Live Free with Josh Howerton - Who Can Cast the First Stone? | Ep. 267 | Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Episode Date: February 13, 2024

When the Pharisees brought a woman caught in sin to Jesus, He refused to play their game. Jesus challenged them by saying that the one without sin can cast the first stone. The crowd faded away until Jesus was alone with the woman. He, the only one without sin, forgave her and called her to leave her life of sin. We, too, can be forgiven and set free from our past because of His great love for us. For more information, visit lakepointe.church/dailydrive

Thanks for tuning in to today's Daily Drive with Lake Point Church, a daily dose of God's Word for your morning drive. When the word, not the world, becomes the majority of your week, your life will start to change. For that reason, our prayer is that God will speak to you through today's devotional. For more digital content to feed your faith, visit lakepoint.comit. And now let's dive in to today's devotional. Hey, what's up everybody? Thanks for joining us on the Daily Drive. My name is Mike Bro, and we are currently diving into the Gospel of John. It's a book in the New Testament of the Bible written by a close friend and follower of Jesus. He was an eyewitness to all the amazing things that Jesus did, the incredible words that came out of his mouth, and the inclusive way he loved all people. We left off in chapter 8, verse 6 yesterday. The scene is this. The religious leaders are trying to trap Jesus and the saint are doing something they can use against him. So they said, they said, set up this woman, accuser of sexual sin, then throw her down in the dirt in front of Jesus and this huge crowd of people he's teaching. And they start screaming. This woman was caught in the

act of adultery. What do you say we do about it? And we saw these four words yesterday. Four words that might forever change the way you see God. It said this, but Jesus stooped down. Jesus stooped down. Why? Because that's where she was. Unlike the religious leaders, Jesus cared about it. Jesus cared about this woman. And he gets down on her level. Everyone else is towering judgmentally over her as she sits the shame down the dirt. She's just trying to cover up her nakedness, grab some dignity, and Jesus stoop's down. Did you know that about God? He stooped down. Stooped down to meet you right where you are. It gets right down in the dirt with you and me. It says this, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. Now, what was he writing in the sand of the dirt there?

Some have conjectured that he was writing down different sins for the crowd to see, so that they would be convicted of their own sin in this moment. Or some believe that since God wrote the Ten Commandments with his finger, maybe Jesus writes the first line in the Tenth Commandment, You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. That text would declare them all guilty of adultery. I don't know. It's one of those questions that one has Jesus in heaven,

and man, I got a pretty long list, don't you? But I think it might have been hard for the crowd to even see what he was writing. I think that maybe as he knelt there in front of this downcast woman who was avoiding eye contact with anybody, she's just staring down at the dirt. He began to write right in front of her, where only she could see. And I don't know, maybe he was writing down the Aramaic word for all the emotions he was feeling. Maybe he wrote down ashamed. Swept it away. Wirtless, swept it away.

Unloved, swept it away. Dirty, filthy, guilty, swept it away. Then he writes with his finger, God loves you. Verse 7. They, the religious leaders, kept demanding an answer. So he stood up again and he said, all right. But let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone. Then he stooped down again and rode in the dust.

He stooped down again right back to her level. And maybe this time he wrote in the dirt, forgiven. I keep this rock on my desk. It says first stone, John 8, 7. I keep it there to remind me that I have no right to throw stones at other people. and to help me remember what rock I crawled out from under when Jesus found me. You see, we have a tendency to stand over fallen people, don't we? We can stand there with rock and hand and throw out self-righteous judgment and disgust.

We can say, can you believe what a jerk that guy is? I knew she had a reputation, but I didn't think she'd do that. Well, you know what, they're going to get what they deserve. And while we pick up stones, Jesus stoops down. He gets eyeball to eyeball with fallen people. in his eyes are full of grace and truth. Verse 9. When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman.

You don't always thought this would be a cool scene in a movie. I got a little bit of director stuff wired up in me, so I'm thinking you got this wide camera shot of the crowd of people. It shows this angry mob silently walking away. rocks are hitting the ground, dust is flying up in slow motion, and as a crowd dissipates the camera gradually zooms in, the acoustic soundtrack kicks in, and there they are. Just Jesus and this woman, both on their knees in the middle of the street.

It'd be an awesome scene. Can you imagine the emotions going through her mind at this time? I mean, put yourself in her shoes for a moment. What are you feeling? Confused, ashamed, dirty, grateful? I imagine that she cannot shut off the floor, Her tears are hitting the ground, you know, making little dark circles in the dust right next to where Jesus has been writing. Verse 10, then Jesus stood up again.

And I think that when he stands up, he helps her up. That's just his nature. He wasn't going to leave this fallen woman in the dirt. He just never towers over fallen people. He stoops down, helps her up, and I think that maybe even embraces her, dries her tears, and then with his hands on her shoulder, says to the woman, look around. Where are your accusers? that even one of them condemn you?

No, Lord, she said, and Jesus said, neither do I. Go and sin no more. Jesus, the one who came full of grace and truth, says you're not guilty anymore. You've been forgiven. Now go and live gratefully for the second chance. Change your lifestyle.

Here's the truth. It doesn't have to be like this. You don't have to go searching for love in all the wrong places you are standing right now in front of unfailing love. You're accepted, you're significant, you're priceless, you are so worth it that the God of the universe stooped down in the dirt to be with you. Go and sin no more.

What do you think was going through her mind as she walked away? You see, Jesus came to give us life. He came from heaven to stoop down in the dirt of our anger, our envy, our lust, our greed, our addiction, our regret, our self-centeredness. He stoops down to lift us up and embrace us, forgive us, set us free, and change us. There really is hope and grace for everyone. Your past can be a thing of the past. And I told you gospel meant good news. You might spend some time thanking him for that today.

See you back tomorrow. Thanks for tuning in today. For more biblical teaching and worship, join us for our church online live weekend services on Saturdays at 5 p.m. and Sundays at 9.30 and 11 a.m. Central Standard Time. For more information, visit lakepoint.com. Church slash daily drive.