John 8:1-11      Casting Stones

Rev. David Holwick  ZC                          Encountering Jesus in John

First Baptist Church

Ledgewood, New Jersey

September 13, 2015

John 8:1-11



CASTING STONES



  I. One of the grimmest stories in the New Testament.

      A. It is not just ancient history.


         On a hot day in late August, 1996, a crowd of people gathered

            in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

         The Taliban had been in power in that area for two years.

         The leader of the local mosque spoke briefly about the rules

            for stoning adulterers in the Sharia.

         Then the lovers were brought out.


         They had probably been turned in by the woman's two teenage

            sons.

         When the Taliban heard the rumors, they had a group of

            religious police hide on the roof of an adjoining house.

         Afghanistan gets hot in the summer and people sleep on the flat

            roofs of their homes.

         The couple was alone on the roof when the religious police

            sprang out and caught them red-handed.


         The 40-year-old woman was lowered waist-deep in a pit and the

            man was positioned a short distance away.

         The area was crowded with people, but space was made so that

            relatives of the condemned pair, including small children,

                could have a clear view.

         It was important that they see the type of justice imposed by

            the Taliban.


         Then the leader of the mosque, following tradition, stooped to

            pick up the first palm-sized stone.

         The stones had to be of a size that would injure but not kill.

         Others immediately joined in, and within ten minutes both of

            them were dead.


         Among the twenty people who gathered in front of the mosque to

            tell reporters about it, none expressed misgivings.

         To the contrary, all spoke with enthusiasm of the killings.

         A 60-year-old teacher said, "It was a good thing, the only way

            to end this kind of sinning."


         Surprisingly, this kind of punishment is still occurring in

            Afghanistan today, 14 years after the Taliban was driven out.

         The Afghan government, our ally, has even considered making

            stoning part of the law of the land and not just tribal

               tradition.


         Westerners like us are horrified.

            It is also practiced in Somalia and Iran and now Syria.


         But did you know that there are no references to stoning in the

            Quran?

         Muslims turn to stories from Mohammed's life to find examples

            of stoning, and these mostly follow the rules that Jews

               laid down in the Torah...

         Rules that 2,000 years ago were used to confront Jesus of

            Nazareth.

                                                                  #64933


      B. Everybody knows today's passage.

          1) You may not know that it probably wasn't written by John.

              a) Early manuscripts of this gospel all omit this passage,

                    and some manuscripts place it in Luke.

              b) It is an orphan, but everyone considers it authentic.

          2) And we all know the classic line, "Let him who is without

                sin cast the first stone."

              a) This is why Christian countries don't use stoning.

              b) We hang, gas and inject but we don't stone.

          3) This incident strikes a chord on several levels for

                Christians.

              a) It speaks of morality and condemnation, and grace

                    and forgiveness.

              b) It is a lesson that you need to keep close to your

                    heart.


II. Consider the characters.

      A. There is a crowd.

          1) The setting seems eerily like Afghanistan.

              a) It is in the temple area.

              b) A sinner is presented to the crowd.

          2) They are gathered because of Jesus.

              a) The woman is not their focus, but the leaders'.

              b) People of all ages wanted to learn the teachings of

                    Jesus as he taught in the temple area.

              c) They probably had no idea they would get a supreme

                    example of his teaching shortly.


      B. There are religious leaders.

          1) The Pharisees were a group who were much like the Taliban.

              a) They were self-appointed religious guardians of the

                    nation of Israel.

              b) They were pious and morally strict.

              c) Most of the people admired them.

          2) The teachers of the law helped the people apply the Old

                Testament rules to everyday life.

              a) They had a vested interest in promoting Judaism since

                    they earned their living at it.

          3) Both groups of leaders were interested in Jesus.

              a) They didn't want to follow him, but trip him up.

                  1> They state the fact of her sin.

                  2> They quote the Law of Moses on the matter.

                  3> They confront Jesus on what he will do.

              b) Apparently Jesus already had a reputation for leniency.

                  1> He surrounded himself with sinners who had repented.

                  2> Jesus also tweaked the noses of the Jewish leaders

                        whenever he could.

              c) The dilemma Jesus faces here:

                  1> If he upholds the law, he will be in trouble with

                        the Romans, who controlled capital punishment.

                  2> If he doesn't stone her, he is against the Bible.


      C. There is a woman.

          1) Her guilt is not questioned by anyone.

              a) Sexual sin was a big crime back then.

              b) They knew how powerful sex was, and how it could build,

                    or destroy, people and families.

              c) The Jews were especially strict in this area of

                    morality.

          2) Like the Afghanistan couple, she was caught red-handed.

              a) We might wondered where the guy was, since it has

                    always taken two to tango.

              b) The passage doesn't address this, so I will pass over

                    it.

          3) The woman doesn't say a whole lot.


      D. There is Jesus.

          1) He must have known it was a set-up.

          2) He says nothing at first, but doodles on the ground.

              a) There is a lot of conjecture about what he wrote.

              b) One of my favorites is that he was writing the names

                    of the Pharisee's girlfriends.

          3) He then presents his famous injunction - those who are

                sinless get to throw first.

              a) The crowd thins out after this.

              b) The oldest leave first - they have more of a track

                    record with sin.

          4) Eventually it is just Jesus and the woman.

              a) He points out that the condemners have left.

              b) He then says he doesn't condemn her either.

              c) Jesus tells her to leave that place, and the practice

                    of her sin.


III. Jesus still shakes things up today.

      A. Fighting over morality has never stopped.

          1) The "Culture Wars" have been largely about moral issues,

                often with a sexual angle.

          2) Like the Pharisees, Christians are concerned that God's

                moral laws are being watered down.

          3) We often express this in very harsh ways.

              a) Opponents are called names, threatened and even harmed.

              b) Words of condemnation come easily to some believers.


      B. Is morality passe?

          1) Many would want all these old-fashioned laws thrown out.

              a) Religious prohibitions are unrealistic, they say.

              b) Yet we all sense that there must be some boundaries.

                  1> Consider the recent fraternity debacle in Virginia.


                     The fraternity house hung banners saying, "Freshman

                        daughter drop off" and "Go ahead and drop off

                           mom too." [1]


                     Now, many other fraternities across the country

                        have hung banners like these for years.

                     The mindset was immortalized in the 1978 movie

                        "Animal House."


                  2> It is fun, it has been around forever, but it is

                        also very demeaning to women, making them objects.

          2) Jesus does not erase the law of the Old Testament.

              a) It is not like adultery is OK with him.

              b) Notice that he tells the woman to leave her life of sin.

              c) He keeps the moral standards of the Bible.


      C. Morality is not really at the heart of this passage.

          1) In the past, when I have preached on this, I wrestled

                with how to make moral judgments the right way.

          2) But it is Jesus' acceptance and forgiveness that should

                really be stressed here.


IV. What is most important when we confront sin.

      A. We must see the human behind the sin.

          1) It is very easy to treat sinners like object lessons.

          2) (Our media does this all the name - think of the dentist

                who shot Cecil the Lion...)

          3) We are not objects - we are people.  All of us.


          A West Coast woman and her lesbian friend were at an outdoor

             flea market.


          She bought a bumper sticker that said, "Have a Nice Forever."

             The man who sold it to her asked if she knew Jesus Christ.

          She said no, and the man told her about his own life, his

             family, and his conversion to Christ.


          She began to get very angry.

             Finally the woman butted in and said,

          "Sure God loves you.  Why wouldn't he?  You're dressed nice.

             You drive a clean car; you have short hair and a new baby.

          You're not a thief like me.

             You don't drink or skip town running from the law like me."


          She was a thief, an alcoholic, a child abuser, and a

             homosexual.

          He didn't know that, so she threw it in his face.

            "I'm gay.  A homosexual.  Do you know what that means?"

          She was so mad she felt like hitting him, and actually did.

             She slugged him across the chest and he fell down.


          He got up, put his hand on her shoulder, and said quietly,

             "Praise the Lord.  What make you think you have a monopoly

                 on sin?'


          The woman could have handled any response but that one.

             He started talking again and she listened a long time.

          Finally she accepted Christ.

             She left her homosexual friend and her lifestyle.

          She said she has been tempted many times to return, and she

             did fall once, but she has always come back to Jesus.

          She gives the credit to her Lord and a man who was sensitive

             enough to treat her as a real human being.

                                                                   #2516


      B. We must see that sin is in every human.  It is in you and me.

          1) We all like to point the finger.

              a) The Taliban were quick to condemn the woman.

                  1> The crowd around Jesus didn't need much persuasion

                        to pick up stones and defend God's justice.

                  2> Those who want to be lenient on the woman often

                        don't have a problem condemning the religious

                           leaders.

              b) Who does Jesus condemn?  You.

                  1> All those who picked up stones had to slink away.

                  2> We are no different than them.

          2) It is easy to condemn sin that doesn't tempt us.

              a) But we are all tempted by something.

              b) We all deserve to be stoned.


  V. If you were caught in a sin, how would you want to be treated?

      A. That is how you should treat others.

          1) People who choose adultery and other sins are looking for

                fulfillment.

              a) They want to be happy, to be loved.

              b) They are just looking in the wrong places.

          2) We can show them that true fulfillment comes from following

                Jesus.

              a) There is freedom in being obedient to his teachings.


      B. Jesus does not want to condemn anyone.

          1) He wants to be compassionate.  He wants to save.

          2) He wants to make you whole.



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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:


[1] Frat suspended over 'freshman daughter drop off' signs, Alexandra

       Samuels, USA TODAY College, August 25, 2015, <http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2015/08/24/virginia-frat-suspended-old-dominion-university/32298193/>.


# 2516  Homosexuals Can Change, Tom Minnery, Christianity Today magazine,

           February 6, 1981, page 37.


#64933  Casting Stones, David Holwick, September 13, 2015; adapted from

           Stoning of Afghan Adulterers: Some Go to Take Part, Others Just

           to Watch, John F. Burns, The New York Times, November 3, 1996,

           <http://www.nytimes.com/1996/11/03/world/stoning-of-afghan-adulterers-some-go-to-take-part-others-just-to-watch.html>;

           and Adulterers may be stoned under new Afghan law, official says,

           Mirwais Harooni and Katharine Houreld, Reuters, November 25, 2013,

           <http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/25/us-afghanistan-rights-idUSBRE9AO0EB20131125>.


           Technically, the Old Testament says that adulterers are to be put

           to death (means not specified) while those who engage in

           premarital sex are to be stoned.


These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be

downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html

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