“When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.”(John 8:10-11, KJV)
It
seems that it is easy to throw stones at offenders of our norms than it
is to mend our own fences and hide our own nakedness. Of course, that
should not be a surprise because the benefits of stoning others
especially when they are on the wrong side of the law and “condemned”
are obvious.It does not only feel great and fulfilling to do so because it feeds our animalistic sadistic craving for carnival, but more importantly it temporarily covers our own criminal nakedness.
The more zealous we appear in purging out the “evil” from others and our society in general, the more saintly we appear to onlookers and the least suspected we stand in the arena of evil. It is that simple!
Sin Catches Up With Us
However,
when everything is said and done we must all come to the confession
that none of us is smarter than our sins! Put it in another shape, this
is what we are saying: whoever you are, whatever you do, however you do it and wherever it be always remember that “your sin will find you out.” (Numbers 32:23, KJV) or as The Message Bible puts it, "you can be sure that your sin will track you down"(The Message)By now, some of you are perhaps already wondering where I got that insight from. Well, I got it from that Big Book they call the Bible—the Holy Scriptures for the Christian community. To my Hindu friends that would be an equivalent of the Vedas.
Without making much ado, let’s go to John 8 in that book—the Bible.
There is Always a Time to Be Caught
In that part of the book, runs a story of a certain “fortunate” unnamed woman who was caught in adultery and the church of the day through its boards and councils had voted not just to excommunicate but to execute her by stoning.I consider this woman as “fortunate” because she lived to tell her ordeal after grace surprised her—she cheated death by simply sitting at the feet of that radical Rabbi who was very unpopular among his fellow Rabbis of the day, Jesus.
“Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?”(John 8:4, 5), so went the drama.
And the Master (JESUS) responded:
“He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her” (verse 7).
“And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.”
A strange icy silence greeted His ears even as one by one the “holy” men and women of the church left; speechless and dumbfounded. And that was the end of the game.
Meanwhile, Jesus turned to the woman and asked her “Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?”(v.10).
One can imagine the woman raising her head for the first time— after a long time of keeping it droopy out of shame and fear—turning her eyes to see those “accusers” who ripped her reputation apart and assassinated her character only to find nobody!
Where are those accusers of mine? Woot! Gone? She could hardly believe it. But it was too real to deny at the same time! And so she tremblingly but hopefully cries out:
“No man, Lord” (verse11)
And my HERO says, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more” (v.11).
The rest is amazing grace in action. Go read it for yourself but I am contented to stop here and say this:
John 8 a Microcosm of the Final Judgment Day
Thinking about this episode in the gospels sets my mind into wild motions. Does it not sound like a microcosm of the grand final judgment day my Muslim friend would call “Yawmud-Deen” or Yawmul-Qiyamah? Sometimes it chills my blood with fear to imagine that sure it does.It disturbs me even as it fascinates me to notice that the church was too busy to save its face and protect its name, reputation and image in society to the point where it was ready to stone its own wounded ones while JESUS, the supposed Master and Head of the Church, seems least concerned about His reputation and the image of His Kingdom than He was with the safety of the hopeless woman smelling of sin!
Could it be that somebody in the church got it all wrong? If sinners cannot feel safe in the church, where else will they?
It fascinates me to note that “saints” were running away while a “wretched” and hopeless sinner stayed by in the presence of the Holy One of Israel and received her gift of “righteousness” by grace!Could it be that their affiliation to some spiritual community blinded their reason into thinking that they were safe when they were not? It makes me fear that the prophetic words of Jesus who said that “many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.”(Matthew 19:30, KJV) might be fulfilled sooner or later.
Justice Surprises Me
Justice surprises me. They say it is blind and hence it is no respecter of persons.Jesus says you can only stone a sinner if you have not sinned before. In short, what rights have you my “holy” friend to stone me for my sin when you smell the same aroma I do? Do you stone me because you hate sin and you can’t stand it or you stone me because I sin differently than you do and seem to enjoy and thrive in my sin than you do?
Otherwise, I fear that what one woman wrote that human beings “hate the sinner, while they love the sin.[while] Christ hates the sin, but loves the sinner”[1] might be true.
The Resounding Question
Where are those accusers? That was the question. Would this not repeat itself at the final showdown some unknown day when my Hero, the Man the world knows as Jesus would one more time look around in search of my “accusers,” the “brethren” and “sisters” who always donned in robes of white and a holy face as they warmed the front seats in our cathedrals and resound that expository question: Where are those accusers? My gut feelings are that it will.Lord, save us from that great embarrassment day awaiting us yonder someday! Forgive us our hypocrisies in trying to save our faces and please you while we sip of the same cup of iniquity we profess to nib in others.
For I would rather be an unpopular Saint who sides with a sinner than be a regular Sinner who walks in borrowed Saintly robes!
Your Quick Take Home
Lest I spoil your good day and disturb your busy schedule here is my quick take home from the episode:- If you think you are a saint, beware of stoning sinners lest you expose your spiritual “underwear” in public and angels may laugh at you.
- It is not your "holy" zeal that saves a soul. Jesus is. Leave sinners to His care.
- If you are a churchman or woman, remember that God has not appointed you neither as a PRO (public relations Officer) for heaven nor its spin-doctor. Otherwise, angels would be better placed than you are. Your simple duty is to testify to a sinful world the matchless power of grace that can transform a wretched soul like me. Gods know best how to preserve the sanctity of their sacred names and reputations.
- Watch out! as you go about doing your sin business. The best place for sinners like you and me is always at the feet of the Man they call JESUS. “Google” or “bing” for Him and connect to Him on your social site or sign up on His site and begin to follow Him as soon as possible before Hollywood, Bollywood, Nollywood and every “Wood” begins to stone you.
- Otherwise, there is always a time to be caught; a time when your fame has to wane and die. Remember, our astronomers have taught us that even stars fall. You are not an exception. Should you linger longer far and wide from His presence, you may as well curse the day you were born into this world for ours is a treacherous society that can hardly be trusted all the time. You can’t be smart all the time. Tremble and think twice!
I can’t wait for the hour and moment when to all my surprise I shall hear the final whistle and that great declaration from the lips of Him who has the final authority above all authorities (Matthew 28: 18) whose key locks and no one opens and when it opens no one can close my door (Revelation 3:7) even the Man they call JESUS as He shall finally declare me ACQUITTED ONCE FOR ALLand say with a loud voice, go sin no more!
Oh my! My enemies had better got ready for that great showdown for I will proudly look around in search of them. And please, don’t let me ask the angels, where are my accusers gone? I want to see you there when he calls my name! Won’t you? Justice will surprise you!
God bless you!
Jagphiri©2013
http://www.ellenwhite.info/books/ellen-g-white-book-desire-of-ages-da-50.htm (accessed on September 19, 2013)
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