Life Of imPossibilities Week 1 – Freedom In The Fracture
Read
John 8:1-11
1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 At dawn he went to the temple again, and all the people were coming to him. He sat down and began to teach them. 3 Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, making her stand in the center. 4 “Teacher,” they said to him, “this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery. 5 In the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So, what do you say?” 6 They asked this to trap him, in order that they might have evidence to accuse him. Jesus stooped down and started writing on the ground with his finger. 7 When they persisted in questioning him, he stood up and said to them, “The one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Then he stooped down again and continued writing on the ground. 9 When they heard this, they left one by one, starting with the older men. Only he was left, with the woman in the center. 10 When Jesus stood up, he said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 “No one, Lord,” she answered. “Neither do I condemn you,” said Jesus. “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”
Summary
This week we kicked off a two-week series entitled “Life of imPossibilities”. The sermon was entitled Freedom In The Fracture, and was taken from John 8:1-11. What if in the complexities of life, there is another option? Not one defined by what culture says, but one that is defined by Christ. His option contains a hidden wisdom that which is largely unseen. In the fracture of brokenness, the answer isn’t to rewrite truth, but to see how grace abounds in truth. In this passage, Jesus wasn’t teaching anything contrary to the law, he was showing them that there is more to the law. When we seek Christ, there is another option, we shouldn’t choose the option that’s the least bad, we choose the option that is closest to Christ. If you’re faithful to Jesus, you won’t land where culture lands. In the passage we see a space in scripture where Jesus is not only gracious to sinners, but transforms sinners. He gave grace when he said go and sin no more. You can’t have a deep love for God and not care for your neighbor.
Even though there are always other options, the right options can only be found through God. When we find His option, it offers hope for us and for others. As they came to test Him, they called Him teacher, yet they did not stay and learn the lesson He was teaching. This story is filled with fractures, just like life is.
We will see 3 Fractures in the Story:
The Pharisees Perspective Of Scripture
The Woman’s Practice Of Sin
The Law’s Power To Save.
The Pharisees were trying to use scripture to condemn the woman and to trap Jesus. They had it all planned out, they could kill two birds with one stone. In their minds, there was only one correct answer. She is guilty and we need to stone her. To them, it was cut and dry, and if Jesus did not agree, they could kill him as well. They did not see the option where the law would be turned on them.
The woman was guilty, she was caught in the act. Many people often ask the question, where was the man. This particular sin required two people. Some believe that the Pharisees knew the man and did not want to include him, this is not in the Bible. She was brought straight from the act and thrown at the feet of Jesus.
As she was before Jesus, they began to explain the law to Him. They said, the law says she should be stoned”. I can picture them all standing around Jesus and the woman with stones in their hands. Jesus, calmly looked at them said, ok, I just have one thing to say, those of you without sin, can throw your stones.
It got quiet and Jesus knelt down to write in the dirt and you began to hear the stones being dropped as they walked away. Jesus stands looks at the woman and says, who condemns you? Her reply was, no one does. He looked at her and said, neither do I, go and sin no more.
Freedom is found in our faithfulness to Christ, freedom is found in faithfulness to scripture, and freedom is found because of Christ. Before we begin to look at how others are not living according to the Word of God, stop and thank God, that only because of Jesus, God does not look at us like we sometimes look at other. It is by GRACE that we have been saved.
Discussion
Have you ever used your knowledge of the Bible to condemn others? Share
Have you ever used your knowledge of the Bible to justify your wrong actions? Share
Have you ever struggled with a PRACTICED sin in your life? Share
Has God ever turned the power of the LAW on you, as you tried to turn it on others? Share
How have you experienced the power of the LAW? Share
Announcements
As a part of the MOVEMENT here at BT, please be sure that you and your group are a part of the PRAYER GATHERING that takes place the first Wednesday of every month.
We have started new adult classes that are meeting on Sundays and Wednesdays.
What is Authentic Community Sunday Mornings at 11am (McAllen Campus)
Parenting Class Wednesday nights at 6:30pm (McAllen Campus)
The Book of Ruth Wednesday nights at 6:30 (Alice Campus)
Let’s continue to pray for each other and send prayer requests through our WhatsApp thread. If you are a CG Leader and are not on our WhatsApp thread please contact Meichelle at meichelle.vasquez@bt.church
Pastor Isuaro Medina
Isauro.medina@bt.church
Cell: (956) 984-9380
