Glass Houses

John 8:1-11

Early the next morning Jesus returned to the Temple. 

A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them.  

As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman to the front of the crowd.  

She had been caught in the act of adultery, which is punishable by death.

 “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery.  The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”

The Pharisees and Teachers of Law were trying to trap Jesus into saying something they could use against him and condemn him.   

But Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger.  

 They kept demanding an answer, and Jesus continued to write in the dust.

The Jesus stood and said to the Pharisees and Teachers,

“All right, you have found her guilty, 

And by the Law of Moses she is to be put to death.

But let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” 

 When the accusers heard this, and reading what was written in the dust, 

they slipped away one by one, 

 until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 

 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman,

“Where are your accusers? 

Didn’t even one of them remain here to condemn you?”

 “No, Lord,” she said.

And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

***

The woman was truly guilty, and although 

the Law of Man stated she should be put to death, 

The Law of God stated she should be loved.

Yes, the woman sinned.

But Jesus did not condemn her to die.

He did not harm her.

He forgave her.

He loved her.

He commanded her to sin no more.

***

In the wake of the Orlando shootings last week I was dismayed

by so called Christians that applauded the death of homosexuals.

And called for more.

Some were even Pastors

And like the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law

they are also sinners.

Jesus could easily appear to them and write their sins in the dust.

Not in stone.

Because Jesus is ready to forgive us, if only we obey.

The ministers of these churches calling for death of homosexuals

are not only sinning themselves with these hateful demands,

but they are also sinning by leading God's children astray.

Jesus warns us of these false prophets in Mathew 24:11

that will try to turn us away from the Truth.

In Matthew 7:15 Jesus calls these leaders like these "wolves in sheep's clothing"

They pretend to be sheep / Christians.

They may even believe that they are.

But they are wolves destroying His flock.

How do I know I am right in this?

Because Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:16

that we will know them by their fruit.

You observe their actions, their cries of hatred, their call for death

for homosexuals and think to yourself---

Where in the Bible did Jesus fill with hatred and call for the death of a sinner?

He never did.

He demonstrated only love and forgiveness.

These hate-filled ministers are preaching in glass churches,

hurling stones at the condemned, not realizing the destruction they are causing.

How many agnostics see this behavior and in disgust

decide they can not become a Christian if Christians are this hate-filled?

Loosing souls from Christ,

well that is perhaps the greatest sin of all.