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At the age of thirty, Jesus entered the religious arena with a message of hope and assurance. To the populist, it was an awakening of spiritual truth. For generations, their religious leaders had bound them with traditions based on misinterpretations of the Holy Scrolls. The teachings that Jesus brought were like a breath of fresh air. People proclaimed with excitement that they had never heard teaching like that before. They would use words like “astonished,” “marveled,” and “amazed.” Soon the crowds grew into multitudes that caused gridlocks in the communities where He appeared. People began to label Jesus as a Teacher, then a Prophet, and soon speculation abounded that He might be the long-awaited Messiah. At first, the Pharisees put up with His teachings, but when He exposed their hypocrisy they had to do something about it. The Pharisees had experienced other false prophets and had dealt with them accordingly, so Jesus should be no different! Quickly, they realized He was no ordinary disillusioned individual. There was no denying the validity of the miracles and wonders that He was performing. They knew that if they seized Him there could be a physical conflict with the people and this could not be tolerated, especially with Rome overseeing their occupied land. The religious leaders tried sending a small group of soldiers to take Him quietly, probably after a teaching seminar, but the soldiers were taken back with His teachings and disobeyed the order. (John 7:46) The leaders needed another approach. If they could get Jesus to ignore, and even contradict the Scriptures, they would be able to expose Him as a heretic.
To set Jesus up, the Pharisees needed a situation where there was no possibility of misinterpretation of the Law. Someone suggested using adultery as a point of reference. The penalty for such an act was death by stoning. (Leviticus 20:10) The gamble the Pharisees were taking was that Jesus would reject the Law in favor of His previous compassionate displays. Finding an adulterous situation took some effort and time. Finally, they discovered a couple in a flagrant display of extra-marital activity. Immediately, they took the woman to the Temple where Jesus was teaching. They interrupted the class by shoving the woman in front of Jesus. They claimed that Moses commanded “that such should be stoned,” so what was His feeling on the subject? Jesus, completely ignoring them, simply stooped down and wrote on the ground. They continued to demand an answer, and finally He rose up and said that anyone without sin should cast the first stone. He then stooped down and continued to write. The Bible states that the accusers started leaving from the oldest to the youngest. Jesus asked the woman where her accusers were. She told Him they were gone. Jesus then told the adulteress that He did not condemn her and that she should not sin again. (John 8:1-11)
Today, being a true representative of the Gospel is a very difficult road to travel. Whenever the Truth is proclaimed, people will try and trip up the shepherd so that their flocks will be scattered. Many good leaders, in both the world and the church, have fallen due to consistent efforts of others to destroy their mandates. Politicians and Spiritual leaders will always be the target of the enemy. Jesus knew that according to the Law, both the adulterer and the adulteress were to be stoned, but the Pharisees were selective in their interpretation. Never enter into debate with Biblically illiterate people. Learn to forgive instead of condemn. Never condone sin, but always warn of continual sin.
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