Jesus once set a guilty woman free from her accusers by showing
that the people who were judging her were just as guilty of sin as
she was. “All right, stone her,” he said to the religious leaders
who were ready with stones in hand to deliver the judgment she
indeed deserved. “But let those who have never sinned throw the
first stones!” (John 8:7 NLT)
This incident shows us something very important about our purpose
as followers of Christ. Our job is not to throw judgment upon people
but to identify with them. The Pharisees and religious leaders were
trying to separate themselves from this sinful woman they had found
in the act of committing adultery. By judging her, they were going
to be able to feel much better about themselves. Jesus put a stop to
their little charade by putting them in the same boat with the woman
they were accusing. They were just as guilty.
It is so tempting to think that we are better than other people.
We love soap operas and reality shows where everyone’s life is so
despicable, we can feel better about our own lives. But whenever you
start to separate yourself from sinners, you forget that it was your
sin that brought you to Christ in the first place. I know this
because I’m so good at it.
The Gospel comes best from people who identify with the sins of
others, because they have become so familiar with their own sin. It
is noted in the account that as the self-righteous leaders were
convicted by the presence of sin in their own lives, “they slipped
away one by one, beginning with the oldest.” (John 8:9 NLT) That
makes sense. The oldest would be the ones most aware of their own
sinfulness. There comes a time in your life when you can’t fool
yourself anymore. There were probably a few young, arrogant
idealists who hung on as long as possible, but even they had to
finally give in to the truth about their own guilt and drop their
stones.
The proliferation of both spoken and unspoken judgment found,
sadly, within Christian communities has forced many into the world,
unarmed and without a known Christian friend and mutual sinner.
Christians are constantly trying to separate themselves from a world
that Jesus wants them in. Jesus wants us to see our own sin and not
make such a big fuss over everyone else’s. Our sin nature is our
connection with everyone else who struggles in life, our salvation
is our hope, and the Good News of the Gospel is our message.
Anyone can spot a mile away the hypocrisy of proclaiming a gospel
about the forgiveness of everyone’s sins but your own.
