1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2  At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 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?" 6  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.

Jesus was teaching near the temple early the next day following the Feast of the Tabernacles. You might remember they were contemplating deciding about who Jesus was and what they should do with Him.

When our political candidates are presenting their views, the media does a wonderful job of presenting tough cases to them to respond in order to expose their real views and, however they answer, there are people they alienate. That is clearly the motive behind this charge of sin. The Pharisees interrupted Jesus’ teaching with a disturbance. A crowd came to Him bringing a woman. They made their charge against her. "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law from Moses commanded us to stone such women.  Now what do you say?"    

She had broken the moral law and there were consequences for such sins.  She was to pay the price for her sin.  Now since they knew what the law said, why bother Jesus?  It seems they wanted to cause trouble for Jesus more than wanting to punish the adulteress.  Was He going to condemn her according to full extent of the law or not? They knew Jesus was spending time with sinners; perhaps this woman was known to Jesus. They were really trying to trap Jesus by publicly condemning her and personally getting Him to approve to brutal killing of this woman.  If He refused, they would have judged Him for going against the Law of Moses.    

There was another political as well as religious factor in play. Rome had reserved for itself the right to capital punishment. If Jesus would be considered the one who authorized the stoning of this woman, then He could be breaking Roman law. If He stated she should go free, then He was breaking the Law of Moses. The leaders felt they had Him either way. Justice was not the motive behind the accusers, rather it was entrapment.       

When it comes to matters of the church, we need to realize we have no authority over those who are non-members, but does the church have any right to address sin other than speaking and teaching against it? The Bible is clear that we cannot let ongoing sin affect the body of Christ or our own relationships with one another. Paul gave instructions to the church at Corinth when a man was having an affair with his stepmother. He needed to be disciplined and to ignore it was something even non-Christians would not do. (I Cor. 5)

Jesus taught it was important to reconcile with a brothers or sisters in the Lord. (Matthew 18). If there are ongoing sins of pride, anger, and lack of repentance with no desire to reconcile, then the church officials should be involved. If there is still no change, with the recommendations of church leaders, it is a matter of church discipline resulting in disassociation. There are moral laws, civil laws, and church laws. All interplay when it comes to sin.    

There are situations that occur that are not just one's private matter. What we do as Christians is not just our own business. The world may view it so, but the Lord of the Church does not. Christianity is personal, but never private. When you or I become part of a fellowship, we agree to support and cooperate with one another. We need each other for encouragement and accountability to help us in our Christian growth. Whatever happens in the body that is harmful and destructive to life and health of the body is the concern of the body. Oh, how we wish sexual sins of priests and pastors could have been stopped in our day instead of being ignored. Much more damage was done with unresolved sin.       

Prayer:  Lord, give us the discernment and wisdom to view all this through Your eyes, to bring the best out of difficult circumstances.  Give us a Spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation in all situations.   

Dale