"He who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

John 8:1-20 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. ² Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them. ³ The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, ⁴ they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. ⁵ Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” ⁶ They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. ⁷ But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” ⁸ Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. ⁹ When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court. ¹⁰ Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” ¹¹ She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”

¹² Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” ¹³ So the Pharisees said to Him, “You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not true.” ¹⁴ Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. ¹⁵ You judge according to the flesh; I am not judging anyone. ¹⁶ But even if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone in it, but I and the Father who sent Me. ¹⁷ Even in your law it has been written that the testimony of two men is true. ¹⁸ I am He who testifies about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me.” ¹⁹ So they were saying to Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.” ²⁰ These words He spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come.

Matthew 7:1-5 says:  “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”   Jesus put the application of this principle to work in today’s text.  It says:  Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court. Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”  The account reveals the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees. If they were truly concerned with the law and with righteousness, where was the man involved in the adultery?  They said she was caught in the very act. The law said that both parties should be stoned. What was it that Jesus wrote in the dirt? Was He writing the sins of those who were accusing the woman? Was it perhaps dates and times that those men themselves had been with her?  Is that why they knew were to find her in the act of adultery?  None of us are without sin. None of us should want to stand before Jesus accusing others, only to have Him write down the times we have sinned.

Like Jesus, the standard of measure that we see other people’s sin and shortcomings, should be with a measure of grace and forgiveness. It is important though that like Jesus, while we do not condemn others, we also do not condone sin. Jesus said: “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”   The text continues saying:   Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”   1 John 1:5-10 says:  God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.  Jesus did not and does not condone or embrace sin. He embraced the suffering and agony of the cross, He shed His blood, to cleanse us, to forgive us and redeem us from sin. Those who choose to continue in sin, to walk in darkness, denying or justifying sin, lie and do not practice the truth.  Again, Jesus says:  “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”   Because He is light and there is no darkness in Him, wherever He goes, He dispels the darkness. That too is how we are called to be in and to the darkness of the world. In Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus says:  “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Rather than speaking words of judgment and condemnation, our good works, shining the light of Christ wherever we go should dispel the darkness around us.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit, thank You that while You hate sin, You loved me so much that You embrace the suffering of the cross so that I could be cleansed, forgiven and redeemed. Thank You that I can follow You, walking in Your light, to dispel the darkness around me. Amen.