OH, THE PLACES YOU’LL GO SERIES1
16 July 2017
I. Introduction
-- this
evening we’re starting a new sermon series called, “Oh, The Places You’ll Go”
-- you probably recognized the title from the book by Dr. Seuss -- so let’s
begin by listening to just the first part of the book
Oh, the Places You'll Go!
by Dr. Seuss
“Congratulations! Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places! You're off and away!
“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.
“You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.
“And you may not find any you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course, you'll head straight out of town.
“It's opener there in the wide open air.
Out there things can happen and frequently do
to people as brainy and footsy as you.
“And then things start to happen, don't worry. Don't stew.
Just go right along. You'll start happening too.
“OH! THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!”
-- this
book by Dr. Seuss has become a common graduation gift -- we give it to our
young men and women as they’re graduating high school and heading out to begin
life -- it’s a reminder that life begins with going -- it’s a reminder that our
lives are journeys into the unknown -- there are paths that will lead us to
greatness and to great things -- and there are paths that will lead us into
dark and scary places -- but the message is to trust yourself -- to trust your
instincts and your education and your experience and to go -- to take that first
step and begin this journey of life
-- this
is a message that we hear repeated in the Bible, as well -- throughout
scripture, we hear the word of God proclaimed to us to “Go” -- but we have a
problem in our churches and in our Christian lives -- too often, we hear the
word of God commanding us to “Go,” but we never take that step -- we never
begin that journey -- and our spiritual lives never take off -- we don’t grow
in grace and the knowledge of God and the streams of Living Water becomes a
stagnant cistern in our souls
-- so
over the next several weeks, we’re going to be looking at some of the commands
from God to “Go” and commit ourselves to actually stepping out in faith and
doing what He has commanded
II. Scripture Lesson (John 8:1-11)
-- we’re
going to begin this series by looking at a familiar passage in John -- John
8:1-11 -- the story of the adulterous woman
-- if
you would, please join me in John 8 and let’s look at this story together --
let’s back up and begin with the last verse in Chapter 7
7:53 Then they all went home, 8:1 but Jesus
went to the Mount of Olives. 2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts,
where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The
teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery.
They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman
was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone
such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in
order to have a basis for accusing him.
-- so
here we have the setting -- Jesus has spent the night on the Mount of Olives,
and now He is back in the temple courts teaching as He has been doing for some
time now -- He is surrounded by a great crowd of people who are all gathered
around Him and are listening intently
-- when,
suddenly, a disturbance begins at the back of the crowd -- a group of Pharisees
and teachers of the law force their way through the crowd, dragging a woman by
the arm -- they go right up to the front -- right in front of Jesus -- and
shove her into His face and crow, “Teacher” -- that’s sarcasm, if you didn’t
get it -- they call Him “Teacher,” but they don’t accept His teachings
--
“Teacher,” they say. “this woman was caught in the act of adultery -- the Law
says she must be stoned -- now what do you say?”
-- a
trap, pure and simple -- these men did not care about the holiness of the Law
-- their concern was not over a sin committed -- their concern was Jesus --
they were seeking a way to trap Him and force Him to act in a way they could
use against Him
-- the
Law was clear -- a woman caught in adultery was to be stoned -- they were right
-- but if Jesus condemned the woman and commanded her to be stoned, He would be
facing several problems -- first, His credibility -- His authority -- His
compassion and love for the sinner -- would be called into question -- who
could trust Him with their sins from this point forward? --who could trust Him
to speak grace and truth into their lives with love when He reacted so harshly
to this woman, who had obviously been set up by these Pharisees and teachers of
the Law? -- so that’s the first issue
-- the
second problem was one of authority -- the Pharisees had repeatedly questioned
Jesus’ authority, just as they had done with John the Baptist -- Jesus was not
a priest -- He was not part of the Sanhedrin, the ruling council and court of
the people of Israel -- He had no apparent right or authority to condemn
someone to death -- and, without that authority, His pronouncement of a
punishment of stoning would be akin to murder -- so He couldn’t do what they
were requesting, and they knew that -- so that’s the second issue
--
finally, they were setting Him up against the Romans -- remember why the
priests carried Jesus before Pontius Pilate for His trial? -- it was because
they had condemned Jesus to death, but did not have the authority from the
Romans to execute anyone -- if Jesus commanded the woman to be stoned here, He
would be in trouble with the Romans for killing someone without authority
-- so
the trap is set -- and it looks like is Jesus is boxed in -- here He is --
confronted with an obvious sinner -- someone caught in the act -- someone with
no defense -- her sin was obvious and irrefutable -- and the Law was clear --
the penalty for this sin was death -- so what was Jesus to do?
-- look
at the second part of verse 6
6b But Jesus bent down and started to write
on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he
straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the
first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the
ground.
-- He
bent down and wrote with His finger in the dirt -- confronted with an angry mob
with the Law on their side -- intent on trapping Him and forcing His hand --
Jesus didn’t say a word -- He simply bent down, and wrote on the ground
-- the
Pharisees and the teachers of the law stood there, staring, as Jesus wrote --
was He just buying time? -- was He just collecting His thoughts? -- they
questioned Him again -- “What should we do with this woman?”
-- He
straightened up and looked them in the eyes and said, “If any one of you is
without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her” -- and then He
stooped down, and began to write on the ground again
-- what
did Jesus write? -- this is one of the greatest mysteries of all time -- you
know, this is the only recorded instance of Jesus writing in the entire New
Testament -- and He wrote on a temporary medium -- He wrote in the dirt --
which time and nature would erase within a matter of days, if not before --
what did Jesus write? -- we don’t know, but the people who were there with Him
that day knew
-- in
all likelihood, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law hadn’t paid any
attention to what Jesus was writing the first time He bent down -- their eyes
were on Him, waiting for Him to respond -- waiting for Him to speak
-- but
now, having stooped down and beginning to write again, I am sure their eyes
were drawn to the words on the ground -- what do you think was written there?
-- most
people have suggested that Jesus wrote the personal sins of the accusers on the
ground -- that as the words of Jesus, “Let he who is without sin cast the first
stone,” reverberated in their ears, their eyes would have seen their own sins
written in the dust for all to see
-- as
Barclay points out, this is probably the case -- the normal Greek word used for
the term, “to write” is graphein --
but here in this passage, John used the word, katagraphein, which can mean to write down a record against someone2
--
whatever was written there, it affected them greatly
-- verse
9
9 At this, those who heard began to go away
one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman
still standing there.
-- the
accusing mob began to break up -- the men began to go away -- it is telling
that the older ones left first -- those who had lived a lifetime trying to live
up to the standards of the Law, but failing -- those who, as David wrote in
Psalm 51:3, knew their transgressions, and whose sins were always before them
-- for try as they might, they could not live a sin-free life -- they could not
fulfill the Law and its righteous demands
-- and,
assuming they saw their own sins written in the dust before their feet, they
recognized their own guilt and the punishment due them -- and so they left
first, followed by the younger men, one by one, until no one was left standing
there expect Jesus and the adulterous, sinful woman
-- verse
10
10 Jesus straightened up and asked her,
“Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11 “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do
I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
-- “Where
are they?” He asked. “Has no condemned you?”
-- those
who had condemned -- those who had judged the woman -- were gone -- and without
at least two witnesses, the Law clearly stated that no accusation could be
brought -- the immediate threat of punishment through the Law was lifted
-- “No
one, sir.”
-- but
the woman knew her sin -- it was obvious to her -- and it was obvious to Jesus
-- the question still hung in the air unanswered -- what would Jesus do with
this sinner?
-- with
His words, Jesus pronounced judgment -- “Then neither do I condemn you.”
-- let’s
not forget why Jesus came -- the reason He chose to leave His heavenly home to
be born of a woman and live among us -- we all know John 3:16, “For God so
loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth
in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
-- but,
too often, we forget the next verse -- John 3:17, “For God did not send His Son
into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him”
-- when
Jesus declared to the woman, “Then neither do I condemn you,” He was
proclaiming His mission -- not to condemn, but to save the world -- to offer
salvation to those who believed in His name -- who trusted in Him for the
forgiveness of sins
-- some
would argue that Jesus just discounted her sin here -- that He didn’t fulfill
the requirements of the Law when He refused to enact the punishment due her
-- but
that’s not true -- her sin was forgiven, but not wiped away -- it was
transferred, from her to Him -- and Jesus took it to the cross where the
penalty was paid -- as it says in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “God made Him who had no
sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God”
-- the
woman was not condemned because Jesus took the condemnation on Himself
-- at
the end of this passage, Jesus gives the woman -- and us -- her “Go” command:
“Go now, and leave your life of sin”
-- other
translations put this as Jesus saying, “Go and sin no more,” but I think the
NIV has the intent of this declaration of Jesus correct here -- to leave a life
of sin implies an act of repentance and of faith -- a change in attitude and
belief -- a change in allegiance from bondage to sin and death to new life
through Christ
-- Jesus
addressed the two greatest needs in humanity -- forgiveness and a challenge to
holiness3
-- as
Chris Benfield wrote: “She had been delivered from her sin and she was expected
to live a life that honored the Lord. That isn’t to say that He expected her to
live without sin, but that she was to seek the righteousness of God. She was no
longer to willfully seek sin. Her life was to reflect the One who had
forgiven.”
-- the
adulterous woman had been given a do-over -- a second chance -- a new beginning
-- a clean slate -- and now Jesus commands her, and us, to “Go” and leave our
lives of sin
III. Closing
-- too many Christians have
bought into the lie of Satan that we cannot live lives free of sin -- that we
have no choice but to sin -- that it’s just part of being a human
-- and,
like all that Satan tells us, there is some truth to that -- we do still have
this sin nature within us -- the old flesh -- the old man, as Paul called it --
that same bent towards sin that we inherited from Adam and Eve
-- but
just because this old sin nature is still within us, that doesn’t mean we have
to follow that sin nature any longer -- that is the lie that Satan tells us --
that is the lie so many Christians have believed
-- let
me read 1 Corinthians 10:11-13 for you
11 These things happened to them as examples
and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages
has come. 12 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t
fall! 13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And
God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But
when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
-- do you see what that said? -- in every temptation, God
has provided a way out so we can stand up under it -- we don’t have to sin --
we can choose the way out that God has provided
-- in
his epistles to the early church, John pointed out that he was writing his
letters so that the Christians could choose not to sin -- 1 John 2: 1 -- “My
dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin” -- sin is not a
certainty -- sin is a choice -- we don’t have to sin, we can choose not to sin
-- but
how? -- how is this possible? -- how was it possible for the adulterous woman
to leave her life of sin and to sin no more? -- because of the death of Christ
on the cross and the power of the Holy Spirit within us
-- let
me share with you two passages that make this clear, and then we’ll close
1 Thessalonians 5:22-24 (NIV)
22 Avoid every kind of evil.
23 May God himself, the God of peace,
sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept
blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 The one who calls you is faithful and
he will do it.
Jude 1:24-25 (NIV)
24 To him who is able to keep you from
falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with
great joy--
25 to the only God our Savior be glory,
majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages,
now and forevermore! Amen.
-- do
you see what these passages are saying? -- God Himself will keep us from
falling -- God Himself will sanctify us through and through -- God Himself will
keep us from sin -- if...if...
-- if we
trust in Him -- if we have faith in His power and strength in our lives -- if
we really want to be free from sin
-- it’s
a choice -- it’s a choice between continuing to live in sin or to “Go, and sin
no more” -- to “Go, and leave our lives of sin behind”
-- so,
as we close tonight, remember this command of Jesus and the places we will go
through Him -- if you trust Him -- if you have faith in Him and in His Spirit
to bear you up when tempted -- if you trust that He has the power to keep you
from falling and to sanctify you and keep you blameless until His return --
then go with Him, just as the adulterous woman did
-- “Go,
and sin no more”
-- let
us pray
---------------------------------------------
1 Series idea and title borrowed from Eric Bryant,
Gateway Church, Austin, TX [http://www.ericbryant.org/]
2 William Barclay, Commentary on John
3 http://archives.calvarymurrieta.com/brian/studies-books/new-testament/43-john/43-john-007-040-09.pdf
No comments:
Post a Comment