Just as guilty

Jesus set a guilty woman free from her accusers by showing that the people who were judging her were just as guilty of sin as she was. "All right, stone her," He said to the religious leaders who were ready with stones to deliver the judgment she deserved. "But let those who have never sinned throw the first stones!" (John 8:7 NLT) This incident reveals something very important about our purpose as followers of Christ. Our job is not to nail judgment on people but instead to identify with them. The Pharisees and religious leaders were trying to separate themselves from this sinful woman they had found in the act of committing adultery. By judging her, they'd be able to feel much better about themselves. But Jesus put a stop to their little charade by putting them in the same boat with the woman they were accusing (I love how Jesus operates!) They were just as guilty.

It is so tempting to think that we're better than other people. We love soap operas and reality shows where everyone's life is so messed up, we can feel better about our own lives. But whenever you start to separate yourself from sinners, you forget that it was your sin that brought you to Christ in the first place. The Gospel comes best from people who identify with the sins of others, because they have become so familiar with their own sin.

The self-righteous leaders were convicted by the presence of sin in their own lives, "they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest." (John 8:9 NLT) which makes sense. The oldest would be the ones most aware of their own sinfulness. There comes a time in your life when you can't fool yourself anymore. There were probably a few young, arrogant idealists who hung on as long as possible, but even they had to finally give in to the truth about their own guilt and drop their stones.

Christians are constantly trying to separate themselves from a world that Jesus wants them in. Jesus wants us to see our own sin and not make such a big fuss over everyone else's. Our sin nature is our connection with everyone else who struggles in life, our salvation is our hope, and the Good News of the Gospel is our message. Anyone can spot a mile away the hypocrisy of proclaiming a gospel about the forgiveness of everyone's sins but your own.