Deflated
Opening Prayer
Lord, Your love silences me. Yet I cannot contain myself. My praise bursts forth.
Read John 8:2-11
[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. 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. [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. [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.” Scripture taken from the THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
How did Jesus silence the Pharisees?On November 11, 2011, a group of armed men in Afghanistan stoned and shot dead a woman and her daughter, accused by the Taliban of “moral deviation and adultery.” Stoning … it’s still happening today. In at least six countries in the world, stoning is a legal punishment for adultery. Here, as the Jewish “church leaders” wait for judgment from Jesus, the tension is palpable. This is not just a dramatic pause for the TV cameras. They, in the first century, and we, in the twenty-first, are genuinely wondering what is going on in Jesus’ mind. Is it uncertainty, anger, prayer? Whichever it is, he is not going to be pressured into an instant reaction. When Jesus’ verdict comes, it’s a shock to everyone. Wonderful for the woman, but shocking to the teachers of the Law. Doubly shocking, in fact, for not only does it mean the woman goes unpunished, but that Jesus believes himself to be God. In Capernaum, the teachers of the Law are similarly shocked when Jesus heals and forgives a paralyzed man: “Only God can forgive sins” they say, horrified (Mark 2:7, CEV). Here, these powerful men bow to Jesus’ judgment–and the woman is given a new lease of life.
Apply
Memorize Jesus’ words: “Whichever one of you has committed no sin may throw the first stone” (John 8:7, GNB).
Closing prayer
Loving God, I am not without sin, but I am Your child. I bless Your holy name.
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Discovery is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.