From
the 27 Feb 19 Evening Devotional of Daily Light on the Daily Path
God...gives...profusely
and doesn't scold.
Our
first verse deals with wisdom. Wisdom is God’s way of thinking and
handling situations. If we seek counsel from an expert in finance,
medicine, education, law, or whatever business or personal situation
we face, it will cost much money. Frequently, the better the
counselor, the higher the fee. Yet with God, the greatest expert
imaginable, the fee is zero; it is absolutely free.
Woman,
where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you? She said, "No
one, sir." Jesus then said to her, "I don't condemn you
either; go, and do not sin anymore."
Here
is an example of the great wisdom of God.
This
passage deals with a tricky (from a human perspective) situation for
Messiah regarding God’s Law, and the evil men who are trying to
trap the Lord Jesus in the corner. No matter what the Lord answers;
He will be condemned. How will He handle this situation? How would
you handle it?
A
woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. She was
brought before Jesus. Those who caught her said, "Master,
this woman was caught in the very act of adultery. Now Moses in the
law commanded us that such to be stoned, so what do you say?"
(John 8:4-5 WEL).
She
is standing before THE Messiah. What is she thinking? What is the
expression on her face? What is the expression on the face of
Messiah?
In
my mind, I wonder where the man was? If the woman was “caught in
the very act of adultery,” then the man was committing adultery,
too.
This
seems like she was set up. She committed adultery, yes, but perhaps
these men set it up. I don’t know for sure, but it does seem
suspicious.
If
Jesus lets her go, then He will be condemned for not upholding God’s
law. If Jesus casts the first stone, then He does not show love and
mercy, for God wants everyone to repent.
So
Jesus bends down and starts to write. What did He write? I imagine,
He was writing down the names of the men present and the date they
had committed adultery either in their heart or both heart and flesh.
The men left one by one, convicted. John 8:7-9 WEL And
as they continued to ask him, he straightened up and said to them,
"Let him who is sinless throw a stone at her." Again, he
stooped down and wrote on the ground. After hearing this and being
convicted by their conscience, they left one by one starting at the
oldest down to the last. Jesus alone was left alone with the woman
standing in the midst.
God's
grace and the gift by grace (also by one man, Jesus Christ), is more
than enough for many... the free gift resulted in acquittal for many
sins.
All
of us are sinners. Some are worse than others. The penalty for lying,
stealing, blaspheming, etc. is death. But God wants people to repent
and believe in Him, trusting in Him for forgiveness of sins.
God’s
grace (receiving what we do not deserve) gives us salvation. This is
only through Jesus Christ.
It
is free. However, it was very costly for Jesus in that He suffered
and died for our sins. Once the Holy Spirit opens our heart and mind
to the extent we are evil, we can resist His offer or we can accept
His offer of salvation. We cannot work, earn, it. It is free. It is a
gift. His salvation forgives, pardons, our many sins.
God
who is rich in mercy, for his great love in which he loved us, even
when we were dead because of sins, he has made us alive with Christ,
for you are saved by grace. He has raised us up together and made us
sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the
ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his
kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
This
work and offer from the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, shows what great
love He has for us. He did not have to do this; He wanted to, because
He wants all to repent and believe the Gospel.
We
have a hope and promise that after death, we will be in heaven with
the other believers, holy angels, and God Himself.
We
were created for fellowship with God and to serve Him forever.
Serving such a wonderful King is pure joy.
He
didn't spare his own Son but handed him over for all of us. How much
more will he not also graciously give us all things?
If
God the Father sent God the Son, and if God the Son freely and
willingly came for us, will He not also give us all things? These
things are spiritual treasures not necessarily earthly treasures. The
very first treasure is wisdom:
Psalms
111:10 GW The
fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. Good sense is shown by
everyone who follows God's guiding principles. His praise continues
forever.
Proverbs
2:6-8 NRSV For
the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and
understanding; 7 he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he
is a shield to those who walk blamelessly, 8 guarding the paths
of justice and preserving the way of his faithful ones.
For
those who resist God and refuse to repent, believe, and put their
trust into the Lord Jesus for salvation, they also have a
promise—eternal, conscious punishment in hell.
Please,
do not resist.
Enjoy
the beautiful, indescribable wisdom of God.
James
1:5: John 8:10-11; Romans 5:15-16: Ephesians 2:4-7; Romans 8:32
Bible
verses are from the Welcome Bible Copyright
© 2006-2019 by Len Gane. All Rights Reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment