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From: [size=x-large]The Wisdom of Jesus[/size] 'When Jesus Asks You Not to Judge'
[size=x-large]T[/size]he word hypocrite comes from the Greek dramatic tradition of Jesus' era. It spoke of an actor who played a role and wore a mask that obscured his own features. The idea of "saying one thing and being another" is usually attached to hypocrisy today.
The group that Jesus continually labeled as hypocritical was that of the Jewish religious leaders, notably the self-righteous Pharisees. He used strong descriptions of them, calling them "white washed tombs," meaning attractive to the eye but dead on the inside. Certainly there was no love lost between Jesus and these pompous leaders. He detested the total inconsistency between their religious image and their actual motives and behavior. They resented Jesus' appeal to the people, and they did everything they could to trick Jesus into some kind of mistake through which they could finally get rid of Him.
None Are Without Sin
When they kept on questioning Him, He straightened up and said the them, "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." And once again He bent down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before Him. Jesus straightened up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" (John 8:7-10)
This early morning encounter in the temple area was an unseemly attempt to force Jesus to be cruel or stand in opposition to the Mosaic law. Furthermore, nothing is said about how this woman was caught in her adultery. It has all the earmarks of a setup, however, especially since there is no mention of the man she was caught with, who was equally guilty. The hypocritical religious leaders, the Pharisees, were testing Jesus, trying to force Him to make a pronouncement opposing what the Law of Moses said about stoning adulterers. At the very least, they wanted to make Him look like a fool. But Jesus expertly turned the tables on them. The hypocrites ended up with egg all over their faces.
"People who live in glass houses should not throw stones, " advises the humorous saying. Since almost everyone has significant shortcomings somewhere in their lives, however, shouldn't we all let go of the rocks in our hands?
How did He do it? Jesus turned the spotlight from the accused to the accusers. He refused to focus on whether, morally, the woman should be stoned, but rather He focused on who was morally fit to do the stoning. Rather than stepping onto the trapdoor that had been Set up for Him, Jesus pulled the rug out from under the hypocrites who were conspiring against Him. Jesus' brilliant statement was much of what turned this difficult confrontation around. Since there was no denying that everyone in the crowd (except Jesus) had sinned, even the consciences of the hypocrites were convicted, and they had to back off from acting as if they were morally superior.
From Humility to Compassion
Yet it appears that Jesus writing something on the ground also played a key role in all this. It is doubtful that Jesus was simply doodling in the dirt or merely playing mind games with the religious leaders. There is no way to know for sure what He was writing. One plausible theory is that, when Jesus bent down, He was writing out the Ten Commandments "You shall not commit adultery" was the one at issue when the woman was brought before Jesus. Yet, other commandments, such as "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor," also came into play, especially if catching this woman on this day was a setup. Whatever the case, the combination of Jesus' actions unnerved the accusers.
The wisdom of Jesus here relates to humanity. None of us is in a position to be haughty in judging the actions of other people. That is not to say that there are not moral standards that must be guarded carefully if a society is to remain strong. It is to say, however, that no one except Jesus is in a position to make himself or herself the standard. Very often, compassion is the better part of wisdom.
Dear Lord,
Because I consistently blow it, I have to admit that I am in no position to condemn anyone else. Help me not be hypocritical but instead be gracious to those who fall short, as I have often done.
Amen.
[size=x-large]T[/size]he word hypocrite comes from the Greek dramatic tradition of Jesus' era. It spoke of an actor who played a role and wore a mask that obscured his own features. The idea of "saying one thing and being another" is usually attached to hypocrisy today.
The group that Jesus continually labeled as hypocritical was that of the Jewish religious leaders, notably the self-righteous Pharisees. He used strong descriptions of them, calling them "white washed tombs," meaning attractive to the eye but dead on the inside. Certainly there was no love lost between Jesus and these pompous leaders. He detested the total inconsistency between their religious image and their actual motives and behavior. They resented Jesus' appeal to the people, and they did everything they could to trick Jesus into some kind of mistake through which they could finally get rid of Him.
None Are Without Sin
When they kept on questioning Him, He straightened up and said the them, "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." And once again He bent down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before Him. Jesus straightened up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" (John 8:7-10)
This early morning encounter in the temple area was an unseemly attempt to force Jesus to be cruel or stand in opposition to the Mosaic law. Furthermore, nothing is said about how this woman was caught in her adultery. It has all the earmarks of a setup, however, especially since there is no mention of the man she was caught with, who was equally guilty. The hypocritical religious leaders, the Pharisees, were testing Jesus, trying to force Him to make a pronouncement opposing what the Law of Moses said about stoning adulterers. At the very least, they wanted to make Him look like a fool. But Jesus expertly turned the tables on them. The hypocrites ended up with egg all over their faces.
"People who live in glass houses should not throw stones, " advises the humorous saying. Since almost everyone has significant shortcomings somewhere in their lives, however, shouldn't we all let go of the rocks in our hands?
How did He do it? Jesus turned the spotlight from the accused to the accusers. He refused to focus on whether, morally, the woman should be stoned, but rather He focused on who was morally fit to do the stoning. Rather than stepping onto the trapdoor that had been Set up for Him, Jesus pulled the rug out from under the hypocrites who were conspiring against Him. Jesus' brilliant statement was much of what turned this difficult confrontation around. Since there was no denying that everyone in the crowd (except Jesus) had sinned, even the consciences of the hypocrites were convicted, and they had to back off from acting as if they were morally superior.
From Humility to Compassion
Yet it appears that Jesus writing something on the ground also played a key role in all this. It is doubtful that Jesus was simply doodling in the dirt or merely playing mind games with the religious leaders. There is no way to know for sure what He was writing. One plausible theory is that, when Jesus bent down, He was writing out the Ten Commandments "You shall not commit adultery" was the one at issue when the woman was brought before Jesus. Yet, other commandments, such as "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor," also came into play, especially if catching this woman on this day was a setup. Whatever the case, the combination of Jesus' actions unnerved the accusers.
The wisdom of Jesus here relates to humanity. None of us is in a position to be haughty in judging the actions of other people. That is not to say that there are not moral standards that must be guarded carefully if a society is to remain strong. It is to say, however, that no one except Jesus is in a position to make himself or herself the standard. Very often, compassion is the better part of wisdom.
Dear Lord,
Because I consistently blow it, I have to admit that I am in no position to condemn anyone else. Help me not be hypocritical but instead be gracious to those who fall short, as I have often done.
Amen.