God's Amazing Grace #6 (Finally Free)
Text: John 8:1-11
What a wonderful thing to come together and hear the community of the saved sing songs
that are the result of being touched by the Saviour of mankind who brought to us the amazing
grace of God! That someone like me could be freely welcomed into the presence of God is
awesome!
As we saw last week, we are a people who have been called to be people who because they
have tasted the grace of God for themselves can freely give the grace of God to others.
Remember we have seen the face of the enemy and it is us. When we cannot be people of grace
first and foremost we are the enemy, we are the ones who keep others from tasting God’s grace
for themselves. the Hebrew writer said we must be on guard that we don’t keep anyone from the
grace of God that even one root of bitterness could spring up and defile many!
(Hebrews 12:15)
Now, what does it mean to be under grace?
What does it mean to really experience the grace of God for ourselves and then be able to share
it with others, even others we disagree with?
As we look at our lives and where we stand with God and sometimes it might be easy with
all the nay-sayers out there to wonder exactly what He thinks of us-
the first song that most of us ever knew as a child sings about certainty- Jesus loves me this
I know—and yet in our adult life we can get to the point that we don’t feel as certain!
But, what we really want to look at as we finish this series off is the idea that the
grace of God really sets us free! Free from the most troubling questions of all.
Turn to one of the passages that speaks best to this idea in John 8:1-11
Now, we have to kind of know what is going on here and in chapter 7 we find out a few things:
7:45-52- there is a debate taking place between the ruling class over how to arrest Jesus.
Basically the majority are for taking him and killing him! Again, look at how dangerous the
church can be when it loses the wonder of grace!
We don’t want certain people around; we don’t feel for certain people etc.
Now, there is the feast of booths where every Jew had to go to Jerusalem- but notice something-
7:1- Jews were seeking to kill him
7:25- everyone knows this!
So, with this hanging over his head- a group of religious people who want to kill him!
We read this incident:
8:1,2- Please notice the time- early in the morning because this lends to what probably took
place. Jesus goes to the temple & something malicious has been planned. But a crowd gathers.
8:3- Scribes & Pharisees bring to him a woman taken in adultery. Now, it’s morning time and
you can almost see what happens here- they wait outside someone’s home or hotel and they make
sure an immoral act has taken place and then they grab her!
Obadiah:12-
‘do not gloat over the day of your brother in the day of his misfortune; do not rejoice over the
people of Judah in the day of their ruin; do not boast in the day of distress.’
Now, they force her into the middle of the crowd. They want to make a public spectacle here.
They want everyone to see & hear what this Jesus will do with someone like her.
Why are they doing this?
They want to trap Jesus!
Notice the difference between how they are acting and what God wants people of grace to do to
someone caught in a sin- Galatians 6:1,2!
As we said last week, we’ve got a problem if we can feel religious because we have found someone
in the world to have done something wrong and we can preach against it!
8:4- they basically say the woman has been caught & is still very much guilty. There is no
excuse possible! This is a no-brainer! She is guilty of this sin.
8:5- the Law did state stoning (Lev.20:10) What do they want to know: what do you say Jesus?
They want to get him and in a sense they do have him- Matt.5:17! Is he really going to
fulfill the Law?
8:6- so what do you do if you are Jesus?
What did he write?
Were these men interested in the woman as a person?
Were they hoping to somehow learn how they could have mercy?
Did they even show embarrassment over the act that was done?
8:7- they keep pestering him about it- if only they knew when to keep their mouth shut.
Here it is now-
he that is without sin- let him cast the first stone!
Go ahead Jesus says, do what you want to the woman- if you qualify to do that! Romans 2:1,2
8:9-11- Here is the amazing grace now-
Jesus stands alone probable meaning all the accusers are gone. He simply asks this scared,
perhaps angry woman- Has anyone condemned you?
There is one person who was without sin and what would he decide to do?
Would he give her what she deserved or would he show her grace?
Neither do I condemn you- just go and sin no more.
Why had Jesus come? John 3:16,17, John 8:32-36, Luke 4:18,19
Jesus came to set us free!
You see all of us on our own are just like that woman caught in the very act and without excuse
for the wrongs we have done- but Jesus comes into our lives and asks who it is that condemns
us- The only one that can doesn’t want to- he wants to set us free! Romans 8:34
As we sit in the crowd that dusty day in Jerusalem and celebrate the return of mercy to the
human race- that never before have we seen God like this- in His grace we find answers our most
pressing question today:
We all want an answer to this one question
Do you think I’m beautiful?
We want people to not just care about us; we want people to admire or desire us!
We want people to look at us and want us as part of their lives. So, we spend so much effort
and money today trying to make ourselves pretty either by our looks, or our work, or our
smarts or even our religion. We want to be considered beautiful.
When we come to know Jesus- we find that he sets us free from this awful pursuit. Even when
the world says no- that at this moment you’re not that pretty- Jesus still smiles at us even
when taken in the very act of ugliness and says you are so beautiful to me!
As one man wrote ‘to be loved & to know it makes every sun rise seem a promise. Whatever lies
ahead of us we are loved, whatever must be faced, we have a lover.’ 1
Luke 12:32- Fear not little flock, for it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the
kingdom.
God doesn’t give it to us reluctantly- He gives it to us because He desires us to be with Him!
The CBS movie on the life of Jesus depicts this scene with Mary Magdalene looking on and
afterwards Mary leans towards Jesus and says ‘you spoke to that woman as if she had meaning’
and Jesus responds ‘she does, and you do to you just don’t know it yet.’
God’s grace sets us free- free to the point that we know we are admired in the eyes of God and
no one can take that away from us- even the elder brothers in the field who want us to always
feel unworthy!
Ephesians 2:4,5
1 John 4:19
Do you know how beautiful you are this morning?
Do you realize that God wants so much for you to be part of His Son’s bride?
What God wants most of all is not our self-sufficiency but our dependence on Him!
What is your dream for the church of which you are a member?
My dream is that we can be a place where it is okay to be me!
Where like Isaiah I can say ‘I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people
of unclean lips’ (Isaiah 6:5)
God thinks we are all desirable.
My dream is that we can take Jesus’ call seriously to simply follow him and he will make
us…(Matt.4:19)
My dream is that we can all hear Joseph’s question that he asked to his brothers who
deserved death or at least prison for what they had done to him ‘am I in the place of God?’
My dream is that we can all be free from having to have it all together and instead all of us
can learn to rely on the God who raises the dead!
It’s hard to admit a weakness when it is strength that wins the prize, but the grace of God
sets me free in such a way that it allows me to be honest:
I need God in my life, I need someone who will never fail me, I need someone who can take my
faults and erase them, I need someone who will look at me despite my scars and wounds & say
welcome home my son!
Jesus said: Matt.5:6- blessed are those who need my Father…
Let’s stand and sing…
1. Calvin Miller, Jesus Loves Me (New York, NY: Warner Books, 2002) p.11
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