day 23: daily grace

"the teachers of the law and the pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. they made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, 'teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. in the law moses commanded us to stone such women. now what do you say?'"

john 8:3-5

if this story is familiar to you, you know that you need to read more than just verses 3 thru 5 in order to get the whole picture. Jesus is in the temple, teaching to the crowds that joined him. the pharisees bring in a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. (can you imagine how she must feel at that point?) they point out that the law of moses commands them to stone a woman for such a sin and ask Jesus what they should do. john reports that Jesus doesn't respond but stoops down and begins writing on the ground. (what could he have been writing?) the persist in asking Jesus what should be done so Jesus stands up. they are expecting him to either command them to stone her (which would get him in trouble - the romans do not allow the jews to carry out their own executions), or to let her go (a violation of moses' law). his response is unexpected and amazing. "he who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her" (john 3: 7). with these words Jesus not only avoids the tests of the Pharisees, but he offers an important point in his teaching. he makes a statement about judging others. it doesn't end here, as we know. he stoops down again to write on the ground. (what is he writing???) one by one, the pharisees leave the temple and eventually the woman is left alone with Jesus. what could possibly be running through her mind at this point? is she feeling relieved that the pharisees will not stone her? or is she feeling even worse now left with Jesus? again, he speaks with words quite different than we would find ourselves saying. he asks the woman where the men went, did no one condemn her? she says, "no one, Lord." Jesus speaks with grace, "i do not condemn you either. go. from now on sin no more."

upon first reading this it is easy to feel like we have just seen a really good movie, where the good guy wins. we look at the pharisees and think of them as jerks who dragged the woman to the temple and then left as cowards when they realized they are full of sin too. we don't initially relate to the pharisees, but we should. i look at my own life and think, well i have never put someone on the spot like that for their sins or wrongdoings. maybe not but have i never judged someone and considered myself better than them? when someone i know is struggling, even with sin, do i hurt them more (not literally dragging them out in public, of course) or do i help them?

these verses speak against judging others and not being hypocritical, but it doesn't end there. Jesus offers the adulterous woman grace. He does not condemn her. He encourages her to go on and sin no more. grace provides hope, fills us with thankfulness, and calls us to obey.

for a long time grace was just a "Christian" word that i knew from church and sunday school. i have talked about grace and used it in sentences. but i didn't fully grasp it, understand it, or realize what it means in my life until more recently. i don't realize how much i need grace, how much my life depends on it, often enough. "the more we are aware of our sinfulness, the more we will be aware of God's grace." i am sinful. i have made, and continue to make, a lot of mistakes. i often try to correct my mistakes on my own - i do what it takes to right the wrong, to amend a relationship, to fix what i have broken. there is nothing i can do to atone for my sins. but the good news is that i don't have to, Jesus already did.

no matter what i have done, God's grace is greater. how much does God love me? as much as He loves Jesus.

Lord, continue to teach me about grace and make me more aware of how much i need your amazing grace.