Believe in me, so that rivers of living water will burst out from within you; flowing from your innermost being, just like the Scripture says! John 7:37 (TPT)
Rivers of Living Water – Written In Dust Series – Part 5
Go to PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 4 | PART 5 | PART 6 | PART 7
Our beloved story in John 8 about a woman accused of adultery is a tale of grace and mercy, and how we shouldn’t throw stones at each other, because, hey, we’d all end up dead.
But it’s also so much more.
This is a story about politics and resistance. About a Rabbi standing up to corrupt power structures. About how collateral damage is a phrase that we shouldn't even know because it’s so foreign to The Way of Jesus.
The beautiful woman in John 8 may or may not have committed adultery. We don’t know. We know very little about her.
We do know that Jesus caused a stir during the pinnacle moment of the Feast of Tabernacles (which happened in the days leading up to the happenings of John 8). While the people were praying for water and rain and providence, crying “God save us, God save us” as the priest poured water and wine onto the Altar, Jesus shouted above the crowd:
“All you thirsty ones, come to me! Come to me and drink! Believe in me, so that rivers of living water will burst out from within you; flowing from your innermost being, just like the Scripture says!” (John 7:36-37.)
The audacity and courage and humility of Jesus to say that at such a time is magnificent!
No wonder those drunk on power hated him. No wonder they felt threatened and afraid and offended. After all, Jesus was a carpenters son, from Nazareth! Who the heck was he to suggest that people could find God on their own?
The story in John 8 is really about a bunch of angry men who wanted Jesus dead and went to desperate lengths to do it.
Did they stumble across a man and a woman having an affair and grasped the opportunity given them to test Jesus, to publicly put him on the spot, hoping that he would make a mistake and damage himself and his credibility in front of everyone?
Or did they plan every step?
What happens when you get thousands of people together, eating and drinking and sleeping in tents for over a week? It’s not hard to imagine that infidelity was easy in such a setting. Did the religious leaders encourage adultery between two unsuspecting parties? Or was the man involved on board with the plan, and struck a deal with them that he would remain anonymous? It’s also not entirely unrealistic that this woman was forced into it. Like I said, we only have the word of her accusers to go on.
No matter how it happened, the woman was being used as a pawn in a plan to trap Jesus out. A situation not uncommon in our world today.
What did Jesus write in the dust?
He could have written Jeremiah 17, as they had recited the day or two prior:
“Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust
because they have forsaken the Lord,
the spring of living water.”
Perhaps he wrote their names, or their sins
After a time, Jesus stood and said:
“Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
In ancient Hebrew, if someone falsely accused someone of a crime and the person accused was executed, if they were found out, they would be charged with murder and sentenced to death, too.
Jesus wasn’t just showing grace to the woman accused, he was giving these guys an out, too. Reminding them that they’re better than that. That’s there’s more at stake than reputations and power plays. Adultery, murder, and idolatry were considered crimes against humanity for our ancient Hebrew friends. That’s why they were punishable by death. They were crimes that ate away at the soul of the community, corrupting the collective spirit and health of the tribe.
But death wasn’t/isn't the cure for these maladies. Jesus came to show us this. Violence begets violence, hate begets hate. But love? Compassion? Mercy? Forgiveness? These are the cure.
And what winds up a person, authority, a gang, an empire, more than forgiveness? What pokes around in their mess more than grace? More than unconditional love?
That’s what happened in the dust that day.
Everyone was given a chance to drink.
Go to Part 6 – Down in the Dust »
Written by Lizzy Milani
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