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The Woman with the Second Chance (This sermon was preached at Cedar Ridge Baptist Church in Burleson, Texas. It was preached in May of 1992, in the morning service. I had been serving as a Sunday school teacher for an adult couples class. The pastor was out of town on vacation.) Today I want to reintroduce you to one of the women of the Bible. I don’t know her name. She isn’t a person to be used as a great moral example. We find her at a time of great shame. And I don’t know what happened to her after we leave this accounting of her. But her encounter with Jesus was an occasion of great learning. Through this encounter we find the ultimate definition of love and compassion that is exemplified in Jesus. Read with me as we revisit the story as it is found in John 8:3-12. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now, what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him begin stoning her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin. Here we have a picture of deceit. The scribes and Pharisees saw a chance to discredit Jesus. Notice, that they have no concern for this poor woman who has become the thing that they will use to accomplish their task. Notice also that they agree, because it suits their purpose, that Jesus is indeed a rabbi. If you intend to destroy somebody, he might as well be someone of some authority. These religious leaders, who so callously brought this woman before Jesus, believed that they had forced Jesus into a no win situation. They believed that any decision that he made in this situation would discredit him and benefit themselves. The situation as they saw it was as follows: First, Jesus’ ministry had been , and always will be, one of love, mercy, and compassion. They knew his nature. They knew of his compassion. If he were to condemn this woman, as the Jewish law requires that he do, she would have to be stoned to death. Where is the love, mercy and compassion in that act? In addition, if she were condemned to be stoned, Jesus would have violated Roman law, for the Jews were forbidden to pass the death penalty. It would be an easy solution to their problem to have the Romans deal with this upstart rabbi, which ironically is exactly what they eventually did. Secondly, the scribes and Pharisees, felt that Jesus had another option. I believe that they secretly believed that Jesus would simply release her. Remember, they knew of his nature, of his compassion. However, this also would have served their purpose well. For had this woman been released, they would have proclaimed to one and all that Jesus was teaching men to break the law of Moses; and, they would insist that he was condoning and encouraging people to commit adultery; and by so doing he would be discredited and labeled a false teacher. They believed that they had won. Jesus had been forced into a “no win” situation that they would use to dispatch this upstart rabbi. But, you know the story. You remember what Jesus did. His actions and His words spoke loudly and clearly to each of these accusers hidden in the security of the crowd. With His actions and words Jesus said, “You are right! She is guilty! You have the right to put her to death! But only if you, yourself, have never wanted to do the same thing. But only if you, yourself, have never sinned against God” The Bible tells us that no one moved against this woman. In fact the crowd that had surely gathered to witness the sentence...just.. melted.. away. It is interesting that the scripture says that the crowd began to dissipate with the eldest first. I wonder why? Do you suppose that it has anything to do with the fact that those of us who have lived longer should know better? I don’t know. But as we deal with this portion of scripture that gives us this story of compassion and forgiveness, I want to look at three things: 1. To Jesus every person is a person of great worth; 2. Every one of us is worthy of a Second Chance; and 3. Jesus extends to each of us a challenge to live righteous lives. First of all, let me assure you that to Jesus every person is a person of great worth. However, to the scribes and Pharisees, of this story, the woman was not a woman at all. She was a thing. Her misfortune and shame was totally ignored. To them she was a tool. Something to be used to achieve a desired result. She had no personality. I doubt seriously if they even knew her name It is wrong to regard people as things. People have personalities. People have names. A biblical scholar once said that the Bible is very fond of names. In the book of Genesis, verse 17:5, God spoke to Abraham and said, “...thy name shall be Abraham.” In the book of Exodus, verse 33:1, God spoke to Moses and said, “I know thee by name....” In the book of Isaiah, verse 45:3, God said to Cyrus, “It is I, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.” And in the gospel according to Matthew, verse 1:21, God’s angel speaks to Mary, Jesus’ mother, and says, “...and thou shall call His name Jesus.” I pray that we don’t ever think of each other, or the world outside this building, as things. It can happen. As soon as people lose their name...”Oh, there goes that drunk;....Oh, there goes that looser; Oh, there goes that charity case; or....Oh, there goes that sinner.” William Barclay has said, “The minute people become things the spirit of Christianity is dead.” I believe Barclay was right. My friends, to God that “drunk” is a person;...that “charity case” is a person;...that “loser” is a person;...that “sinner” is a person;.... and more than that, each one is a person of great worth. The ease that people become things to us is illustrated by a news story I clipped out of a paper several years ago. When they found her she had been dead for a week. The Police discovered that the water had been turned off for a month. The electricity had been off for three months. There was no food in the house. She looked as if she was near 80, but they found that she was barely 50 years old. No one knew her name. Investigations revealed that she was called Mary. But what really touched me was that during the investigation the police had found her diary. For months the same entry was written on each page of each day, “No one came today...no one came.” She had died a thing. No one knew her name. No one saw the person. I pray that we are sensitive to people. I pray that people not become things to us. Yes, this woman that the scribes and Pharisees threw before Jesus was an adulteress. To them she was a thing. To them she was something to be used. They didn’t see the person. However to Jesus, she was a person. And even more than that, to Jesus she was a person of great worth. If other people look down on you and treat you as if they are better than you, then they are treating you as a thing. If you think that you are not good enough to be a Christian or if you think you are not worthy, then you are treating yourself as a thing. If that’s the case, then I want you to pay attention to me right now. I want your Total attention. You may sleep later in the sermon; but right now I want you to hear this. It doesn’t matter what any one else thinks about you... it doesn’t even matter what you think about yourself...Jesus sees you as a person of great worth. You are important. You are a person of great worth, and He loves you. Not only are you a person of great worth; but, to Jesus each one of us is worthy of a “Second Chance.” Let us turn our attention back to the situation of the adulterous woman again. When the scribes and Pharisees threw this woman at Jesus’ feet, it was not for the purpose of giving her a fair trial. They were not seeking a just judgement. Look again at the passage. The scripture says she was caught in the very act. In their mind she was not before Jesus to receive a judgment. She was brought there to receive a sentence. She was guilty. They knew it. And now, because of them, the whole community knew it. As far as they were concerned she was all out of chances. My friends you sit in this congregation today as a guilty person. Oh, you may not be a murderer, thief, or adulterer. But just like that crowd that lifted stones to kill this woman, there is not one of us that does not carry the condemnation of sin in our lives. There is not a one of us that does not need to hear this message. Our offense may not seem to be great. Certainly, we have committed no serious crime. However, it may be that your sin is an unforgiving spirit. It may be selfishness. It could be greed. It could be insensitivity to others. It could be a lack of compassion. It could be apathy and lack of commitment to the life that Jesus would want you to live. Yours may be a life that has strayed from the relationship that God would have you to have. You may sit here today and say, “My life is too far gone to change it now”. You may say, “I’ve done too much to start over now.” It may be that you are in a situation where your family is in shambles. A relationship between husband and wife may be seriously troubled Relationships between parents and children may be broken. Or a relationship between a Christian and a church family could appear to be lost and hopeless. If that is your testimony then I have a word for you. In Jesus Christ we find the Gospel of the “Second Chance.” That’s His business. That’s what he does: giving second chances. You see, my friend, it isn’t God who decides that there are no more chances in your life. We are the ones who determine when there are no more chances. About a year ago I heard an unusual amount of traffic on my street. When I looked out my window, I saw the police, an ambulance, and a number of cars parked all over the street. Their attention was directed at my next door neighbor. We finally learned that a young lady, in her early twenties, had taken a handgun and committed suicide. Apparently she had determined that she was all out of chances. With Jesus, there is always a chance. I am here today to tell you that if you want a Second Chance. Then it is yours. You can have it. Look at this adulteress woman. In her shame she stands before the whole community. In her shame she stands before Jesus. Just a moment before she stood there waiting for the stones to crash against her body. But the stones didn’t come. And as she stands there with her eyes cast down in shame, tenderly Jesus says, “Woman, is there no one to condemn you?” And she answers correctly, “No one Lord”. I don’t know if she realized that at that moment she stood before the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings, and the Champion of all mankind. But she answered correctly, “No one ...Lord.” And look at what Jesus says, “Then neither do I, go and sin no more.” Now, it is important that we understand Jesus’ action here. It is important that we realize that Jesus does not forgive lightly nor easily; as if the sin did not matter. Jesus is not saying, “Don’t worry about it, everything is all right.” No! Because sin is not all right with God. It never will be. What Jesus is saying here is, “I’m not going to pass judgement now; go and prove that you can do better. You have sinned. Go and sin no more, and I’ll help you. At the end of the day we will see how you have lived. So go now, you have a second chance.” The poet has written these lines: How I wish there was some wonderful place Called the Land of Beginning Again, Where all our mistakes and all our heartaches And all our poor selfish grief Could be dropped like a shabby old coat at the door And never put on again. My friends, if you are here today looking for a second chance, then you have found it. But I want you to clearly understand that Jesus did not say that what you have done is of no consequences. Jesus said that you can have a second chance; but what you do with it is important. Jesus considers all people to be people of great worth; and He will give us a second chance; But He also challenges us to be faithful to Him and live righteous lives. Jesus challenged this woman to go and live a sinless life. He didn’t say “ Oh, its alright. Don’t worry about it. Just go on living as you have been.” Notice that He didn’t say, “Go on, now, and try not to sin very much.” No, Jesus said, “It’s not alright...as a matter of fact, its all wrong. Go away from this place now and fight. Change your life from the top to the bottom. Go out and sin... no... more.” Please don’t look at this encounter and mistake it for a picture of easy forgiveness. Jesus issues a challenge here to a sinner which directs her to the heights of goodness of which she had never dreamed. Jesus confronts a bad life with a challenge of the good. You know, as Christians, this is not a new message. We are used to being challenged. We, Baptists, are great goal setters. We set our goals; and, then we set our challenge goal. We are challenged regularly by pastors, evangelists, missionaries, and Sunday school teachers. We are challenged so much that it begins to become an ordinary occurrence to us. Make no mistake about it, Jesus’ challenge to this adulterous woman and to you is no ordinary challenge. People, I don’t know how to move you today with this challenge that Jesus presents. I only know that it is as fresh and urgent today as it was on that dusty day in Israel two thousand years ago, when a sinful woman and a forgiving Savior stood alone together. The God of all creation is speaking to you right now. He says, “I issue you this challenge...Go, and sin no more.” Remember He isn’t saying, “Go and don’t sin very much.” "How can I do that? How can I go and sin no more? My very nature causes me to sin even as I am being cleansed." When you come to think of it, it is a staggering thing that Jesus should say to a sinful nature, “Go and sin no more.” But what should fill your heart with hope is the fact that Jesus believed that it is within you to do that. He believes that with his help the sinner has it in him to become a saint. You see, if Jesus hadn’t of thought that we were worthy of sinless lives, He would have said instead, “You are a wretched and hopeless creature, there is no hope in you at all.” But Jesus sees you and me, sinners that we are, each as potential saints. I’m not saying here that I will live a sinless live for the rest of my life. But I have got to believe that Jesus wants me to try. I believe that that is what He challenged this adulterous woman to do. Jesus considers all people as people of great worth; He gives us a second chance when we need it most; but, He also challenges us to be faithful to Him and to live righteous lives. This story is told of Abraham Lincoln. President Lincoln received many requests for pardons for soldiers who were sentenced to die. Each appeal was always accompanied by testimonials from famous people. One day the President received an appeal for pardon without any testimonials. “What,” asked Mr. Lincoln, “has this man no friends? Does no one care?” “No sir,” came the answer, “Not one.” “Then,” said the President, “I will be his friend. I will care.” and he signed the pardon. In even a greater spirit, Jesus gives each of us a second chance. What will you do with your second chance today? Are you willing to accept his challenge and go and sin no more. With His help we are all potential saints. God bless you and keep you.
© Copyright 2004 PlannerDan (UN: planner at Writing.Com).
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