Light in the Darkness

There is a story recorded in John Chapter 8 that is widely known and used for sermon material.  As a race we love the underdog story and Jesus is our champion in this story as he rescues a poor woman from the religious zealots who want her killed for her sin of adultery.  Oh, that feeling of pride we get when He somehow mystically rebukes them and they drop their stones and wander off, defeated again by the power of God in Christ.  Its a feel good story with redemption, and a twinge of justice.  Most church attendees have had to sit under a few brow beatings about sin and wickedness and possibly even a message of redemption distilled from these verses.  Modern religious ideas even use them to champion whatever cause they are trying to defend.  But are we missing the point of the story entirely or even in great part?

It is a common issue that I have trumpeted, perhaps to the point of ad nauseam for some, that we "cherry pick" what we want the bible to say in order to make our point.  Most don't believe they are doing that until it is shown to them and then many still deny.  The context of the verses determine the interpretation and pulling them apart to use certain verses is most dangerous and completely out of the nature of sacred writings in general.  So, again I ask, are we missing the point?

Lets examine the text for a moment and see what is happening.  A woman caught in the very act of adultery was brought before Jesus in order to try and use her as leverage against Him, most of us know that.  Jesus does not answer them verbally but kneels and writes something in the sand.  He then offers that the one who has no sin in his life cast the first stone at the woman.  One by one they drop their stones and walk away, apparently silent.  Justice wins, we all celebrate.  Jesus asks her where are her accusers, is there no one to condemn her?  She responds with a, "No one, Lord."  True to His very nature He responds with, "Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more."  Celebrations continue and many now see Jesus affirming her and giving her a pat on the back to go back to her lifestyle.  Those nasty zealots are now dealt with and she has no worries.

I find it interesting that He did not say to her that she was fine, God loved her just like she was, whatever her truth was is OK.  To the contrary He, Himself, said that what she was doing was sin.  He did not deny this, it was written in their law.  No law vs. grace discussion, no covenental theology class, only an acknowledgement that she knew it was wrong and an encouragement not to continue in it.  I believe the next verse is the key to this passage.   

It begins with "Then" which indicates that something was done "then."  The next recorded words He spoke were these:  "I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."  A profound statement in this context.  This passage began with the argument that Jesus could not be a prophet as He was from Galilee and no prophet ever came from there. There was division among the religious leaders about who He was and what authority He actually could have.  Bringing the woman before Him and trying to use her to trip Him up in matters of the law so as to discredit Him was their intention.  Jesus then uses the event to open the discussion He needed to have about who He really was.  

He answers their query with "I am the light of the world" and then proceeds to show what that means.  I have encountered this woman who was clearly in sin.  She is not condemned nor is she affirmed in her sin.  She has met truth and been made free.  Now she is encouraged to go and not continue in her sin.  There was no mention of her rights or her genetic disposition.  The truth makes you free.  He is truth.  He is light.  Those who walk with Him will have the light of life and will not walk in darkness.  Encountering Truth will do this for you.  Truth did not come to justify our lifestyles and choices.  He came to set us free so that we no longer walked in the darkness of feeling we are separate from Him which leads us to destruction.  Walking out of those lifestyle choices is evidence of the Love of God which has the power to change us, not to reinforce our issues.  The beauty of His light is that He walks with us as we walk this thing out in our individual lives, always leading us to abandon darkness and embrace light.

The Bible says...

 

“The Bible clearly says...” I cringe every time I hear this now. Years of experience have conditioned me to expect, and rarely am I spared it, that the next words I hear are going to be someone’s narrow and limited view or understanding of what they think the bible says. It rarely fails, an emphatic statement that is put forth in such a way as to openly declare, “This is truth and there is no debate or question. I have declared it so.” I know this all too well as I have been this person many times.

 

As I examine the mindset behind such an action it quickly stands out that someone has decided that they are the possessor of truth and are rightly able to judge a matter. On the surface this doesn’t seem to be so bad but when I look deeper it is actually frightening. Making such statements puts us in the position of considering ourselves an authority on the subject in question. This is a dangerous place to stand and one to be avoided.

 

Several years ago the Lord spoke to me that anywhere I place an absolute, an “I know this,” I had cut myself off from further revelation. If I held these things in tension and left space for the Lord then he promised there were millions of layers of depth that he could reveal about any subject. My thinking that ‘I knew’ was a stronghold against the mind of Christ He wanted me to have.

 

If I make such a declaration as emphatically as I mentioned earlier, then one thing is at work in me, pride. How proud does it seem to make such statements when most of us are not Greek scholars, not students of ancient language at all. What man alive today could begin to declare he knows the subtle nuances and the cultural use of language from two millennia past. A lifetime of diligent study by the greatest minds only brings them to a place of understanding that the interwoven threads that run through the scriptures are staggering in number and beyond human intellect.

 

Imagine declaring before others that I know some deep and ancient mystery while having no understanding of the 66 compilations and books that make up the tapestry of the written word of God and how the strands of prophetic utterance, the artistry and poetry, and the inferred and implied understanding of the original audience affecting the interpretation. Imagine feeling that I could read a few verses in an English translation and decide I can judge and interpret scripture when 2000 years of church history has produced tens of thousands of great scholars and devout men and women who spent their lives searching the scriptures only to come to a few conclusions, one of which is that they know almost nothing of Him in His vastness. How arrogant to feel I know more than they know or that I understand fully the things they held in tension for lifetimes.

 

We need the Holy Spirit above everything else to reveal His word to us so that our human minds can get a glimpse of the truth. He can only speak to us in such measure as our frail minds can receive. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by Rhema. If we do not have Rhema, the word revealed, then we have nothing. When we do have revelation we should hold that as a precious gem with which we have been entrusted. Understanding that this fragment of truth must fit in the entire tapestry of truth that IS Him is a key to beginning to walk in great humility and revelation.

 

Instead of declaring the great truth that I think I have, I now prefer to say, “My current understanding is... The truth I’m now holding in tension as it is revealed in a greater way is...              I’m leaving the declarations to the Holy Spirit and His guidance. Perhaps we would speak more truthfully if we did not declare what we think the bible says and speak more about what Holy Spirit is revealing to us in light of the greater tapestry of scripture.