An Eternal Post-Mortem? John 8:12-19

Text:  “Jesus answered and said unto him (Simon Peter), What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know HEREAFTER.”

John 13:7.

Good morning, trusting Christian!  There are many many Eternal mysteries that you and I cannot fully understand at present; many things concerning Eternity that our minds just cannot comprehend.  But we know and trust Christ Jesus - and He knows everything that concerns our Eternity with Him.  Is it not time that we began to trust Him more?  Amen, so be it.

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.  Be not wise in thine own eyes; fear the Lord, and depart from evil.”   (Proverbs 3:5-7)

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.”    (1 Corinthians 2:9)

In this morning’s Bible Study we find the Lord Jesus, the Scribes and the Pharisees holding what could be recognized as ‘An Eternal Post-Mortem’ on the incident concerning the woman caught in the act of adultery.

The humble dictionary defines the noun ‘Post-Mortem’ as follows: a post-mortem examination, an autopsy; an after-the-event discussion, especially of what went wrong, held after a game or other contest.  (The Chambers Dictionary, page 1281)

The ‘what went wrong’ aspect of this discussion was the fact that the woman caught in the very act of adultery had not been summarily executed by public stoning - Jesus had intervened in a most serious ‘contest’ to save the sinner.

The ‘contest’, as always in Scriptures, was between Jesus Christ the Son of God, and the religious, social, and political leaders of the day.  Religion - of all forms and universal practice - always seems to be the worst opposition to Christ and to true Bible-believing Christianity.  That’s a well recognized fact.

It was the Pharisee that was lost - the Publican went away justified!

The ‘Eternal Post-Mortem’ begins in verse 12 of today’s Journey in John’s Gospel - Christ declared Himself to be ‘…the light of the world…’

The Pharisees and religious leaders present instantly proved his word to be true - they argued with Christ, ‘…the light of the world…’, and thus proved beyond doubt that they would not follow Him; that they indeed ‘…walked in darkness…’; that they were utterly devoid of ‘…the light of life…’

“…Let God be true, but every man a liar…”  (Romans 3:4)

The Lord Jesus Christ IS the Truth.  Therefore, anyone who disputes with Christ Jesus, the Son of the Living Lord God, is disputing with the absolute Truth.  ‘…Thy Word is truth.’  (Romans 17:17)

“In the beginning was the Word (Christ Jesus), and the Word (capital letter) was with God, and the Word was God.”  (John 1:1)

The Scribes and Pharisees had brought the woman caught in the act of adultery to Christ for His judgement.  Now, after Christ’s judgement did not suit them, they were declaring, ‘…Thy record is not true.’ (V.13)  These religious charlatans wanted their cake and eat it too!  They had no faith to believe and receive Christ as God’s Truth.  They were in darkness indeed.

Christ’s damning words to them have no doubt been a constant source of torment for them as, ever since, they have reposed in the torments of Hell.

“Ye neither know Me, nor My Father; if ye had known Me, ye should have known My Father also.”  (V.19)  These lost wretches knew not their God.

Many today, after hearing a sound Gospel message preached or taught will instantly wish to hold a ‘post-mortem’ showing opposition to what they have heard.  If only they knew that such murmurings against Bible truth are always conducted in the light of the great ‘Eternal Post-mortem’ to come - all such opposition to Truth is recorded in Heaven.  Complainers beware!

“But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.  For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”  (Matthew 12:36-37)

Let us latter-day Christians be swift to hear the Word of the Lord, and even more swift to obey it.  Remember that ‘Eternal Post-Mortem’.

Thought:  “…Blessed are they that hear the Word of God, and keep it.”

Caught In the Act! John 8:3-11

Text:  “And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to DEATH.”

Leviticus 20:10.

Good morning GUILTY Christian!  By the Holiness of the Lord God Almighty, you and I are revealed as guilty of every sin contained in the Commandments of God.  What a doomed state to be in!  Help us, Lord God!

“For whosoever shall keep the whole Law (the Ten Commandments), and yet offend in one point, he/she is guilty of ALL.”  (James 2:10)

However, here’s the good news: At the Court of God’s Throne in Heaven, we are declared innocent of all charges, and robed in the righteousness of Christ Jesus Himself!  Amazing grace!  Totally unmerited mercy!  Wow!

Now this is something to get excited about today, guilty Christian!  Let us together shout, ‘Hallelujah!  Christ has set us free!  What a Saviour!’

God’s forgiveness cannot be obtained until one admits ones’ guilt to God alone - God alone can forgive sins!

The woman in today’s Bible reading from John’s Gospel account faced instant death for committing the capital sin of adultery.  She was in grave jeopardy of being taken, bodily, and stoned to death for her adulterous act.

“Now Moses in the Law commanded us, that such (adulterers) should be stoned…”  (V.5)

Yet in such times of total hopelessness - that’s where we find Jesus.

First of all, let us take note that these hypocritical Scribes and Pharisees brought only the female to be judged.  These religious charlatans had already judged the woman and, in their self-righteous hearts, she was already condemned to die.  The self-righteous are always first to condemn sinners.

Note also that these religious leaders of the day had only brought the woman although they stated that she had been ‘…taken in adultery, in the very act.’

We have an old saying here in Ulster today: ‘It takes two to tango!’  The woman could not have been caught ‘…in the very act…’ of adultery without the adulterous man being caught red-handed in the act also.  Yet, the male had not been brought forward in condemnation for judgement.  There seemed to be little knowledge or practice of sexual equality in those times.

Thus, we deduce that there must have been some reason for the above facts.  The Scribes and the Pharisees had some hidden agenda for bringing the woman before Christ for His judgement in such a serious, capital, issue.

Verse 6 sheds some light on this situation.  ‘This they said, tempting Him (Christ Jesus), that they might have to accuse Him.’  The were trying to put the Lord Jesus in a no win situation socially and politically.  They wanted to take all public support away from Him, thus making it easier to have Him killed.  They were pitting Jesus Christ against the Law of Moses.

Corrupt political and religious leaders always seek to, smear and  slander before they slay those that stand in their way. Christian, beware!  There are dangerous times ahead for Christ’s true Church.  We must stay very close to our Saviour.

The Lord Jesus reacted in a most peculiar manner at this point, and of course, what followed is open to wide interpretation.  However, this is what I personally believe might have been the case for what followed.

“…But Jesus stooped down, and with His finger wrote on the ground…” (V.6)

He then declared openly: ‘He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.  And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.’    (Vs.7-8)

Could it be that Christ, knowing all things about all men and women as He does, was writing the sins of each of the crowd down on the ground, and, if these sins would have been made public, ALL would have been found guilty of similar capital sins according to the Law of Moses?  (Exodus 20:1-17)

“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.”  (V.9) 

All were guilty sinners - just like you and just like me.  (Romans 3:10; 22-23)

“But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”  (Matthew 5:27-28)

Thought:  Now therefore, ‘…go, and sin no more…’, guilty Christian!

‘Prayer and the Word’ Teaching John 8:1-2

Text:  “Pray without ceasing.  In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

1 Thessalonians 5:17-18.

          “But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine…that they may teach…that the Word of God be not blasphemed.”

Titus 2:1-5.

Good morning, Christian Teacher!  Only after you have been taught of the Lord God can you and I ever dare to teach others the mysteries of Christ’s Kingdom.  Of ourselves, we have no Spiritual authority to teach others.  In the will and by the grace of the Living Lord God, we can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth us.  Hallelujah!  What a vocation!

“My voice shalt Thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee, and will look up.”  (Psalm 5:3)

“Howbeit when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth; for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak; and He will show you things to come.  He shall glorify Me (Christ Jesus); for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you.” (John 16:13-14)

The prayerless Christian is a powerless Christian!  Hide God’s Word in your heart!  Only those who fellowship with the Almighty can achieve anything mighty in the service of King Jesus.  Meditate on this!

The opening two verses of John Chapter 8: impart to the sincere Christian God’s two-fold means of grace for any serious attempt at ministering to other precious souls: Prayer and the Word of God.

We Christian teachers, Pastors, active service laymen and lay women, can do NOTHING of any lasting benefit if we do not first engage ourselves fully in these two powerful means of grace:  Prayer and the Word. (John 15:5)

“Call upon Me (the Lord God), and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”  (Jeremiah 33:3)

“Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.  Blessed art Thou, O Lord; teach me Thy statutes.”  (Psalm 119:11-12)

Jesus often went out into a quiet place, such as the mount of Olives in today’s Bible reading, in order to spend time alone with God the Father.  Christ the Son of God was continually in communion with God the Father, and therefore we see a sound Christian practice being established for us, His people, by our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.  Follow His lead!

We are Christians because we have been Spiritually born again, born from Above, regenerated by the God the Spirit - and seek at all times to emulate Christ Jesus in our beliefs and our daily practice of Christian faith.

We cannot call ourselves Christian and be anything less than like Christ!  Christ likeness must be our goal continually. Amen?

After having spent the night in fellowship and prayer with God the Father, Christ Jesus arose ‘…early in the morning…’ to go unto the temple to fellowship with those whom He had saved, and to teach all others His truth.  Surely you and I - as professing followers of Christ - can try to practice a similar routine in life? 

Our first allegiance is to Christ Jesus as our Saviour and Lord.  Fellowship with our Heavenly Father through Him, in the power of God the Holy Ghost, is our very first priority.  All else should take second place in our lives.

“Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”  (Matthew 11:28-29)

Well, let us ask ourselves:  Are we labouring for the Lord?  Or are we leaving the labour to someone else instead?  IF we desire to ‘…labour…’ for the Lord, then we must first ‘…learn of Him…’ in order to do any work in His service.  Makes plain sense to me, my friend.  Does it make sense to you?

We Christian servants of Christ can only receive Spiritual wisdom to give out to others IF we have first taken the time to be in the Presence of God and to enquire into His Word.  That’s powerful two-way fellowship - with God and man.  We speak to God in prayer, and He speaks to us by His written Word.

Thought:  ‘Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees’  The Puritan, Thomas Watson.

Fear God - Not Mere Man John 7:44-53

Text:  “And I (Jesus) say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.  But I will forewarn you Whom ye shall fear: fear Him (the Lord God), which after He hath killed hath power to cast into Hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear Him.”

Luke 12:4-5.

Good morning, naturally timid Christian!  You have always possessed a sweet and timid human nature; you think you have few enemies; you never seek to do harm to another soul; and, naturally, you never seek confrontation with others.  Those who are naturally timid, sweet-natured folk, seldom receive threatening and abuse as a consequence.  But should they?

The time has come - in this apostate and perilous 21^st Century - when such naturally timid Christians should get a little more angry at the state of things around us.  It is time to speak out boldly in the service of King Jesus.

Quote:  If you can keep your head, when all others around you are losing theirs - perhaps you have lost a sharp sense of reality!  Dr C.K.McClinton.

“Wherefore putting away lying speak every man/woman truth with his/her neighbour; for we are members one of another.  Be ye angry, and sin NOT; let not the sun go down upon your wrath; neither give place to the Devil.” (Ephesians 4:25-27)

Fear was all around the Master as He (Jesus) ‘…stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst let him come unto Me and drink.  He that believeth (trusteth) on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.’  (John 7:37-38)

The fear of man was, no doubt, keeping many unsaved souls from coming to Christ and receiving Eternal Salvation.  Many were saving their mortal skin, but losing their immortal souls!  It is terrible what fear of man will do!

Yet, Jesus was, is, and always shall be God of very God.  Thus, the fear of God was also graciously present on that day at the Feast of the Tabernacles.

“And some of them would have taken (arrested) Him; but no man laid hands on Him.” (V.44)  “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; but fools despise instruction.”  (Proverbs 1:7)

The officers’ failure to arrest Christ Jesus, as they had been earlier instructed by the Pharisees - the religious leaders of the day - caused an immediate division in the ranks of Christ’s enemies.  The Pharisees desired to take Jesus off the streets, but the officers were understandably afraid to do so.  They had no doubt arrested and imprisoned many at the behest of these same hypocritical Pharisees - but there was something much different about this Jesus.  The fear of God came upon the officers concerning Him.

“Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought Him?  The officers answered, Never man spake like this Man.” (V. 45-46)

The lowly officers were proven to be far more Spiritually discerning than the so-called religious priests and Pharisees. The fear of God that the officers displayed was instantly ridiculed by the Spiritually dead priests and Pharisees - a most dangerous practice indeed.  ‘All that glitters is NOT gold!’

The Pharisees were so incensed against God the Son, Christ Jesus, that they began to mock the Godly fear of the officers.  Unbelief always leads to sin!

“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 knowest not the Law are cursed.”  (Vs.47-49)

These two verses, above quoted, expose the threefold depth of the Pharisees’ unbelief and Spiritual blindness:

1. They had no fear of God, due to lack of Spiritual discernment. (1 Corinthians 2:14) (Matthew 23:13)

2.  They publicly revealed a deep disbelief among the majority of Pharisees and religious rulers of the day.  (Matthew 23:14) (Ephesians 2:8-9)

3.  Their utter hypocrisy was revealed, for they pronounced their own Eternal judgement from out of their own mouths - the knew not the Spiritual import of the Law, and thus they were, indeed, Eternally cursed.  (Matthew 23:15)

Nicodemus, himself a chief Pharisee, finally spoke out in the service of his Saviour, Christ Jesus. (V.50-51)  There can be no ’secret Christians’ in the service of King Jesus.  We all must give an account of our witness for Him.

‘Every man went unto his own house.’ (Verse 53)   Some to Heaven, some to Hell?

Thought:  God-fearing souls must stand up, and speak out for Christ!