Defender of the Weak

Meditation on John 8

Defender of the Weak

The Woman caught in adultery was weak because:

-As a woman she had no rights in that culture. This is still a problem in many countries today even though we may not have to deal with it.

-As a sinner she shared a common weakness with all of us, the tendency to give in to temptation. The pull of the flesh, the world, the devil.

-Her wrong choices put her in a position to be used by the religious leaders for political purposes- to trap Jesus.

Jesus defended her by:

-ignoring the manmade "rights" not afforded her and treated her equally.

-pointing out (in the dirt) that all are sinners and thus took the wind out of the sails of her accusers-many scholars believe that what he wrote was the sins of the accusers. They left one by one the older ones first.

-refusing to let these men use her to trap Him. He didn’t back away in fear of the leaders nor did he defend her actions-he took care of the her accusers first and then turned to help her up and out of her sins.

As a result:

-She was raised up (at least in her own eyes) as someone valued because Christ treated her as a valued person.

-He saved her from the consequences of her sin–which would have been death by stoning.

-He protected her from those who would use her, abuse her and toss her out, where was her partner? By law he should have been there too.

-He set her free and on the right path-telling her to "go and sin no more."

He does the same for us today:

-When we are in Christ we are raised up as new creations, valued and loved.

2 Cor 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!(NIV)

-In Christ we are saved from the consequence of our sins– which would be eternal spiritual death.

Eph 2:5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-- it is by grace you have been saved.(NIV)

-He sent His Holy Spirit to guide and give us wisdom on how to live in a world that hates us and would abuse us.

John 14:26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.(NIV)

-In Him we have the ability "to go and sin no more" and when we do sin He is our advocate with the Father

I Jn 2:1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense-- Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. (NIV)

So our response (as believers) should be:

-Accept His assessment of us that we are so loved He gave his life in a most gruesome way on the cross so that we could live forever with Him.

John 3:16 and

Col 2:14 having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. (NIV)

-Thank Him daily for His wonderful gift of eternal life

1 Corinthians 15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. KJV

-Cling to Him daily, in prayer and in His word so we can hear his voice, direction, and have His wisdom. This will limit the danger of us being guilty of giving the name "Christian" a black eye. The world or satan will not be able to use us as a bad example if we are connected to Him and walking in His light.

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. NIV

-Be obedient to Him always. But when we fail, don’t fail to use the "Christian’s bar of soap" to bring us back into a right relationship with Him.

1 John 1:9-10 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. NIV