The Grace of Humility
Thom Redmond
January 19th, 2025
John 8:1-11
This story demonstrates that
is a part of
.
Jesus spent all day teaching in the temple, went to the Mount of Olives and was back again earlyvin the morning. This was what the temple was meant for.
John 8:1-3 1 Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, 2 but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. 3 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.
What was the rule on adultery?
Leviticus 20:10 10 “If a man commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, both the man and the woman who have committed adultery must be put to death.
The first recorded attempt at gaslighting.
John 8:4-5 4 “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”
Matthew 23:27-28 27 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. 28 Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.
John 8:6 6 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.
What did Jesus write the first time?
When Jesus first wrote something, the Pharisees did not pay attention. But what he says in verse seven gets their attention.
This reminds me of a moment in the Old Testament.
Exodus 31:18 18 When the Lord finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant,[a] written by the finger of God.
This is the perfect word picture for the Pharisees and the teachers of the law.
True humility promotes
, not
.
John 8:8-9 8 Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. 9 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.
Notice the impact of Jesus’ actions. One by one…
Now, let us come back to the women.
John 8:10-11 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” 11 “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”