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The Scribes & Pharisees Caught in the Act of Adultery
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Throughout the ages, evil people have conspired against Christ (Psalm 2). Here the Pharisees attempt to ensnare the Son of God Himself, Who reacted in calm…
- Psalm 2 and John 7–8 show that powerful people can conspire against Christ, while God's enthroned King remains sovereign over their schemes.
- The scribes and Pharisees interrupt Jesus' teaching and exploit a vulnerable woman as a pawn in an attempt to trap him.
- Their accusation lacks the man involved, a proper hearing, multiple witnesses, a lawful verdict, and a sentence, so executing the woman would itself be murder.
- Jesus refuses their demanded narrative and models meekness through calm, controlled silence before answering from the requirements of God's law.
- His challenge concerning the first stone does not abolish biblical justice; it exposes that without a lawful court only the sinless God could independently judge and execute.
- The accusers arrive as prosecutors but depart convicted by conscience, while Jesus neither declares adultery harmless nor issues a civil sentence: he commands the woman to leave her sin.
- The religious leaders are soft on their own sin and continue opposing Jesus, whereas he keeps his strength under control even through the cross for his people's salvation.
- When attacked, Christians should use Scripture rightly, reject manipulative premises, seek witnesses and elder counsel, value God's glory above reputation, practice meekness, repent of their own sin, and remember the gospel.
John 8:1-11 presents religious leaders interrupting Jesus with an adulterous woman whom they use to create a legal and political trap. Read with the closing conflict of John 7, their case lacks due process, the male participant, a competent hearing, witnesses, verdict, and sentence. Jesus neither accepts their framing nor denies the law. Through meek silence and a decisive challenge, he exposes accusers who are not acting as a lawful court; they leave convicted. He does not declare the woman's adultery innocent, but refuses civil condemnation and calls her away from sin. The sermon applies Christ's controlled strength to believers facing manipulative attacks.
Biblical Themes
- Human conspiracy under Christ's sovereignty
- Truthful justice and due process
- Protection of the vulnerable
- Meekness under hostile pressure
- Conscience, conviction, and repentance
- Mercy that does not excuse sin
- The gospel hope of transformed opponents
Scripture Connections
- Psalm 2:1-12 — Rulers conspire against the Lord and his Anointed, but God establishes his King and summons all rulers to submit.
- John 7:40-52 — Division over Jesus intensifies as officers refuse to arrest him and Nicodemus appeals for a lawful hearing before judgment.
- Deuteronomy 17:2-7 — A capital case requires diligent inquiry and two or three witnesses, whose hands must begin the execution.
- Deuteronomy 19:15-21 — One witness is insufficient, judges must inquire carefully, and malicious testimony receives a just penalty.
- Matthew 5:5 — Jesus blesses the meek and promises that they will inherit the earth.
- Matthew 26:59-68 — The later trial of Jesus displays the predetermined verdict, false testimony, and abuse anticipated in this conflict.
- 1 John 1:8-9 — Believers must not deny their own sin but confess it, trusting God to forgive and cleanse.
- Acts 6:7 — Even many priests later obey the faith, preserving gospel hope for religious opponents.
Practical Applications
- Slow down when others demand immediate answers, and use calm silence to pray and think before responding.
- Refuse to accept a manipulative premise merely because a questioner insists on it.
- Use Scripture according to its context and purpose rather than as a weapon for personal advantage.
- Insist on truthful evidence, fair hearing, competent authority, and protection of vulnerable people.
- Do not appoint yourself judge, jury, and executioner; pursue biblical confrontation and lawful processes.
- Bring trusted witnesses or seek elder counsel when circumstances warrant protection, clarity, and wisdom.
- Value obedience and God's glory above saving your reputation or winning an exchange.
- Confess and repair your own wrongdoing rather than being severe toward others and soft toward yourself.
- Remember that Christ can regenerate opponents, and keep speaking and embodying the gospel under pressure.
Historical Context
The sermon reads the passage within the mounting opposition of John 7 and the legal principles of the Mosaic judicial system. It distinguishes moral guilt from a court's judicial finding and warns against using Scripture, vulnerable people, or institutional authority as tools for a predetermined outcome.
Westminster Standards
Westminster Confession of Faith 15.2
By it, a sinner, out of the sight and sense not only of the danger, but also of the filthinesse and odiousnesse of his sins, as contrary to the holy nature, and righteous Law of God; and, upon the apprehension of his mercy in Christ to such as are penitent, so grieves for, and hates his sins, as to turn from them all unto God; purposing and endeavouring to walk with him in all the wayes of his Commandements.
Connection to the sermon: The leaders are convicted but show no clear repentance, while Jesus tells the woman to leave her sin. The confession distinguishes true repentance as grief and hatred of sin joined to a purposeful turning toward God and obedience.
Westminster Larger Catechism 135
The duties required in the sixth Commandement, are, all carefull studies, and lawfull endeavours to preserve the life of our selves and others; by resisting all thoughts, and purposes, subduing all passions, and avoiding all occasions, temptations, and practises, which tend to the unjust taking away the life of any; by just defense thereof against violence, patient bearing of the hand of God, quietnesse of minde, chearfullnesse of spirit, a sober use of meat, drink, physick, sleep, labour, and recreations; by charitable thoughts, love, compassion, meeknesse, gentlenesse, kindnesse, peaceable, milde, and courteous speeches and behaviour, forbearance, readinesse to be reconciled, patient bearing and forgiving of injuries, and requiting good for evil; comforting and succouring the distressed, and protecting and defending the innocent.
Connection to the sermon: The leaders risk unjustly taking life and exploit a vulnerable person; Jesus instead shows quietness, meekness, and controlled strength. The catechism joins lawful protection of life with compassion, mild speech, defense of the innocent, and subduing passions.
Westminster Shorter Catechism 33
Justification is an act Gods free grace, wherein he pardoneth all our sins, and accepteth us as righteous in his sight, onely for the righteousnesse of Christ imputed to us, and received by Faith alone.
Connection to the sermon: Neither the accusers' self-righteousness nor the woman's lack of a lawful civil sentence can make a sinner righteous before God. This answer directs all hearers to free pardon and acceptance through Christ's righteousness received by faith.
- How does Psalm 2 shape our response to organized opposition against Christ and his church?
- What procedural and moral failures expose the leaders' accusation as an unlawful trap?
- How was the vulnerable woman used rather than treated with justice and dignity?
- What does Jesus' silence teach about responding to manipulative or rapidly fired demands?
- Why does the statement about casting the first stone not erase the law's concern for justice?
- What is the difference between conviction of conscience and true repentance?
- How does Jesus uphold moral truth while refusing to participate in an unlawful proceeding?
- When should a Christian answer, remain silent, seek witnesses, or ask elders for counsel?
- Are we severe toward another's sin while remaining soft toward our own?
- How can conduct under pressure display the gospel to observers?
- Conspiracy
- A coordinated plan by people seeking an unlawful or evil end, such as the leaders' efforts against Christ.
- Kangaroo court
- A proceeding whose verdict is predetermined and that disregards lawful evidence, hearing, and justice.
- Meekness
- Strength kept under godly control rather than surrendered to cowardice, anger, or retaliation.
- Judicial guilt
- Guilt established through a competent court using lawful evidence and procedure.
- Conscience
- The inward moral witness that accused the leaders of their wrongdoing, though conviction alone did not ensure repentance.
- Repentance
- Grieving and hating sin, turning from it to God, and seeking to walk in his commandments.
Scripture Reading
I would ask that you turn in your Bibles to John chapter 8. John chapter 8 verses 1 through 11. Starting with verse 1. Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives, and early in the morning he came again into the temple. And all the people came unto him, and he sat down and taught them.
And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they say unto him, Master, This woman was taken in adultery in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him that they might have to accuse him.
But Jesus stooped down and with his finger wrote on the ground as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself and said unto them, he that is without sin among you, let him cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last, and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? She said, no man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more.
We live at a time in which there are a lot of conspiracy theories. Some people will send you, be more than willing to send you 10 conspiracy theories a day in your email box, if you would like. But are all conspiracy theories incorrect? Well, we can see from Scripture that to say that all conspiracy theories are absolutely incorrect, that that would be an incorrect statement. I'd ask you to turn to Psalm chapter 2. Psalm chapter 2. where we see that people do conspire. In verse 1, why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing?
The kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His anointed, saying, let us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh, and the Lord shall have them in derision. Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
We can safely say that evil men have and will conspire against Christ and his church. And we have seen, historically speaking, powerful and wicked people, both within and outside of the church, use evil means in an attempt to get what they want. Give some context to our text this morning. Let's look back a little bit to John chapter 7, verses 40, through the second verse. in chapter eight. In verse 40, we read, many of the people, therefore, when they heard this saying, said of a truth, this is the prophet.
Others said, this is the Christ, but some said, shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the scripture said that Christ cometh to the seat of David and out of the town of Bethlehem where David was? So there was a division among the people because of him, and some of them would have taken him, but no man laid hands on him." So we, right at this point, we have a difference of opinion concerning Jesus. We see in the Greek, the schisma, there was a division. I believe that's where we get the word scissors from. The people were split over who Jesus was.
And then starting with verse 45, then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said unto him, Why have ye not brought him? The officers answered, Never. Man spake like this man. then answered them, the Pharisees, are ye also deceived? Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?
But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed." We see some of these religious leaders who are insulting, but they're blind, spiritually speaking. These religious leaders have a very condescending, I'm better than you type of attitude. These people don't know the law like we do. Are you officers like these ignorant, cursed people? Important leaders and learned people like us have not fallen for this schismatic. People need to follow our example, unlike those ignorant fools. We have studied the law and come to these conclusions about Jesus, and we know the truth about him. Then we look in verse 50.
Nicodemus saith unto them, he that came to Jesus by night being one of them, Doth our law judge any man before it hear him, and know what he doeth? They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search and look, for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet."
We see that Nicodemus has the courage to stand up and say that the law of God requires an appropriate hearing before someone is judged. Does this statement by Nicodemus perhaps imply that these, put it in quotes, ignorant people and officers who have given Jesus an informal hearing, have been more in touch with the meaning of the law than these teachers of the law? So how will these religious leaders respond to clear biblical logic? Nicodemus gives clear biblical logic. What's going to be the response of these religious leaders?
Well, attack the man. Repent? No, attack the man. Deal with the truth? Give truth a chance? No, attack the man. You are bad. Why? I say you are. Today we hear things like, you are a racist. But why do you say that I'm a racist? Because I say that you are a racist. Nicodemus is ignorant and is sinning. Is he really ignorant and sinning? But why in some of these religious leaders' minds is he ignorant and sinning? Why?
Because we say so. A kangaroo court setting that shows us glimpses of what will eventually happen to Jesus right before he is crucified is what we see. The verdict is already a foregone conclusion. The kangaroo court is where the decision has already been made before anything started as far as the court case that you see in front of you. No matter what goes on, this person is going to be either guilty or innocent based on a foregone conclusion.
Evil men who happen to be religious leaders are out to get Jesus. They are going to get Jesus. In verse 53 we read, And every man went unto his own house. And then in chapter eight, verse one, Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives and early in the morning, he came again into the temple and all the people came unto him and he sat down and taught them. Exciting things seem to happen when Jesus is in the temple area.
And this time is not going to be anything different. Now, what a privilege it was for people to be able to learn from the very mouth of Jesus, from the very mouth of a member of the Trinity. But there's going to be a great interruption. Now, considering who is speaking, this had better be an emergency. And believe me, it isn't. But it will sound like one.
In verse 2 of chapter 8, And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him. And he sat down and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stoned, but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him that they might have to accuse him." Now there are some real problems with this attempt to bring charges against Jesus.
Number one, where's the man? That's an obvious one. Where is the man? Takes two. Secondly, where's the verdict? A trial with a testimony of at least two witnesses leading to a verdict and a sentence. Where is it? No verdict. No sentence. No penalty. No verdict.
Innocent unless proven guilty. I used to say innocent until proven guilty, until an elder of a church where I was preaching afterwards nicely told me that I was wrong, and I really appreciated that, because I was wrong. A problem with innocent until proven guilty gives a bit of the impression, potentially, that you're just waiting until they're proven guilty. But the more biblical way of stating it is, innocent unless proven guilty. Not until. Innocent unless proven guilty. So the second problem, where's the verdict? Where's the man? Where's the verdict? Third problem, treatment of the vulnerable.
This woman is publicly humiliated, and I take it that she is scared to death and is clearly being used as a pawn. Even the guilty deserve a fair trial and biblical treatment. We know after the fact that she is guilty. But as far as the court is concerned, without a trial, there is no judicial guilt. We see, it says, taken in the act. We see that they're bringing her as a guilty individual. Later on, we see that Jesus makes it clear. She's not guiltless in this. We know that she's guilty.
But as far as the court is concerned, Without a trial, there's no judicial guilt. Now, I don't know how much this woman knows about Jesus, but we know that Jesus stood for the original intent of the law. And the original intent, which had not and has not to this very day changed, called for death to the one judicially guilty of adultery.
This woman is being used by the scribes and Pharisees in order to get what they want. She is being used in order to get what they want. Why are they in such a big hurry to bring her to Jesus, who is teaching, instead of appropriately dealing with the situation themselves? And not only was the woman in a vulnerable position, Jesus was put in a seemingly vulnerable position as well.
We can see time after time in Scripture about the sin of mistreating the vulnerable. Number four problem. Problem number four, using the Word of God and His law in order to entrap Jesus. They were literally tempting the Son of God to sin. They were doing what Satan had done in the wilderness some time before.
If Jesus declares that this woman should be stoned, then he's in potential trouble with Rome. If Jesus says that she should not be stoned, then he is in potential trouble with the scribes and Pharisees, as well as the people who have been following him, since Jesus does, after all, stand for the original intent of the law. Problem number five. Without a legitimate court judgment, putting the woman to death would be murder. without a legitimate court judgment, putting the woman to death would be murder.
Now, the last part of verse six, chapter eight, verse six, I did stop in the middle of the verse. This they said, tempting Him that they might have to accuse Him is where I stopped. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger rode on the ground as though He heard them not."
Do we really know what Jesus is doing here in this verse? Not for sure. There are lots of opinions. Do we really know for sure? We don't. Is Jesus writing down embarrassing sins of the men who have brought the woman? Or was all of this a total setup where the men knew about the adultery and even somewhat encouraged the adultery that was going on and knew where the woman was going to be and thus Jesus was writing about this conspiracy in the dirt. We don't know for sure.
Have you ever been treated very badly by someone who should have known better? It may have been quite an emotional shock. Now, if you know the person really well, perhaps it wasn't an intellectually shocking thing. For that matter, you may have expected it based on your prior assessment of that person. So it was something that shocked you, but really didn't surprise you based on that person's character. But still, even though you realized that it was very much in character for the person to treat you in that way, you were still emotionally blown away. It still hurt tremendously.
If, for example, somehow, just kind of go into potentially make-believe land, you knew that in five minutes you were going to get into an auto accident. So you knew you were, but when you get into that auto accident, even though you're not surprised, you're shocked. Emotionally, physically, you can be in a state of shock even though you knew it was going to happen. knowing something will happen or not happen does not necessarily do much to cushion the blow emotionally. And while Jesus is God, he knew what the, while Jesus being God, and he knew what these men were capable of, could it be that he reacted in the way that he did, at least partially due to the emotional shock? Remember, he is the God-man, he is human, without sin, but still human, could it be that he reacted in the way that he did, at least partially due to the emotional shock of seeing people who were supposed to be godly leaders of the church act in this way? I don't know. And we see soon afterwards that Jesus writes again. Why? Again, I really don't know for sure. But I do know one thing, Jesus reacted in a meek manner.
He kept his strength under control. There is one thing that can be, not that there aren't others necessarily, but there is one thing that can really upset ungodly people who try to trap godly people with a question or a set of rapidly fired questions. Silence. confident, calm, godly silence. This confident, calm, godly silence, which we also see in verse 8, is something that we all can learn from Jesus. Jesus is being attacked in a not-so-subtle manner by multiple enemies. But despite having multiple enemies, And no matter how many questions he's being peppered with, what do we see? We see confident, calm, godly silence.
I don't know what Jesus was writing in the dirt, but I do know that he kept his strength under control. Remember the Beatitudes, blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. And never forget that in your own life. Even when Jesus was tempted by Satan, he kept his strength under control. Now in verse 7, so when they continued asking him, he lifted himself up and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. They kept questioning Jesus.
Ungodly people often demand an answer, and they demand it right now. They deserve an answer right now, and they are going to get an answer from you. It can be so tempting to lash out in an unbiblical manner, and in doing so, lower yourself to their level.
Jesus seems to be in a vulnerable position and is definitely outmanned as far as numbers are concerned. Now, he's not really in a vulnerable position in the way that we might be. He is God after all, but he seems to be. As far as these people are concerned, he looks like he is in a vulnerable position and he's definitely outmanned as far as how many people are in this story.
So remember the word meekness. Verse seven. So when they continued asking him, he lifted himself up himself and said unto them, he that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. Now Jesus is not contradicting Old Testament scripture by saying that you have to be without sin in order to throw that stone. In Leviticus, I'd ask you to turn to Leviticus chapter 17. Leviticus 17, starting with verse 2.
Verse two, if there be found among you within any of thy gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the Lord thy God in transgressing his covenant, and hath gone and served other gods and worshiped them, either the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded, and it betold thee, and thou hast heard it and inquired diligently and behold it, "'It be true, and the thing certain, "'that such abomination is wrought in Israel,' verse five, "'then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman "'which have committed that wicked thing unto thy gates, "'even that man or that woman, "'and shalt stone them with stones till they die.'
"'At the mouth of two witnesses or three witnesses, Shall he that is worthy of death be put to death? But at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death. The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people.
So thou shalt put the evil away from among you. Jesus is not contradicting Old Testament scripture by saying that you have to be without sin in order to throw that stone. But in order for a stone to be thrown, there must be at least two witnesses in a biblically legal court setting and a verdict and a judgment concerning what the sentence would be. Under Old Testament law, the ones casting the first stones do not have to be without sin since the first stones were being thrown by witnesses who, being human, were sinners. But without a legitimate court case, verdict, and sentence, putting the woman to death would be murder.
The only person who could legitimately throw that stone would be God Himself. It would have to be a member of the Trinity. A member of the Trinity does not need a court verdict in order for him to give the verdict, hand down the sentence, and punish the guilty. God does that. But that's God.
So what might Jesus be saying when He makes His comment about the necessity of being without sin in order to throw that stone? Since there was no court session with two or more witnesses complete with a verdict and a sentence, only God himself, only God himself who is without sin, would lawfully be qualified to be judge and executioner. So a logical question to be asked here is, who of you claims to be God? Who of you claims to be without sin?
Is that what Jesus is saying? I strongly believe that that is what Jesus is saying. Now it is true that Jesus would be qualified, since he was and is part of the Trinity, but Jesus did not come to this earth at that particular time to be a civil judge or an ecclesiastical judge. He didn't come to be a civil judge or a church judge who judged people and handed down judicial verdicts. Verse 8a, and again, he stooped down and wrote on the ground, confident, calm, Godly, silence. Confident, calm, godly, silence. Again, what did he write in the dirt? Again, I don't know the answer, but we again see meekness. Notice that Jesus, despite being outmanned, Jesus is in charge of the situation. Jesus is in charge.
The combination of the perverse sin of these religious leaders in taking advantage of this adultery situation, along with the gross mistreatment of the woman, and using Scripture to their own advantage, along with the underlying idea that they could have been involved in the murder of this woman, should be more than any man's conscience would be able to handle. And maybe the scribes and Pharisees also realized that they had been given a sound, sound, sound thrashing.
Verse nine. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the eldest, even unto the last, and Jesus was left alone and the woman standing in the midst. They left. This is not to say that the original audience of Jesus was still not there, but the scribes and Pharisees were gone.
These men should have been convicted in the courts of their own individual consciences. And we know that scripture states that they were convicted by their consciences. They had been convicted, they had been exposed. we do know that these men had been outmaneuvered. They had come in to accuse Jesus and they left as convicts. I wonder what kind of report they filed with the other religious leaders who were not there to see their pathetically sinful effort to crush Jesus.
Again, innocent unless proven guilty. Consider the range of emotions that this woman must have gone through from start to this portion, and the emotional situation for her is not in an end. Verse 10. When Jesus had lifted up himself and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? Kangaroo court is no longer in session. Where are your accusers? All the accusers are left as convicts. Was there a sentence? The accuser's sentence is an eternity in hell if they do not truly repent of their sins. Verse 11.
She said, no man, Lord, and Jesus said unto her, neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more. The only person who theoretically could have legitimately sentenced her did not come to this earth to be an earthly civil judge. Jesus did not come to this earth at this particular time to be a civil judge or an ecclesiastical judge who judges people and hands down verdicts. Jesus knows that she is both judicially innocent and at the same time guilty of the act of adultery. Jesus does not pronounce judicial judgment or pronounce her morally innocent. go and sin no more.
The religious leaders, the Pharisees and scribes, on the other hand, leave embarrassed, unforgiven, and condemned by their own sinful actions. When it's all over, Jesus was not the one who was soft on sin. The scribes and Pharisees were the ones who were soft on sin, their own sin.
Notice that these sinful leaders of the church left the woman after having used her like a man uses a prostitute. These men like many of their ungodly predecessors in the Old Testament period, were guilty of spiritual adultery by not keeping covenant with Jehovah. And they even took things a step further by attempting to embarrass and condemn God in the flesh. And while their guilty consciences led them to leave, we see no signs of true repentance. And this awful occurrence that we have been studying did not prevent them from continuing to go after Jesus with a vengeance.
Taking advantage of a vulnerable woman and using Scripture to their own advantage with no real regard for truth and justice, while attempting to trap Jesus, who is God, who they have been conspiring against and who they will eventually murder shows what a sad state of affairs the church was during the ministry of Jesus.
The Pharisees, to go back some years, the Pharisees had started out as reformers. They had started out as reformed reformers. Many decades before this present narrative, they had tried to get Israel back to the truth and the covenant. Many decades later, the Pharisees had become what their ancestors had fought against. Their ancestors had fought against evil men with evil goals and evil intentions. Yes, these men did conspire together to defeat one seemingly vulnerable man, and finally, after multiple defeats, put him to death.
But through everything, Jesus never lowered himself to his accusers' level. He kept his strength under control even at the point of being on the cross when he theoretically could have wiped out all his enemies with one word. Instead, he chose to stay on that cross of shame and humiliation and endure the unimaginable pain and suffering at the hands of his heavenly father so that the triune God would be glorified and that his chosen people would, like the adulterous woman, not be sentenced even though we all justly deserve it.
In conclusion, what should we do and how should we think when we are put in a situation like Jesus was placed by these religious leaders? Number one, use Scripture. Remember what Jesus did when he was tempted by Satan. Do not misuse Scripture to your advantage. Properly use Scripture for the glory of God. Use Scripture.
Secondly, you do not necessarily have to follow their narrative. The people who may be attacking you in an unbiblical way, you do not necessarily have to follow their story, their narrative. You don't necessarily have to answer their questions just because they ask, just because they're pressuring you. Think of the example of Jesus when he answered a question, with a question, when he was asked about John the Baptist. He didn't answer their question. There's a time to answer a question, but there are some times when it's not the time to answer a question.
Number three, remember that there are times when we need to let God handle the situation. Follow biblical principles such as biblical confrontation, but never decide that you're going to be the judge, jury, and executioner. Number four, do not take things into your own hands by doing things your own way and thus lowering yourself to the sinful level of others.
Think about the example of Moses, who we see in scripture as being a meek man, how he was attacked time and time again. Number five, obeying and glorifying God is what is primarily important, not your reputation. Be meek. Keep your strength under control. Have someone with you when biblically appropriate to witness the event and consult with and take time to think and be silent and pray.
Number six, remember that no matter what, Jesus will win. Number seven, if you're a Christian, we win through Jesus. Number eight, eventually, like the religious leaders, evil people will be defeated. And sometimes that defeat will be seen in true repentance or even regeneration. Who did Jesus say will inherit the earth? The meat. Number nine, make sure that you get to know your Bibles well.
And do not be too proud to go to your elders for biblical wisdom. Some of us old people actually may know a lot and have a lot of wisdom, but remember in addition to that, that some of that wisdom comes from doing stupid stuff when we were younger. Take advantage of our knowledge and wisdom. Don't let the dumb stuff that we have done go to waste. I, for one, have regrettably made some poor decisions when confronted by ugly situations. Learn how not to make the same mistakes.
Number 10, one of the best ways to witness concerning what Christ has done for you is doing the biblically and correct thing when under extreme pressure. You are to be concerned about the gospel even when you are being attacked. Number 11, Do not be like those religious leaders and be soft on your own sin. Truly repent, remembering that the Word of God tells His people that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. And finally, number 12, remember the gospel. Do not give up on ungodly people whether they are inside of the church or outside of the church.
Remember the power of the Word of God. Remember why Jesus came to this earth. Remember the Gospel. Remember the huge, and I mean huge, number of ungodly religious leaders who were changed by the Holy Spirit and came to Christ in the book of Acts. Remember the gospel. Remember the good news of Jesus Christ.
Closing Prayer
Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you and we praise you for your word. We pray that you will use this worship service today for your glory and your honor. We pray that none of us will be too proud or too concerned about our reputations, that we are not willing to not just confess our sins, but in many cases, we need to make things right with other people. We need to not just go to you, but go to other people. In some of those cases, we need to do more than just ask for forgiveness, but do everything we can to make things right. We pray that we will be willing to do that, no matter how scary that may happen to be.
We pray, Heavenly Father, for your strength and your truth. We pray that if there be anyone here who has not been changed by your Holy Spirit, that your Holy Spirit would change them and that they would respond by giving their life to your Son, Jesus. We thank you and praise you in the name of your Son, Jesus.
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