Cast The First Stone

In John 8:1-11, the teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought a woman who was caught in sexual immorality before Jesus. They said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now, what do you say?”. John 8:4-5, NIV. They were trying to set a trap for Jesus. If Jesus said she should be let go, it would seem like he broke the law of Moses or at least condoned sexual immorality. If he said she should be executed, he would appear cruel and would break the Roman law that did not allow Jews to practice capital punishment. Jesus saw through their plot and gave a response no one saw coming. They misrepresented the law just to trap Jesus and publicly shame the woman. Suppose they were genuinely concerned about keeping the law. In that case, they should have publicly shamed the man involved in the sin because the law they referenced states that the man and the woman must be put to death (Leviticus 20:10, Deuteronomy 22:22).

Jesus said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” With this response, Jesus did not outrightly deny them the right to stone her, but he reminded them of their imperfections. Observe that Jesus did not say, “let any one of you who hasn’t committed adultery be the first to throw a stone at her“. Jesus’ response doesn’t differentiate the sin of adultery from other sins anyone else may have committed. Instead, Jesus reminds them all sin is sin, and by that principle, no one was worthy to condemn or stone her to death. Jesus’ response speaks to our inner proclivity to assume the worst about others and the best of ourselves.

We sometimes forget that every sinner has a future, and every saint has a past. We tend to minimise our sin but exaggerate that of others. The point here is not that we shouldn’t call out sin but that we should do it from a place of humility, knowing fully well that we, too, are sinners who have been forgiven. In 2 Samuel 12:1-10, Prophet Nathan told King David about a rich man who stole the only lamb of a poor man. David was angry and said, “As the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die“. King David did not realise that he was the man he wanted to be put to death in Prophet Nathan’s story; how ironic! The more aware we are of our sin and need for Jesus, the less likely we are to throw stones of condemnation at others.

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It may not be popular to talk about forgiveness and redemption today. Still, as believers, not only are we instructed to forgive, we are admonished to intercede and pray for all men (1Timothy 2:1). Therefore, we should pray for their salvation and redemption rather than think the worst of someone who falls into sin.

I was recently at a social media public forum where “church hurt” was discussed. People who had been hurt in the church shared their experiences. Some of the stories were heartbreaking and frightening. A common element in some of these stories was that some church institutions used forgiveness as a tool to cover up crimes or offences when members brought them to light. Rather than confronting the issues raised, victims were advised to forgive and move on. This is not how we should apply the principle of forgiveness. The scripture tells us to expose sin (1 Timothy 5:20) and resolve conflict within the church fairly and transparently (Matthew 18). Silencing church members or dismissing people who are genuinely hurt in the church is an antithesis to what the church stands for.

Jesus doesn't just set us free; he also commands us to sin no more. We are not set free to continue in sin; we are set free to live a new life in Christ. -Cast The First Stone #prunedlife Click To Tweet

However, the fact that people have abused or weaponised the principle of forgiveness and redemption doesn’t mean that forgiveness and redemption are not valid Christian principles. Forgiveness doesn’t mean a cover-up for sin. On the contrary, one of the tenets for redemption is a public acknowledgement of wrong or sin. If a crime has been committed against us, we are still instructed to pursue forgiveness even if we choose to let the law of the land take its course (see How To Handle Conflict – Part 2).

There is an unfortunate trend on social media termed “cancel culture” or “call-out culture”. People will demand that you be maligned, rejected, lose social support, fired from your job, etc., if you said or did something wrong or offensive. Sometimes it doesn’t have to be something wrong; it could be something socially unacceptable or subjective. Like a mob, everyone goes into a frenzy, extrapolating and assuming the worst of the defaulting individual. Most times, no apology is enough because the goal is to make sure the “cancelled” is ostracised in every area of life and society. There’s no mercy or path towards redemption or restoration. The danger of failing to see the humanity of others when they fall is that we edge towards mean-spiritedness. This means we decide to feed the longing of the flesh for vengefulness. As believers, we should be alert to these types of situations because we are not to fulfil the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16). We shouldn’t participate in such a damning culture or trend. There’s nothing Christ-like about it.

I love what Jesus said to the woman after her accusers left, “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.” John 8:10-11, NLT. Glory! Jesus doesn’t condemn us even when men do. This is encouraging. Jesus did not come to condemn us. He came to set us free. He freed the accused woman from her accusers. Jesus doesn’t just set us free; he also commands us to sin no more. We are not set free to continue in sin; we are set free to live a new life in Christ.