Day 12 Throwing stones

John Chapter 8 

 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.” (v7)

“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”  At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds. (v58)

There are so many places in the Bible where people are stoned to death.  Its a brutal thing to think about. Even more disturbing is the thought that there are places in the world today where stoning is a 'legitimate' punishment. https://theweek.com/news/crime/957354/the-countries-where-men-women-can-be-stoned-to-death  Notable that most of those condemned to be stoned are women😢

I recently heard a sermon about the woman caught in adultery in John 8.  The preacher pointed out a paralell I hadnt considered before.  Which takes us back to the stones Moses received up the mountain containing the ten commandments. 

Exodus 31:18: "And He gave unto Moses, when He had made an end of communing with him upon Mount Sinai, two tablets of testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God".

As far as I know there are only three places in scripture where God writes something down.  The ten commandments,  the writing on the wall in Daniel , and Jesus writing in the dust.  In the first two instances we know what was written, but infuriatingly in the John 8 account we dont know what Jesus was scribbling in the dirt.  But we do know what happened after He wrote.  When He finished writing He stood up and completely turned the religious system on its head.  No longer was it good enough to judge other people against an external standard of behaviour.  From now on we are to look to our own behaviour and recognise that we ' all have sinned and fallen short'.  We are to remove the plank from our own eye.  Jesus forces His audience to recognise that 'in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you '(Matt 7;2)

What amazes me is that Jesus says   You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. (John 8; 15)  And this is the takeaway message for today.  If Jesus, the perfect ,sinless ,spotless lamb of God doesnt pass judgement on anyone then who am I to judge my fellow man?  In any respect.  I can't. I must not.  Only God Himself is in posession of all the facts in every case.  Only His judgement is perfect.  My judgements are flawed, hypocritical and pointless.  I dont hold any sway in the courts of heaven.  When I criticise, condemn, punish, throw stones, Im only showing the hardness and smallness of my heart and the narrowness of my own thinking.  The only way we are called to behave towards our fellow human beings is with love and compassion.  We leave the judging to God.

I get scared when I hear Christians pronouncing judgement with utter certainty over people and situations they feel they are qualified to condemn.  I do understand that there is a place ( but only a small place) for challenging sin.  But that's not the same thing as judging.  And it must always and only be done from a motivation of love and with a breaking heart.   I am utterly dependent on the grace and compassion of Jesus. His love and mercy triumph over judgement every time.  His forgiveness is what wins souls, not my judgement.

Selah.  Let us pause to consider this today. Let us strive to rid ourselves of judgmental spirits and unkind hearts.