church

INI
The Second Sunday After Trinity
June 21, 2009
Ascension Lutheran Church, Tacoma WA
Paul Naumann, Pastor

COME TO JESUS' COURTROOM
John 8:1-11

To Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or
think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by
Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen. This morning we
give our attention to the eighth chapter of John's Gospel, beginning in the first
verse, as follows:

But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 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. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in
adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him,=2
0“Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in
the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?”
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. 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.” And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 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. 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?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said
to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” This is the Word of
God.

In the Name of Jesus Christ, in whom we are justified, Dear Fellow Redeemed,

Courtroom dramas have always held a niche in the imagination of Americans.
Recently, there's been a resurgence of them in TV and movies. Many of us
wouldn't miss the old reruns of Perry Mason. The only problem is, most
courtroom dramas are rather predictable. The judge is always a wise-looking
older man. The defense attorney is brilliant, and cares deeply about his client.
And the defendant -- well, you always find out later that the defendant has been
completely innocent right from the beginning. Very predictable.

In our text for today we're presented with something of a courtroom drama,
too. Only in this one, nothing is predictable. In fact, things are kind of
upside-down! In this case the judge is a young Man - Jesus of Nazareth. In this
case the lawyers - the scribes and Pharisees - prove to be just as guilty as the
defendant. And in this case the defendant - a woman caught in the act of
adultery - is guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt; yet, amazingly, she is declared
"not guilty" in the end. Why should you care? Because no matter who you are,
you have a place in this unique drama, too. If you feel you're good enough to
look down on sinners who are "worse" than you, then you need to hear Jesus'
scathing words to the Pharisees. If you recognize your own guilt and feel the
weight of your sins pressing down on your shoulders, then you need to hear the
comforting words of pardon Christ spoke to the woman. In either case, today I
invite you to --

COME TO JESUS' COURTROOM

I. Here everyone is guilty.
II. Here anyone can be pardoned.

It was the Feast of Tabernacles, and Jerusalem was bustling with activity. A lot
of out-of-towners had come in for the festival, including Jesus and His disciples.
The Jewish religious leaders were envious of Jesus' popularity, and skeptical of
His claims. The scribes and Pharisees decided that this might be a good time to
try and take Jesus down a peg or two. So they approached Him with what
turned out to be a rather cleverly-laid trap. They "... brought to Him a woman
caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him,
“Teacher, this woma n was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in
the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?”
This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse
Him.

Get the picture? Jesus said He was from God, and strictly upheld the sanctity
of God's Word. So if He told them not to kill the woman, they could accuse
Him before the people of denying the Law and voiding the Word of God. On
the other hand, Jesus was known to be gentle and merciful, One who welcomed
sinners and offered them forgiveness. So if He told them to go ahead and kill
the woman (especially by the brutal method of stoning her to death), He would
show Himself to be unmerciful and cruel, and the people would turn away from
Him. They decided to make Jesus a sort of "judge-for-a-day", with a case that
would spell disaster for Him no matter which verdict He rendered. Or at least
that's how they had it figured. The only problem is, when you come to Jesus'
courtroom, things are never quite that predictable!

I saw a courtroom drama once that had a unexpected twist. In the middle of an
important trial, the defendant was suddenly released and the prosecutor was
accused of committing the crime! This is just what Jesus did to the Pharisees
that day. He turned the tables on them. One moment they were vigorously
prosecuting the adulterous woman, and the next they found that they were ones
being accused! Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as
though He did not hear. 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.” And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.

Yes, in Jesus' courtroom, things are just a little bit different! In other courts
there is always the possibility that an injustice may occur, but not here. Here
the real truth always comes out, and real justice is always done. And one thing
we find is that, in Jesus' courtroom, everyone is guilty.

A preacher named Emerson Ross was visiting the office of a fellow-pastor and
noticed a small smoothly-polished rock on his desk. He was surprised to see an
inscription on it that read, “The First Stone.” When he asked his colleague
about it, the pastor replied that he kept the stone on his desk to remind him of
John 8:7, “He who is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone.” It was
to remind him that the first place for a Christian to look for sin is in his own
heart. Jesus led the Pharisees to recognize the true facts of the case - that no
one is innocent of sin before God. In Jesus' courtroom, everyone is guilty. John
says, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not
in us." --I Jn 1:9. Jesus confronted the Pharisees with their own very clearly. So
clearly, in fact, that the conclusion was inescapable, even for them. The older
men got the point a bit more quickly, but eventually they all figured it out. They
realized that they were sinners, too. And so, one by one, they walked away from
Jesus.

Before God, everyone is guilty of sin. As Isaiah said, "We are all like an
unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags." -- 64:6. And
when you are confronted with your own sin, you can do one of two things. You
can do what the Pharisees did: you can turn away from Jesus in frustration and
anger. Or you do what that woman did: you can turn toward Jesus in repentance
and faith.

As a pastor, I see both those reactions. The toughest thing any pastor has to
face in his ministry are those times when he must confront one of the sheep of
his flock with sin. Frankly, it makes me extremely uncomfortable when I have
to do it. If there was any way to avoid it I would. But it must be done. It must
be done, not in the self-righteous way the Pharisees did it, but rather with God's
Word, in a loving and concerned manner. Jesus exhortation not to cast the first
stone doesn't release us from our Christian responsibility to condemn sin when
we see it, and to warn those of our fellow-Christians whose eternal salvation is
endangered by it. Just the opposite, in fact: Scripture says that if you see a
fellow believer sinning and don't say anything about it, you're showing hatred,
not love for that person. God says, "You shall not hate your brother in your
heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him."
-- Lv 19:17.

And how do people react when confronted with sin? Some react like the
Pharisees, and turn away from their Savior and His Word. They immediately
deny their sin and go on the defensive. They get angry. They try to change the
subject. They may even start "throwing stones" at the pastor or at other church
members. But thankfully, most Christians react differently. Most believers react
like the woman in our text did, by turning in repentance to their Savior. You
talk to them, not as a pompous holier-than-thou, but as one sinner to another.
you warn them in a loving and concerned way that their behavior could threaten
the most precious thing they’ve got – their Christian faith. And when you do
that, very often Christians will freely acknowledge their guilt and seek the
Lord's forgiveness. And that's a beautiful thing. Because they always discover
the same thing that the woman in our text discovered - that, in Jesus'
courtroom, anyone can be pardoned!

0D
After the Pharisees filed out one by one, Jesus was left alone, and the woman
standing in the midst. 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?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her,
“Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

Was it a question of guilt? No, the defendant was guilty beyond the shadow of
a doubt. The only thing left was to pass sentence. In her case we'd expect to
hear a harsh and immediate condemnation. Instead, we hear the merciful words
of Jesus, "Neither do I condemn you." You are pardoned. You can go free!

Now right about here another question might arise in your mind; i.e., “Is this
really justice?” Is it fair for God to let guilty sinners completely off the hook?
Yes, it is. For God has earned the right to let sinners go free. Earned it, by
sacrificing His own Son in their place! Every sin must indeed be punished, but
the Lord punished Jesus instead of us. When Jesus suffered on the cross of
Calvary, He bore the complete punishment for every last one of our sins - yours
and mine. He paid for them all! It doesn't matter who you are. It doesn't matter
what sins you have in your background, or how black your record is. You can
hide yourself in the wounds of Jesus Christ. The precious blood that flowed
from those wounds is the currency with which He paid for your pardon.

Bear in mind that this doesn’t come naturally. Our first impulse is to flee from
Jesus’ courtroom. It makes us uncomfortable to have our sins exposed. We
don’t like it when our faults are brought under the unblinking scrutiny of God’s
Law. But think of that woman in our text – they had to drag her into Jesus’
courtroom that day, but what was the result? If you’d have asked her later, she
probably would have said that it was the most blessed day of her life! Think of
it – she was interrupted while walking this perilous path of sin. God’s Law was
applied to her sin and she repented, and was able to hear the Son of God
Himself pronounce her forgiveness! What blessed pardon! And the most
wonderful thing is that this same forgiveness through faith in Christ is available
to you every day of your life. I'm urging you, my fellow Christians, come to
Jesus' courtroom. Here, anyone can be pardoned! Bring your sins to Jesus -
confess them, forsake them. And drink in the comforting words your Savior,
"Neither do I condemn you!"

We have a law in United States jurisprudence; it states that a person cannot be
tried for the same crime twice. Once you've been acquitted you remain
acquitted, and no other court has the right to bring you to trial on the same
charges. Similarly, in Christ, the great problem of your sin has been solved once
and for all. Once you are pronounced "not guilty" in Jesus' courtroom, no one
else has the right to condemn you - not God or the devil, not your fellow man
or your own conscience. "Where are your accusers?" Jesus asks. Who can
possibly condemn you, now that Christ Himself - the judge of all the universe -
has granted you a pardon? No one can. The very idea is absurd, when you think
about it. Paul concludes, "There is therefore now no condemnation to those
who are in Christ Jesus." -- Rom 8:1. That's why we say that, in Jesus'
courtroom, anyone can be pardoned. That's why we sing, in one of our favorite
communion hymns,

Who can condemn me now, for surely
The Lord is nigh Who justifies.
No hell I fear; and thus, securely,
With Jesus I to heaven rise!

Do you want to memorize a Bible passage? I recommend these five words from
John 8:11: "Neither do I condemn you.” That’s what Jesus told the sinful
woman. What precious words! If you are a weary sinner, like I am…if you have
a burden of guilt and failures and shortcomings like I do…if your past
sometimes seems to you (like it does to me) to be one long series of failures to
serve your Lord Jesus as you should…then COME TO JESUS’
COURTROOM. Bring all those sins, repent of them, and forsake them. And
then hear your Savior’s sweet verdict, “Neither do I condemn you.” As you
leave church this morning, I hope you’ll take those words with you out the
door. They’ll be a comfort to you every day of your life. And most comforting
of all is the knowledge that you will hear them again, for the last time, when
you reach the right hand of God’s throne of judgment on the Last Day: “Neither
do I condemn you… Come you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” AMEN.