When Jesus was faced with a dilemma which was impossible to solve, he put the onus back on the people by saying “He who is without sin cast the first stone.” The Bible records that it was the oldest and possibly the wisest of the crowd who reflected on their own life and gradually walked away. The religious leaders thought they had got Jesus in a trap, they knew he would be teaching in the temple courts, so they brought a woman before him who had committed adultery. The Law stated that she should be stoned to death. What would Jesus do? Would he condemn her or defend her? Either way it would damage his reputation. Jesus said in a loud clear voice, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone against her.” Within a short time the crowd had disappeared. Jesus gently said to the woman “Go now and leave your life of sin.” Jesus was not trying to establish blame but to help some poor unfortunate woman change her life. If we live in a society hell bent on blame sooner or later someone is going to blame us and hold us to account. But if we live in a society where people are given the chance to change then many people will take the opportunity to live a better life. Sometimes we don’t realise that we need to change until something happens that makes us think. God is about giving us another chance because he knows we are going to mess up at some point. But this must also have an effect on our life because it means we need to be tolerant of other people who fall. How often have we been in the situation of the religious leaders who thought they were so right, and then Jesus pointed a spotlight on their lives and they realised they weren’t as squeaky clean as they thought they were. Life is so much more worthwhile when we deal with our own mistakes and faults rather than to look for someone else to blame.   

 

By Peter Bates, Methodist minister for Dewsbury. 

On behalf of the Churches Together in Dewsbury.