the Pharisees. In our rush to ulterior motives, pride, or to prove ourselves right about something – we can take a person with their sins in a rush to judgment before God forgetting that we are not “without sin” ourselves.

But today, knowing all that and reading this story, something new struck me; the location. Jesus was teaching in the temple. The Pharisees brought the woman before him in the temple. They asked for her to be stoned to death in the temple. Realizing this for the first time ever brought me to say “WHOA!!!”

Why was that? If you will remember, the main temple (and I reckon any subsequent one) had a four sided altar from which each point protruded horns. If someone was accused of any capital crime (especially murder) as long as the person grasped those horns, they were safe, supposed to be protected by the priests. To slay someone while they were grasping these horns and seeking mercy at the altar – and from God – was considered a heinous offense.

So in context of knowing that Christ is our great high priest, and he laid up himself as a sacrifice on the altar for our sins – it’s almost amazing that the Pharisees bring this woman directly to him for judgment. Perhaps if he did not condemn her, then they would arise as being more authoritarian and righteous than he, and perhaps if he did, then he would get in trouble with the roman authorities for inciting a capital punishment at the temple (Jews were prohibited from doing their own capital punishment at that time, that is why Christ had to be captured by and crucified by the Romans on behalf of the Sanhedrin).

Talk about pressure. But day after the day, the devil is like these Pharisees, dragging us before God, accusing us of our sins, and demanding the punishment of death that we certainly deserve. Let us not forget that for her sin of adultery, that woman did indeed deserve to die. It reveals how great God’s mercy is. Christ did not let her go on a whim, he commanded her as God commands us “…from now on do not sin again.”

Yet this command is not a lonely order. Christ wants to walk with each and every one of us to strengthen us, remind us, show us how we don’t have to ever sin again and take us into an eternal life with him and without sin. Christ’s very act of saying “he who is without sin” was a declaration of he was and a prophecy of our salvation and changed state with him in heaven.

Like the woman dragged before him, our situation is dire. But it is hopeless if we don’t heed Christ’s words after being rescued. Paul confirms this in his letter to the Hebrews: “For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him.” (Hebrews 2:2-3)

So judgement is one thing, but living in the freedom and grace of Christ is quite another. I am sure that the woman became one of Christ's followers afterwards. How could she ignore so great a salvation? How indeed, God bless!