Caught!

Imagine the public humiliation, the heaviness of condemnation, the surprise of love, the potential of forgiveness. Read well her story –

John 8:1-11 “Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives…A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?” They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. 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.”

This woman was caught in the act of adultery

She could never have imagined that life would turn out this way, finding herself guilty and on trial before the entire crowd; people stooped in a religion of rules and the burden of harsh judgment on those who broke them. It was a trap she had found herself in. A prearranged trap to trick Jesus, and she was the pawn. How did this happen? How did they know? Were they lying in wait for her to be caught in the very act? She could not have fathomed their cruelty or her humiliation. Did she even have time to dress appropriately before she was dragged through the crowd?

They, the religious, put her in front of the crowd John 8:3 NLT

These are they who Jesus refers to as hypocrites – who constantly sought public approval, and had the pretense of blamelessness.  Those whose private lives and inward nature belied their public statements and appearances. He’d called them, whitewashed tombs Matthew 23:27, that looked beautiful on the outside, but were on the inside, full of the same things, the same sins, they accused her of. She was exposed, made a spectacle of, shamed, by these “religious”. 

They make her stand before the group John 8:3, NIV 

They make her stand. Shame would cause her to hide, not stand. They have to make her stand because her reaction would have been to fall to her knees, to hide her face, her tears, her nakedness, and her very soul that was exposed that day. She would’ve been frantic to find anything to hide her shame – her hands, her bedraggled hair, a shawl (if she were even allowed one), but she was not given the dignity to hide. She was made to stand – and before a cruel crowd! She knew adultery was a serious offense. She didn’t argue or dispute the claim. She was guilty. She had been caught in the very act. Her sin and the charge against her had not been challenged by Jesus. He too knew what she had done. 

The Law of Moses says to stone her

She had broken commandment no.7, “Thou shalt not commit adultery” Exodus 20:14. But perhaps as she stood there, she recalled that the law also said, “If a man commits adultery with his neighbour’s wife, both the man and the woman who have committed adultery must be put to death” Leviticus 20:10. Where was he? Was he part of the trap? Was this man, the one whom she had risked reputation and life for, paid off in return that his name not be disclosed, and that he retain honour in his family and in his community? Was his life is spared? Was this betrayer – her lover – there in the crowd somewhere? Had he the courage to turnup, but remained hidden in the throng of people looking on? Either way, she was alone before the crowd, the judgment of stoning hanging over her head. 

What do you say – Jesus? They kept demanding an answer

The Pharisees, the crowd, even she, standing there humiliated, is curious to know, What do you say, Jesus

A theatre scene unfolds. At least that’s what it would feel like. A play being acted out on a real-life stage, where the actors and the crowd go quiet waiting for the response of the next scene. An obvious silence – an awkward silence ensues – like the One to speak next had lost His lines, had forgotten His cue. But He hadn’t. He was just waiting for all present to hear, really hear, His next line…

Let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone 

The law said that the witness, the one who brings the charge and who has the proof of the crime would be the first to throw the stone, but Jesus adds, “the one who has never sinned”. He was bending down in the dusty streets before this guilty, broken, humiliated woman, and before the crowd, and before all who are there to both accuse her – and to test Him. He knew everyone who was present – their hearts, and their secrets. He knew they too were guilty, caught in their sin.

When the accusers heard this…

The Pharisees, the so-called righteous, the religious leaders, the trappers, all…slipped away until only Jesus was left…only Jesus was left. The only sinless One, the only One with the right to accuse and pass judgment and condemn, the very One who instituted the rules and commandments in establishing this nation of people that she stood in front of…was left. What do you say – Jesus?

Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?

She found herself still standing, alone before Jesus with no one left to sentence her. No one to judge her of her sin. No one to condemn her in her guilt. No one to throw the first stone of punishment at her.  

“No, Lord, she said.”

What do you say – Jesus?

“Neither do I.”

Neither do I? For the first time perhaps she throws her head up to look at him, incredulous! How can her sin be looked over? How can a sinner found guilty of a punishment worthy of death be given a second chance?

Go and sin no more. 

Her shame was removed in that instant. Her life was spared and her honour regained. She was not condemned. She was forgiven! At that moment, no longer was she a woman caught in adultery, she was a woman caught in forgiveness. Caught in love!

Oh my soul, oh my girlfriends, oh humanity, what sin do we find ourselves caught in – guilty like this woman, was guilty? Have we been caught in the act of adultery? Anger? Jealousy? Revenge? Bad choices? Bitterness? Gossip?  Destructive habits? Lies? Theft? Disobedience? Yes! Yes! Yes! We all, are caught in something. “All have sinned” Romans 3:23. All are ruined. “Everyone has turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one” Psalm 53:3.

We, too are exposed – put in front of the crowd –

Before God, “My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes” Jeremiah 16:17. He knows our sin, the intent of our heart, our actions, and our secret thoughts. It cannot be hidden from Him. We are guilty before Him. 

Yet it is He who loves us entirely, and who from the beginning of time has set about to redeem and restore us. He does not condemn us. Yes, He knows our sin, it cannot be hidden from Him, but He does not know it in order to use it against us, or as evidence to judge us, as the religious did to the woman. He came to free us of our ruin and to break the hold that it has had on us, not to judge us for it.

The Law of Moses says, just as the law of our country says, that crime, offenses, wrongdoing, sin, requires punishment. But…what does Jesus say?

Let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone

We are all guilty. All caught in sin. 

only Jesus left  

Oh, this is so significant! Oh, how I love this…only Jesus left! The only One that has the right to condemn, doesn’t!  When all others have had to walk away, they too caught guilty, and we are left standing before Him, He says –

Where are your accusers? 

Where are the people that we feel judged, ashamed and looked down by? Can they even dare judge us – they who do the same things?

What about ourselves? Do we live in the guilt and shame that our own hearts accuse us of?

What about the evil one? “our accuser who accuses us before God both day and night” Job 1:6-11,Revelation 12:10 who would say, Look, did you just see what she did? What are you going to do about that? It’s not the first time she’s done it you know…

But, what does Jesus say?

Neither do I condemn you. 

A story of incredible love. Right from the beginning, when this woman and her sin with its bloodthirsty accusers, was brought to him, He was ready to forgive her. She just didn’t know it, yet. Her world was full of religious rules and her god was too cruel, exacting punishment if she was caught. Her people were the same, with their ever-present and fiercely judicious eyes always on her. And then there was her own accusing heart…she couldn’t find escape from her own guilt! Yet Jesus had never been about placing judgment on her sin, He was there that day to forgive her and set her free. 

The love story of this terrible, but glorious day – oh, the part that makes me laugh in wonder – is that the Pharisees and religious leaders placed her before Jesus. Oh! What an incredible twist! Thinking He was the condemner, the pronouncer of judgment, the One who would declare her guilt and determine her fate, they sought to completely ruin her – using her while they tested Him. Yet they made her stand before the Lover of her soul. What better place could she have been made to stand? Here there was no condemnation. No reinforcing her shame. Here there was love. Here there was forgiveness. It was the best thing they could have done to her – to have made her stand before Jesus. 

She was caught that day, but she was also found that day. She found herself standing before Mercy, Grace, Compassion and Perfect Love. I wonder at the woman’s heart and mind and posture, once forgiven. Where before she wanted to fall down in shame, was there now a lightness replacing the heavy load she had carried? Was there a freedom and joy in the place of shame and guilt? Did the eyes of those that looked on to condemn and judge her, now shake their heads in wonder? What would be the story she told to anyone who would take the time to listen?

It had begun with a night with her lover, where she thought she had found the love she had longed for. But this lover was one who would betray her, fail her, deeply hurt, and shame her, even give her over to save his own life – it is a mistake for her to think that a relationship with another human could ever satisfy the deep love needs she had. 

At the end of the day, her adultery had been forgiven, but so too had her pursuit of looking for love in someone other than its true Source. Her eyes had been opened to the truth, and when Jesus says, Go and leave your life of sin, Go, and leave your life of adultery, Go, and leave your life of looking for love in human relationships, she knew she had received an invite into Perfect Love.

God, if…(sigh)…when…I am to be caught, oh please let me be made to stand before You, Lover of my soul. Forgiven! Loved!

Shame on you, shame!

Without any forethought or planning, my husband and son found themselves in Barcelona over the Easter weekend of their overseas trip. While exploring on Good Friday, they came across a Catholic Easter parade that was wandering through the streets. The video they sent me showed priests, dressed in their most religious dress, walking ahead of a float on which was a suffering Jesus carrying His cross, and another of Mary craddling her beloved crucified son. Crowds thronged both sides of the road to watch and take in the scene, appearing curious but also somewhat disinterested, like it was a spectacle they had seen many times before.

As I watched, I couldn’t help but think of the similarity to that of Jesus, 2000 years ago, barely able to make the journey, beaten to the point of strips of skin and flesh torn from His back, fresh blood still oozing from the wounds, the pain excruciating as He put one foot in front of the other. Here, too, many watched on with a mixture of curiosity and disinterest.

The scriptures say, “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame” Hebrews 12:2. In this most horrific event, though Jesus was subject to shame, He refused to let shame have its way. To “scorn the shame” was to give shame no power. Though it had the potential to overwhelm to the point of giving in to its humiliation and indignity, Jesus set His mind to seeing it insignificant, giving it little regard. He stripped and denied it of its insulting glory. In doing so, Jesus robbed and refused it, its desired outcome – because He saw future joy. He saw me. The delight of relationship urged him to take shame instead as a robe to be worn gladly and willingly.

To both deny shame and to wear it at the same time, demanded intense focused determination, and excruciating physical and emotional pain. Though He gave shame no power or glory, it fought viciously to retain it!

Jesus had walked many miles throughout the past 33 years of life, some even on that very road upon which He now carried His cross. Most likely, He’d never given thought to the physical steps taken then, the simple act of walking as mechanical and subconscious as breathing. Now both the step and the breath took agonizing effort as He made His way, measured and calculated.

A crude crown of thorns pierced His brow. The jerky non-rhythmic movement of His head up and down at this faltering pace, encouraged the thorns to embed themselves deeper, the pain a constant unwelcome companion as He walked toward His destination – the place of His crucifixion. To stop for a breath brought on angry shouts and the cruel whip upon His already torn flesh.

Before and behind came His accusers – the religious and pharisaical clique having made careful dress to parade and exhibit their righteous prominence among the crowd that day. Approving the scene and establishing once more their authority in cock-like stride, some proudly walked the path to ensure this journey was made complete, while others mixed in amongst the crowd, an uncertain sense of doom encircling their now doubt-filled decision. Had they been persuaded – caught up in that condemning moment – now too late to reconsider their stand?

The constant hum of the crowd was intermingled with gasps and tears. The frequent charge of accusation was at times distinct and at other times a vague and barely discernible recognition of the occasion outside of His personal intense inward focus and struggle. Many were just there for the amusement, a vile entertainment witnessed often along this way. Who was it this time?

To keep progressing forward, and in order to not succumb to defeat, did He center His thoughts on eternity? His eternal past now a mixture of comfort and sorrow as He brought to mind the sweet intimacy and face-to-face communion of Father, Son, and Spirit. Here, there was complete inclusion and Perfect Love, the unity and sameness of purpose, heart, and mind…Did pain continually pluck Him out of His euphoric memories, and thrust Him back to the present? As He continued on to His destination, one foot in front of the other, how often did He aggressively have to determine His thoughts to the eternal future ahead – the cause and purpose of His current circumstances – the return to His Father and the Holy Spirit, and the inclusion of His beloved ones into this intimacy? His donned humanity time and time again, jerking Him back to the present – Son of Man, fully human, cruelly and painfully reminding Him of this point in time, the carrying of a cross, the torment of His soul. To be God gave Him determined purpose, to be Man robbed Him of strength, bringing back with recoiling ferocity, the horror of His present.

He, the Darling of Heaven, the Beloved Son, the Morning Star, the Prince of Life, the Rose of Sharon, endured the shame, becoming a Man of Sorrows. How could this Much Loved One become so acquainted with grief? How could He descend from the heights of love to be despised and rejected, subjected to shame and humiliation? Being God, yet placing Himself at the mercy of wrongly defined identity, He scorned the shame of this paradox. With a stubborn refusal to give attention to the humiliation of being labeled hypocrite, liar, from the Devil, inciting division, blasphemy and treason against His Father, He bore it humbly with righteous contempt.

Shame on you, shame! You tried, you hurled your worst at Him…oh, but you ultimately failed!

Where shame meant to persuade Him to cover Himself to hide the ignominy and disgrace, He was neither given the dignity to cover, nor did He request it. Rather, He ignored the shame of being shamed, and was stripped willingly for the sake of, the joy set before him.

Vehemently accused and ridiculed by those in authority, He was re-dressed in an elegant robe in mocking jurisdiction Luke 23:11. He, the Righteous Judge of All, disowned connection with shame and bore the humiliating robe-ing, their game of indecent and derogatory dress-up, for the joy set before him.

Disregarding shame, He bore the insults, the mocking and the beatings incurred by the soldiers who blindfolded Him, demanding Him to prophesy who it was that struck Him Luke 22:63-65. He knew them by name and by heart. This One who had created them – loved them before time – knew. He both bore and rejected the humiliation and brutality intended because of their ignorance, for the joy set before him.

Instead of choosing to set free God, they choose to release Barabbas, a murderer and insurrectionist Luke 23:18-25. But the Giver of Life, the One who walked among them, healing their sick, teaching and touching them, and feeding their poor, rebuffs shame’s power, denied its intention, and chose instead to yield to the restraints of a prisoner – innocence and Life being sentenced to death, for the joy set before him.

He adorned shame as an esteemed garment being stripped of His clothing a second time, where, by lot at the foot of the cross, its new owners were determined Luke 23:34. The One who wore the lilies of the field, mostly naked now, defiantly rejects the humiliation of their heartless cruelty and mocking fun, for the joy set before him.

Robbing shame of its moment, He bore the sneers of them who ridiculed Him with, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One” Luke 23:35. He, God’s Messiah, the Chosen One unrecognized and belittled, His identity so erroneously disputed and denied, for the joy set before him, stays on the cross to complete its purpose.

Alongside criminals, wrongly charged, He identifies Himself as one of them Luke 23:32-33. He willingly wears the titles ‘accused’ and ‘guilty of death’, prohibiting disgrace the attention it desired, for the joy set before him.

The curse of crucifixion Galatians 3:13 is borne by Him as an award of honour, thereby denouncing shame’s dishonour. His death on a cross known and purposed before time was the bittersweet instrument of procuring humanity’s redemption, for the joy set before him.

Shame was borne, but not allowed its glory. Nor was it allowed its rights. Though He experienced shame’s best, His victory over shame refused it its moment. He turned shame’s humiliation instead, into a thing worthy of esteem and eternal praise, and the approval of His Father, the Spirit, the Heavenly Beings, Humanity, and all of Creation – and He rose again, defeating shame once and for all. What was intended for evil, what was intended to shame, God took and used to accomplish all He had planned – the restoration of humanity with Himself.

What kind of Love would face such horror, to have me as His beloved? 

What kind of Love was willing to suffer so? 

What kind of Love endured shame’s worst, but not let it have it’s way?

What kind of Love would die for me? 

O my soul, remember the cost of love. It was I in His thoughts of eternal future that day. Focusing His attention on me, He put one foot in front of the other in excruciating determination, bearing shame but not allowing it to be victorious, for joy. He declared me worthy of His own personal suffering, and I can only cry out to His urging of, “Let Me Love You, and I will Love You”, with the full-of-wonder and humble response, “Love, Love me”.