What we want to see in this passage is that Jesus is much nicer to serious sinners than many of us dare to be

Transcription

1 / free Jhn 8:1-11 The authenticity f the passage? Our apprach and gal What we want t see in this passage is that Jesus is much nicer t serius sinners than many f us dare t be An utflw f a key thelgical cmpnent f the Missi Christi Jhn 3: Fr Gd s lved the wrld, that He gave His nly begtten Sn, that whever believes in Him shall nt perish, but have eternal life. 17 Fr Gd did nt send the Sn int the wrld t judge the wrld, but that the wrld might be saved thrugh Him. Jesus was n a missin f mercy t set peple free He has sent me t prclaim release t the captives T set free thse wh are dwntrdden, T prclaim the favrable year f the Lrd. (Luke 4:18 and 19) What Jesus did nt read was the rest f the passage frm Isaiah 61:2 T prclaim the favrable year f the Lrd, and the day f vengeance f ur Gd The day f vengeance is cming, but it is still prphetic (future) A day when every wrng will be made right and every injustice will be dealt with NOTE: In a way, justice is still prphetic Thugh we wrk fr justice wherever we can in human relatinships We must realize that we are living in the favrable year f the Lrd The age f grace the kindness f the Lrd leads yu t repentance. (R 2:4) What we are called t be is peple wh dispense, disperse the grace f Gd 1 Peter 4:10 As each ne has received a special gift, emply it in serving ne anther as gd stewards f the manifld grace f Gd. Gd has made us stewards f His grace (underserved favr and kindness) This is a key area where we seem t be failing

2 2 Natinal surveys have revealed that 87% f nn-christians see Christians as judgmental 1 And yet, Gd did nt send the Sn int the wrld t judge the wrld Did Jesus send us int the wrld t judge the wrld? N. (prphetic element) (next week we may talk abut hw t and hw nt t judge) But fr nw = stewards f grace What Jesus displayed t the wrst f sinners was the grace/kindness f Gd The difference between the religius leaders and Jesus was that they were lking t cndemn and Jesus was lking t set free Hw d we see peple? Jesus saw a very bad wman in very bad need f mercy We are ften reluctant missinaries like Jnah (See Jnah 3:10-4:11) Anther difference is that the religius leaders cared nthing fr the wman while Jesus cared wildly fr her v. 4 Where is the man? The Msaic Law required bth parties t be ut t death Deuternmy 22:22 (Cf. Leviticus 20:10) If a man is fund lying with a married wman, then bth f them shall die, the man wh lay with the wman, and the wman; thus yu shall purge the evil frm Israel. They were (1) guilty f having a duble standard, and (2) vilating the law by ding s They als had ill mtives: They wanted t trap Jesus (v. 6 a ) The dilemma befre Jesus: His message f repentance and frgiveness is at stake? What des it lk like? They were merely using the wman t d s They were abut an agenda and nt the persn Anther key perceptin f Christians by nn-christians is that we are insensitive t thers 2 Jesus seemed determined t shw cmpassin and care tward peple And nte this: Tward peple wh did nt deserve it It wuld be meaningless if they deserved it Luke 6: If yu lve thse wh lve yu, what credit is that t yu? Fr even sinners lve thse wh lve them. 33 If yu d gd t thse wh d gd t yu, what credit is that t yu? Fr even sinners d the same. Jesus was relatinally riented while the religius leaders were rule riented while That des nt mean that Jesus disregarded the Msaic Law! 1 David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyns, UnChristian: What a New Generatin Really Thinks Abut Christianity and Why it Matters (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2007), Ibid Britt Merrick

3 He upheld it perfectly (Had t t die in ur place) He did nt negate the Law here Vv. 5-7 He was willing t have the Law f Mses carried ut t it s full extent, but He knew that their was mre ging n here than a strict applicatin f the Law Jesus here is subtly challenging the nature f justice Is it always a strict and immediate applicatin f the law that is right? (as gd as that may be) Is that what Gd des with yu? D yu always get what yu deserve immediately? Or can we think f the prphetic definitin f justice fund in the servant sngs f Isaiah? Cncerning the Suffering Servant the Lrd said in Isaiah: (Will nt and will) A bruised reed He will nt break, and a dimly burning wick He will nt extinguish; He will faithfully bring frth justice. (Is 42:3) The religius leaders wanted a strict and immediate applicatin f the law Jesus fights fr cmpassin fr the bruised reed and the dimly burning wick that He sees in the wman befre Him Each seeks justice Which shuld prevail? 3 Are we justice riented r cmpassin riented? 3 Because Jesus was able t lk frward t His wrk n the crss fr this wman He was able t shw radical cmpassin and extravagant mercy (She did nt deserve it we get that) (She deserved t die please knw that) Jesus was nt easy n sin (crss was nt easy) Because we are able t lk back t the crss, and frward t a day when Gd will right every wrng and justice will be served We are able t shw radical cmpassin and extravagant mercy (Histric and prphetic view f justice) We d nt need t cmprmise n truth in rder t shw cmpassin The mst imprtant truth is that: Fr His glry, n the Crss, Jesus died in the place f sinful humanity, in rder that He might set us free frm the law, sin, death and the devil Jesus had a cmpassinate rthdxy My cnversatin at lunch with Jhn Piper abut liberals and the emerging church 3 Kenneth E. Bailey, Jesus Thrugh Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gspels (Dwners Grve, Ill.: IVP Bks, 2008), Britt Merrick

4 4 Our faulty thinking is that unless the rules are applied fast and hard n ne will fear r bey Gd That may be true with yur tw year ld, but is that true fr humanity? Apparently nt: Jesus frees the wman frm cndemnatin (hard and fast applicatin f the rules) and then says sin n mre He actually thinks this will wrk! This is the Gspel The gspel is nt "yu d," but "Jesus did." Obedience fllws & is empwered by the Spirit. 4 Psalm 130:3-4 3 If Yu, LORD, shuld mark iniquities, O Lrd, wh culd stand? 4 But there is frgiveness with Yu, that Yu may be feared. His kindness leads us t repentance (a changed mind and changed behavir) The Gspel spreads best nt thrugh frce, but thrugh fascinatin. 5 He has made His wnders t be remembered; The LORD is gracius and cmpassinate. (Psalm 11:4) Because what this kindness, this mercy, this grace that fascinates des (thrugh the crss) is it sets us free! Verses The sentence f cndemnatin, thugh demanded by the Law f Mses, had nt been prnunced against her It is nt s much that she was getting ff the hk per say, as it was that Jesus was getting n the hk Clssians 2:14 (NLT) He canceled the recrd f the charges against us and tk it away by nailing it t the crss. Rmans 8:1-2 Therefre there is nw n cndemnatin fr thse wh are in Christ Jesus. Fr the law f the Spirit f life in Christ Jesus has set yu free frm the law f sin and f death. Rmans 8:3 Fr what the Law culd nt d, weak as it was thrugh the flesh, Gd did: sending His wn Sn in the likeness f sinful flesh and as an ffering fr sin 4 Ed Stetzer Tweet Shane Claibrne & Jhn M. Perkins, Fllw Me T Freedm: Leading and Fllwing as an Ordinary Radical (Ventura, Ca.: Regal 2009), Britt Merrick

5 Are we cmpassin riented (lking t set peple free)? Or are we justice riented (lking t see peple pay fr what they have dne) Reluctant missinaries like Jnah Are we relatinally riented (caring abut and sensitive t peple s stries)? Or are we rule riented (cncerned abut the hard fast applicatin f rules withut a view f the crss and Christ s cming) D we care little fr peple (and their plights and stries)? Or d we listen carefully and therefre care wildly fr peple Listening t peple s stries seems t change hw we feel abut them My experience in gay bars in Chicag and in Carpinteria Wuld it change hw we feel abut key issues f the day that cnnect with biblical principles, if we tk the time t understand peple? Jesus understands peple (He knws their hearts) But He als seemed t take time t listen t them One f the majr accusatins the religius leaders had against Him was that He dined with the wrst srts f peple (Cf. Mark 2:15, etc) I am just assuming their was cnversatin ging n Wuld it affect hw we dealt with issues like hmsexuality and immigratin if we tk time t listen t peple and knw their stries Nt that their stries change the Biblical stry But their stries are in sme way the biblical stry (Cf. Jhn 8) Can we have a kinder, gentler rthdxy? Jesus had a cmpassinate rthdxy Psalm 103: Britt Merrick