Did Jesus Ignore the Law of Moses?

Tom:

We are continuing with the gospel and we are going through the Gospel of John and we’re looking specifically for salvation verses from this wonderful, wonderful book.Dave we try to encourage people who have not read the Bible before, but are sort of interested, this is a good place to begin.It’s just a wonderful book, as all the books are, but this is a good place to start.We are in John 8.We are not breaking any land records, any speed records here, for going through this, but I don’t think that matters much as long as we’re—

Dave:

I’m encouraged that we are starting a new chapter.

Tom:

Okay.This is John:8:1-6 [1] Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. [2] And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. [3] And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, [4] They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. [5] Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? [6] This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
See All..., “Jesus went unto the mount of Olives.And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, they say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?This they said, tempting him that they might have to accuse him.But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.”Interesting reaction, I mean we’re going to go on with more of it, but—

Dave:

This is an interesting passage, as all of the scriptures are.Well first of all you get the setting here.Jesus went into the Mount of Olives and then he goes into the temple again.It doesn’t tell us when this was in his life, in his ministry which no doubt he came to Jerusalem a number of times.I think it’s the last few days, although John hasn’t told us that yet and we don’t get things necessarily in order.We will come to that in chapter 12 when he rides into Jerusalem on a donkey.At that point he’s been hiding out because the Jews sought to slay him it says.He walked no more in Jewry.The Jews sought to slay him.We get that in chapter 11.There’s a price on his head.The rabbis want to get him and kill him.But he doesn’t go away.When he rides into Jerusalem they hail him and so forth.Then he stays each night in the mount of Olives in that garden and I think that’s the picture here.And then he comes back into the temple.The people come to him, they sit down and he teaches them.Now we have the scribes and the Pharisees.They are always trying to trap him.They bring to him a woman taken in adultery and they want to know what he’s going to say.Because if he says let’s stone her (that’s what the law says), then the Romans will get him.Because when we get to chapter 18 of John’s gospel, when the rabbis take Jesus to Pilate, Pilate says you’ve got your law, judge him after your law and they say we can’t.It’s not lawful for us.He’s a malefactor, he deserves death, and it’s not lawful for us to put any man to death.They had lost that right, remember about AD 7.The scepter had departed from Judah.And Genesis:49:10The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
See All..., the Messiah had to come before the scepter departed from Judah.They had great autonomy at least in their religion, but to practice Judaism you had to be able to stone and they have lost that right and they acknowledge it, although they were not scrupulous about obeying the Roman law.They tried to stone Jesus a number of times.They stoned Stephen and so forth.So they are trapping him.If he says, well let’s stone her, this is what the law says, then the Romans will put him to death.If he says we’re not going to stone her, then he’s breaking the law and the people will at least be confused and they certainly will lower their estimation.

Tom:

And they can bring accusation in this so-called religious tribunal.

Dave:

That’s right.So what is Jesus doing?Now he acts like he didn’t hear them, it says, but that’s in italics.That’s an interpretation of the translator.I’d like to give my own interpretation.

Tom:

Okay, well just put it in italics.

Dave:

Right, right.I don’t think he’s acting like he didn’t hear them.People speculate what did he write on the ground?He could very well have written on the ground, “Where is the man?”It takes two to commit adultery and the law was very clear.You bring the man and the woman.Now what do you mean, she’s taken in the very act they say.Hey guys, if you’ve got her in the very act how come you let the man go?I don’t know what he wrote, but that has to be part of the consideration here.But Jesus—maybe their response doesn’t indicate that, I’d kind of like to think that.But they persist and maybe he didn’t right anything, because they don’t seem to be responding to it.They are persisting about this woman.He looks up, and this is profound, John:8:7So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
See All..., “He said unto them, “So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.”Wow!Now that’s an insight.You mean—our courts today would say, you come into a court against someone you should come with clean hands because you may be cross-examined too, and you may expose yourself.That’s why sometimes people are not willing to point out false doctrine in others.Well maybe because they are in a glass house and they’ve got some of their own problems.They don’t want to be exposed, but if you come with an accusation against someone, remember we talked about it, you break one command, you are guilty of all.You should come with clean hands; you should come as someone who is without blame yourself.How can you blame others?And of course in Matthew 7 Jesus says it in a different way as I am sure most of our listeners would recall.He said you try to cast the moat out of your brother’s eye and you’ve got a beam in your own eye, so this is what he is saying.But it’s not just an ordinary man who is saying this.If you and I said it Tom, we’d probably get an argument.But when Jesus says it there’s conviction.

Tom:

Well not only that, Dave he knew.I mean we have God here.Perfect man, God in the flesh, knowing every thought, every heart right there.Knowing their sin, knowing this trap that they set for him.But also their involvement with sins of this nature.

Dave:

Right.Tom again, I don’t want to offend people out there.We try our best not to but we still have to face the facts.It reminds me very much of something that is in the news a whole lot these days and that is the sins of Roman Catholic priests—pedophilia and so forth.That used to be covered up and in fact this is part of the complaint that people are making.They would just move you to another parish and some of the dioceses are now bankrupt because of the huge settlements they’ve had to make and I am sure there is a lot of cover up.Among the rabbis, they pretend they are holy but as you said, Jesus knows their hearts, and he knows to whom he is speaking.And when he says that and with the conviction of God, the Spirit of God—well it says, it’s interesting again, that he stoops down and writes on the ground again.Now maybe this is when he writes on the ground, where is the man?I don’t know.But it says in verse 9, “They which heard, being convicted of their own conscience went out one by one, beginning at the eldest even unto the last and Jesus was left alone and the woman standing in the midst.”So that’s interesting.I guess older people recognize their sin more than brash young people who think their doing pretty well.It’s like the man who prays, “Lord, I’ve really been doing really well today so far and I hope you’ll keep it up with me now that I’m getting out of bed.”

Tom:

Well it’s like the young man that we’ve talked about earlier.The young rich man—“Oh no, I’m fine, I’m squared with all those things.”Not really looking into his heart.Those sins that Jesus mentioned in his heart.Never mind the actual physical sin.

Dave:

It’s a profound scripture.It reveals again the wisdom and the deity of our Lord Jesus and it reveals our hearts as well.