All The People

Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery…. 

John 8:2-3 

What did all the people who witnessed the exchange between Christ, the woman and her accusers see on that day? It is most important that we understand this because we are the inheritors of their experience. We are observers as they were. They saw a woman who was guilty, shamed, embarrassed and terrified. Perhaps some of them identified with her because they also were guilty and had their sin been exposed as hers was, they would have been just as terrified. They also saw self-righteousness and hypocrisy in all its’ ugly reality, devoid of compassion and full of venom. They saw Christ’s response to that self-righteousness. From His response they would have learned His attitude toward the moral aristocracy. They also would have seen the ever-loving, overwhelming compassion of Christ Himself. Everything about Him was attractive. He was an utterly winsome, engaging character. The exchange between Him and the woman was tender and kind. Here is a Christ worth knowing. Here is a Person worth imitating.  

Our Good and Gracious God, 
we rejoice that You continue to show us Christ. 
We praise You that as we observe Him, 
we learn to follow Him.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning