John 8:3-6 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.
Having failed the previous day to arrest Jesus, they hatched another plan to publicly shame Jesus and catch Him breaking the Law of Moses. Appealing to His obvious heart of mercy and penchant for forgiving sinners, while He was teaching in the temple, they placed before Him a woman caught in the act of adultery. The cultural pressure to condemn, shame, and stone this woman would have been intense. The scribes and Pharisees knew the crowd. The only honorable thing to do in this case would be to execute her on the spot. If Jesus did what they thought He would do, exercise mercy and forgiveness, He would not only violate the Law of Moses by excusing and forgiving her but also run counter to the sentiments of the crowd. They could then condemn Jesus publicly for honoring the guilty woman and breaking both societal standards and the Law of Moses. They would have the crowd’s support for condemning and executing Him. Those were the grounds of their accusations.
Jesus knew what was happening, but He had one purpose in life—to glorify the Father by loving with Him. Gaining the crowd’s approval or escaping the trap laid for Him by the scribes and Pharisees wasn’t on His radar screen. He wasn’t afraid of their accusations, rather His aim was to remain blameless in His Father’s eyes.
My encouragement today to live to love with Jesus is that we also would have one ambition, to be pleasing to God. We would be in good company. Not only do we see this in Jesus’ life, but listen to what the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 5:9. "Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him."
There is a real possibility that we might face the pressure to go with the flow of the culture or even religious traditions rather than do the loving thing in some situation at work or church. I’m not suggesting that we should take an accommodating position on adultery or any sin as defined by the Scriptures. As we will see, Jesus didn’t excuse the woman or make light of her sin. My aim today is to encourage us to have as our ambition to be pleasing to the Lord in all that we do. We do that by embracing His purpose in life, to live to love with His Father for the glory and pleasure of the Father. I hope you’ll set your heart on making God smile as He lives in you today.
I invite you to become a partner in our ministry. Would you pray about becoming a regular supporter of Elijah Ministries and the Live to Love with Jesus ministry? I hope you will receive the joy and benefit of "giving it forward," so others may receive encouragement to turn their hearts to God and to live to love with Jesus. You may give online or send a check to the address listed at www.spiritofelijah.com/donate.
