Stones

-Written by Joy Gilman-

She was pulled from her lover's bed, naked except for perhaps a blanket grasped in haste. Her shrieks were heard by curious onlookers who watched from windowsills as she was dragged through the village by a group of religious leaders and devout pharisees. The men brought their accused to the feet of Jesus and demanded He determine what should be done. According to Jewish law, a person guilty of committing adultery was to be stoned to death. They were using this woman as a ploy to trap Jesus into either dismissing the Jewish law or deeming the woman worthy of death. They were not prepared for what came next.

"'All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!'... 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 8 : 7-11 NLT

In that moment Jesus made it clear that He was far more interested in redeeming the lost than condemning them. But it wasn't just the woman who needed redemption. Before the men could cast a stone, they had to first take a quiet inventory of their own lives. A call to honest self-reflection is a powerful tool employed by our Creator. An acute moment of clarity can change everything in a human heart. It can bring us to our knees and to the feet of the Almighty. Perhaps that is what occurred in the hearts of those men. Perhaps they recognized their own need of saving. Nevertheless, one by one the stones were dropped. One by one, a man was pulled away from pious judgment and perhaps towards a Savior.

For the adulterous woman, a call to private self-reflection was unnecessary. Her transgressions were on public display for all to see. If perfection was the prerequisite for casting a stone, Jesus was the only one qualified for the job. And yet He refrains. Instead He offered the woman unmerited mercy. His gracious words to "sin no more" were all that was needed to change the trajectory of her existence. His mercy moved her to abandon her forbidden affair and to become one of Jesus' most devoted followers - Mary Magdalene. Truly mercy triumphs over judgment.

Recommended reading:

John 8: 1-11

Matthew 9: 9-13

Matthew 7: 1-6