The First To Throw A Stone

And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”
‭‭John‬ ‭8:7‬ ‭

Guilty But Not Condemned

A woman caught in an adulterous act was brought before Jesus by the Scribes and Pharisees. They were testing Him to try to find a way to discredit His authority.  The Pharisees were disciples of Moses because they knew God spoke to Moses.  They could not believe that Jesus was the Messiah.  So this was a test to see what Jesus would say and do.  According to the Law, the punishment was stoning to death.  However Jesus turned the situation around.  He made the Pharisees realize they were sinners as well.

The Pharisees tried to destroy the woman but Jesus restored her.  Jesus wrote a message in the sand that no one knows.  Then He said for the one without sin should be the first to throw the first stone.  One by one the Pharisees walked away.  Jesus then asked the woman who was there to condemn her and her answer was “no one.”

This is a great lesson for all of us. First, who are we to pass judgment upon someone else. We are all sinners in need of God’s grace. We should never throw stones of judgment upon anyone else. And second, we should never try to destroy someone else but instead we should help restore them. If we witness a person living a life of sinful behavior we should take the needed time to disciple them with love and care. This is what Jesus would do.

Prayer

Lord, help me to restore and encourage people today. Help me not to condemn or discourage anyone.