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Proverbs 18:1-12
1 A man who isolates himself seeks his own
desire; He rages against all wise judgment.
2 A fool has no delight in understanding, But
in expressing his own heart.
3 When the wicked comes, contempt comes also;
And with dishonor comes
reproach.
4 The words of a man's mouth are deep waters; The wellspring of
wisdom is a flowing brook.
5 It
is not good to show partiality to the wicked, Or to overthrow the righteous in judgment.
6 A fool's lips enter into contention, And his
mouth calls for blows.
7 A fool's mouth is his destruction, And his lips are the snare of his soul.
8 The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles, And they go
down into the inmost body.
9 He who is slothful in his work Is a brother
to him who is a great destroyer.
10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.
11 The rich man's wealth is his strong city, And like a high wall in his own esteem.
12 Before destruction the heart of a man is
haughty, And before honor is
humility.
Father God, it is all about faith in you. Help us through
our daily lives to constantly be in You, by seeing your creation that surrounds
us at all times. It is only through repentance and constant faith in Your Son
Jesus that we are saved by Grace and not Works. In Jesus name we pray. Amen!
Gospel of John 8:1-11 NKJV
The next morning Jesus returns to the
Temple and resumes teaching. The first thing that happens is a woman is brought
to Jesus that was caught in adultery. The leaders were looking for a reason to
arrest Jesus so they bring this adulteress to Him to see what His answer would
be in hopes of having a justified reason to arrest Him. They wanted Jesus to
judge this woman on the spot so they could accuse Him and have Him arrested. It
was a trap because they thought Jesus couldn’t answer it without Him violating their
laws or Roman laws. They were sure, but Jesus sends them home with their heads
hung low.
1 But Jesus
went to the Mount of Olives.
With
the end of last week’s lesson everyone went to their homes and I ended with
where did Jesus go to lay His head down for the night? This verse tells us it
was to the Mount of Olives. Jesus visited this mount several times to commune
with His Father. It is also possible He ate with His dear friends Lazarus,
Martha, and Mary, who lived at Bethany, not far from this mount, and then
returned to the mount to spend the night praying.
The
Mount of Olives lays eastward of Jerusalem about a mile. The brook Kidron runs
at the base between Mount Moriah and Mount of Olives. This Mount actually has a
small range of four summits, with the highest being about 2500 feet. It is
recorded that the Mount was thickly wooded in Jesus day and rich in olive trees,
which is why it is called the Mount of Olives. Some claim there are a few trees
still remain from Jesus time, but it is also claimed that they were all cut
down during the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus.
One
day Jesus will return to this Mount and it will part in two as He stands on it.
Zechariah 14:4 And in
that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on
the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making a very large valley; Half of
the mountain shall move toward the north And half of it toward the south.
2 Now early
in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him;
and He sat down and taught them.
This
is the day after the Feast has ended. Why would this verse state that Jesus
came early in the morning? I take this verse as meaning right after sunrise.
Based on what I have read, Jesus had a message for the people before they
started their journey home. If He came late morning the multitude of people
would probably be on the road homeward bound.
It
states, “all the people came to Him”. We really don’t know how many people, but
I’m sure it was a multitude and I’m sure many hearts were touched by Jesus
words and they became believers.
3 Then the
scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they
had set her in the midst,
Then the scribes and Pharisees brought
to Him a woman caught in adultery; I
wonder if these leaders sat up all night plotting another way to accuse Jesus
of wrong doing, after all they had to be very upset and wrought when the
officers returned empty handed?
Here
is one thing that comes to mind, was this woman really caught in the act of
adultery? If she was caught in the act, then where was the man? According to
the Jewish law, both man and woman were to be put to death. Deuteronomy 22:22
"If a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then
both of them shall die—the man that lay with the woman, and the woman; so you
shall put away the evil from Israel.
Also see Leviticus 20:10.
Here they were trying to trick Jesus but they were breaking their own law by
not bringing the man. This shows how devious these leaders were and that they
were serving their father the Devil.
And when they had set her in the midst; These leaders brought this woman and
placed her in the midst of the crowd and proclaimed to Jesus what she had done.
No doubt what they proclaimed was not stated quietly, but quite vocally. How
humiliating this must have been for the woman. Put yourself in her place, would
you like to be placed, let’s say on the field of the World Series or the Super
Bowl and an announcement over the loud speaker that you were caught in the act
of adultery?
Jesus
confronted people with their sins, but privately, one example being the
Samaritan woman at the well. We need to always use Jesus methods so as not to
drive an individual away from Jesus. We need to ask the Holy Spirit to give us
the words to use when witnessing.
4 they said
to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.
If
this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act then where was the man? This
makes one wonder exactly how such a thing could be brought about. In other
words, how could they catch her in the act, without some type of scheming in
this matter? Even though the act of these Religious leaders is disgusting to
say the least, one must not ignore the terrible sin of adultery and being a
thief. A person committing adultery is also a thief by stealing that of another
person.
5 Now
Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You
say?"
This
is a very interesting verse and the outcome of this situation causes one to
ponder. First let’s look at David he committed adultery and also murder, yet he
was not put to death. As the next verses tell us this woman was not put to
death either. The first Passover, the people that put blood (The blood of a
sheep typified Jesus blood that covers a sinner.) over the door post was passed
over, and I’m sure some were adulterers or murderers. Even Moses was a
murderer, he killed an Egyptian. So why, if the law commanded an adulterer or a
murderer be put to death, why weren’t they?
This
all goes way back to the First Passover which typifies the future salvation
that would come through Jesus. One that has their faith properly placed are
covered by the blood of Jesus and the love, mercy, grace, and compassion
through salvation is granted to the individual through repentance and belonging
to God. But you contend the woman’s faith; what about her; where was her faith?
We know Moses, the Israelites, and David’s faith was in God, but there is no
evidence this woman’s faith was in God. This woman’s faith will be clarified
further along in this lesson.
The
audience of hundreds, who were observing that day, knew full well that this Law
had not been applied literally, and that the Sanhedrin had not enforced it.
They also knew that if they had endeavored to do so, Roman power would step in
with a strong hand. So, it must have been obvious to the people of the
hypocrisy of the Pharisees.
If
He lets the woman go without the price being paid for her sin, then the
entirety of humanity has nothing on which to stand, and will be ultimately
destroyed; no salvation.
On
the other hand, if He stones her to death as the Law demands, He would have
been accused by the Romans as usurping authority, and would as well, have
portrayed the very opposite of the Love, Mercy, Grace, and Compassion for which
He was noted so strongly.
Nevertheless,
none of that had any bearing on what Jesus would do. His actions were not based
on what Rome did or thought, or on what the Pharisees would or would not do.
His actions were based on the Word of God.
6 This they
said, testing Him, that they might have something
of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not
hear.
This they said, testing Him, that they
might have something of which
to accuse Him; If He
decided the case, they expected to be able to bring an accusation against Him,
for if He decided that she ought to die, they might accuse him of claiming
power which belonged to the Romans, the power of life and death. By bringing
this woman before Him as a real live case, if this was true, He wouldn’t be
able to give an opinion about a theoretical case. They were hoping for Jesus to
judge her without authority or form of a trial.
These
leaders already had a controversy with Jesus about the authority of the
Sabbath, and they perhaps supposed that he would decide this case as he did
that, against them. They were building a case against Jesus with many points;
they already observed He was a friend of sinners by eating and entering sinners
homes and they accused Him of being a wine bibber. These leaders were artfully
plotting against Jesus.
But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the
ground with His finger, as
though He did not hear; The
ground here was the floor of the temple which was paved. It was in the dust on
the floor that Jesus wrote.
What
do you suppose was going through Jesus mind when He stooped down? Maybe, I wish
these people would leave Me alone; I really don’t want to answer their
questions; go away. By stooping down Jesus was using His body language that He
did not want to voice an opinion in this matter. He didn’t want to meddle in
the civil affairs of the nation.
7 So when
they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone
at her first."
Jesus
reverses the questions asked of Him. He places the roll of being judge back on
the accusers. By doing this Jesus upheld the legal penalty for adultery; He
could not be accused of being against the law. But by saying that only a
sinless person could throw the first stone, He highlighted the importance of
compassion and forgiveness. When others are caught in sin, are you quick to
pass judgment? To do so is to act as though you have never sinned. It is God's
role to judge, not ours. Our role is to show forgiveness and compassion.
8 And again
He stooped down and wrote on the ground.
Jesus
stoops down again and scripture states He wrote on the ground. What Jesus
wrote, this time or the time before we aren’t told. It may have been just marks
or doodling in the dust on the floor, but what His body language is stating is
that He wasn’t interested in continuing this conversation.
9 Then
those who heard it, being
convicted by their conscience,
went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman
standing in the midst.
Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by
one; This phrase is
referring to the corrupt leaders that were present. Jesus struck a chord with
these leaders. The Holy Spirit brought to mind the sins in their life; they had
planks in their eyes; they need to clean their plate first before judging
others. This is something all deal with on a daily basis, judging, because of
that inherited sin nature.
Beginning with the oldest even to the last; This is pertaining to the Scribes and
Pharisees that brought the woman to Jesus. The order that they left in was from
the oldest to the youngest. This tells us that as we age we become more aware
of sin in our lives. Age and experience often temper youthful
self-righteousness. But whatever your age, take an honest look at your life,
and recognize your sinful nature, and correct it.
And Jesus was left alone, and the woman
standing in the midst; This
phrase leaves an impression that Jesus and the woman was the only one left, but
they were left standing in the midst of the crowd that Jesus was teaching. The
Scribes and Pharisees left.
10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one
but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are
those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?"
These
leaders were so high and mighty when they came to Jesus with this woman, but
soon learned they were no better than this woman of adultery. Jesus deflated
them and they slowly slipped away in humiliation and not desiring to place
judgment on the woman any more. They were just as guilty as this woman.
We
need to examine ourselves daily and ask Jesus to help us overcome our
sinfulness!
11 She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus
said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin
no more.”
There
is one word in this verse that tells us this woman’s faith had been place in
Jesus and she now claimed Him to be her Saviour, do you know what it is?
“Lord”! Most probably she repented right there during this encounter and
accepted Jesus otherwise she wouldn’t have said Lord.
These
words spoken by Jesus were the sweetest words she had ever heard in all her
life; He kept the Law perfectly by dying in her place, exactly as He did with
all of us; that’s how He could let her go free, just like you and me.
So you see her faith was in Jesus just
like David’s, Moses, and the Israelites.
Colossians
1:16
For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth,
visible
and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All things were created through Him and for Him.
Romans
3:23 for
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans
6:23
For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal
life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, Most
assuredly, I say to you,
unless
one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
The
Lighthouse Full Gospel Church
Sinners Prayer; Pray this, and if you
believe it with your heart, Jesus will save you!
“Lord
Jesus I know I am a sinner. I confess my
sins to you; I am sorry for my sins; I repent (Meaning, desiring to turn from a
sinful lifestyle.) of all my sins, and I am asking for your forgiveness. I believe that only you can forgive sin. I commit my life to you and ask you to come
into my heart, direct, and take charge of my life. I believe that you died to set me free from
my sinful lifestyle and you rose from the dead to give me eternal life, and
right now you are seated at the Right Hand of God Almighty. I believe you are
the Son of God; the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life, and my
Savior.” I believe this and have faith
you will make a new person out of me, by sending the Holy Spirit to dwell in my
heart and lead me in a new life. In Jesus name I pray Amen.”
(John 3:16,17; Romans
3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 10:9-13; Ephesians
2:8-10; 1 John 5:11-14; 1:6-10)
(Sin: Rom. 1:22-32; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph.
5:3-7)
