Free and Undeserved

The men of the high council were vast in knowledge of the letters, yet the words and works of a young man threatened what they believed in. At various occasions, they had made attempts to pin accusations on him but none stuck. Instead, each attempt against him established what he taught and verified his works.

There was a festival and the men of the high council knew that this young man would show up to teach on the court grounds which its town’s folks respected, so they planned to pin something on him as a reference point for their accusations. At dawn he appeared in the courts, where people gathered him, and he sat down to teach them.

As the teaching progressed, everyone’s attention was gradually drawn to a ruckus that was without a doubt heading in the direction of the court. The people stood up to get a clearer view and there it was, the men of the court; they had dragged in a woman who was caught in an act, that according to the law strictly upheld by the townsfolk concluded that this woman be put to death.

In front of everyone that gathered they asked, “Teacher, this woman was caught committing this unforgiveable crime and in accordance with our law she must be put to death. Now what do you say?”

For a moment, the young man bent down and began writing on the ground. And as they continued to question him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone of you who has never broken the law be the first to strike her.” And again he stooped down and continued writing on the ground. Furious of his response, they looked at each other and from the eldest they all left, until this woman was left in the presence of the young man.

He looked up and asked, “woman, where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?”

“No one sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I,” the young man declared. “Go now and never return to the deeds that gave them a base of accusing you.”

This amusing account is that of a woman in John 8: 2 – 11, minus the added plots, it shows God’s grace at work in Christ Jesus. Here the Lord converted the grounds for her persecution to the grounds of her freedom.

Jesus Christ did not even ask her what she did, why she did it, or where she committed the offence she was accused of. His response in no way condemned her; instead his words were clearly words that led to her redemption.

While looking up the definition of grace in the offline wikitionary, I came across a definition that covers this account; it defines grace as, “Free and undeserved favour, especially of God.” A review of the account reveals that the voice of the accusers was present because she was found guilty, but before the presence of the Lord in whom these charges were laid, grace spoke on her behalf and still speaks. In his presence there is redemption, in his presence we are not condemned, in his presence we receive grace to walk in love, in his presence we stay clear of the accusers and their accusations, and in his presence we find the boldness to fulfill the commission we’ve been given as believers.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, for I believe that in so doing you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. Enjoy a blessed week ahead.

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