Only those with no Sin may throw?

[TheKingOfImmortality]

Now I think it was cool that Christ told those people that only those with out Sin could stone the Adutlress, (really, I am not a Christian but that did cause me to win some real respect for Jesus) but what I dont understand is If God did not like what those people were going to do that women, then why in the OT did he tell his followers to stone an Adulterss in the frist place? It seems like Christ is going against what the OT had to say by saving that womens life.


Can any one explain it to me a little better?

 

[Stinker]

Well, though it is not mentioned in this account of (Jn.8:1-11) Jesus knew that they were violating the Law of Moses by leaving the guilty man out of the picture:



Deuteronomy 22:22 (King James Version)


22If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away evil from Israel.

 

[seashale76]

Now I think it was cool that Christ told those people that only those with out Sin could stone the Adutlress, (really, I am not a Christian but that did cause me to win some real respect for Jesus) but what I dont understand is If God did not like what those people were going to do that women, then why in the OT did he tell his followers to stone an Adulterss in the frist place? It seems like Christ is going against what the OT had to say by saving that womens life.


Can any one explain it to me a little better?

I am not the best at answering these types of questions, though it is a good one. I forewarn you that my answer will be probably be lacking due to the fact that I don't consider myself to have the ability to explain things clearly and that there is a whole lot to say about it as evidenced by the fact that there has been a whole lot written about it. I suggest you ask this question of people much better versed in Orthodox theology (and I can tell you now I certainly don't qualify).

The OT law was set so that Israel had to follow it in order to live in holiness. They had a covenant with God and not only the priests, but everyone, was expected to live according to those rules and laws.

Prior to the incarnation, there was no way to truly reconcile God to man. The law (I'm not speaking of the codex of numerous rules) didn't disappear, but was transformed.

Sin means to miss the mark. It is literally anything that keeps a person from God. Christ’s suffering death on the cross and resurrection made it possible for us to now have a way through suffering and a way to reconcile ourselves to God (abolishing sin and death) through his human nature. Christ’s ultimate act of suffering love gives us His saving companionship and grace. We can literally be baptized into Christ as part of His body (Church/Israel). Through our life in the Church, the ultimate hospital for sinners, we hope to one day attain theosis and participate in the divine energies of God.

 

[tapero]

Now I think it was cool that Christ told those people that only those with out Sin could stone the Adutlress, (really, I am not a Christian but that did cause me to win some real respect for Jesus) but what I dont understand is If God did not like what those people were going to do that women, then why in the OT did he tell his followers to stone an Adulterss in the frist place? It seems like Christ is going against what the OT had to say by saving that womens life.


Can any one explain it to me a little better?

I've asked this exact question to a friend. That Jesus didn't appear to uphold the law.

Here is his reply he gave me:


According to the Torah, the woman (and, of course, her male partner) deserved to be executed, as Jesus' opponents promptly pointed out to Him. So why did He not agree with them?
The key, I think, is in His writing with His finger in the dirt. Most people, when they read this passage, focus on what He might have written, which the text doesn't tell us. But what's important here is not so much what He wrote but how He wrote it: in the dirt, with His finger.
The only other place in Scripture where anyone writes in dirt with a finger is when God gives Moses the ten commandments which He wrote with His finger on clay tablets. One of those commandments, of course, was the one this woman had broken. By imitating God's finger writing of the commandments, Jesus was in effect declaring that He was God, that He was the author of those very commandments (as John 1:17 says, "the Torah was given through Moses, but grace and truth" -- the grace and truth of the Torah, as in Exodus 34:6 -- "came through Jesus Christ"). Just as HaShem had the authority, as Giver of the law, to grant mercy to David when he sinned in the Bathsheba/Uriah incident, so Jesus, who was HaShem in physical form, had the authority to forgive the woman in this case.
Our passage is generally thought of as a lesson in mercy and forgiveness -- which it is, richly -- but, theologically, it's an affirmation of the deity of Christ, just as is Mark 2:1-12, where Jesus claims the authority to forgive sins and is immediately told that "only God" can do such a thing. As to why specifically Jesus chose this woman in this situation, only He knows for sure. I would say it's because He recognized in her an attitude of genuine repentance and because her repentance afforded Him the opportunity not just to turn her life around but to rebuke the religious hypocrisy of His opponents. The teaching of this passage fits in well with Jesus' teaching on the value of repentance over religiosity (the pharisee and the publican in Luke 18; the two sons in Matthew 21; the lost sheep in Luke 15).

 

[NavyGuy7]

Not to mention Christ was there to die for all our sins. And that he loves us and wants to forgive us. I dunno. Just a thought.

 

[Emmy]

Dear KingOfImmortality. You had some very good replies, and until now I thought Jesus was simply pointing out, that because we are all sinners, and no-one is without sin, we had no right to condemn. And when Jesus tells the woman: " Go and sin no more," that told us all we needed to know. Tapero gives us a much more telling account, and I thank her for pointing it out. When we think of the Christian saying," Hate the sin, but love the sinner," that seems to me very Christian advice, and should be understood more easily. I say this humbly and with love, KingOfImmortality. Greetings from Emmy, sister in Christ.

 

[calidog]

He, Jesus, the Son of God forgave her. Under the same law every one of us should be tried under the law. God brought us grace through His Son. When we put our faith in Christ, we receive forgiveness.

 

[Angel4Truth]

Now I think it was cool that Christ told those people that only those with out Sin could stone the Adutlress, (really, I am not a Christian but that did cause me to win some real respect for Jesus) but what I dont understand is If God did not like what those people were going to do that women, then why in the OT did he tell his followers to stone an Adulterss in the frist place? It seems like Christ is going against what the OT had to say by saving that womens life.


Can any one explain it to me a little better?

Hi -because Christ being God knew the hearts of the ones who wanted to stone her and they were guilty of the same as well as they were not holding the man accountable either so they were practising hypocrisy and not following the law themselves.

Jesus shows He knew their hearts by writing their names on the earth - Jeremiah 17:13. O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who forsake You shall be ashamed. "Those who depart from Me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters.''

 

[ebia]

Now I think it was cool that Christ told those people that only those with out Sin could stone the Adutlress, (really, I am not a Christian but that did cause me to win some real respect for Jesus) but what I dont understand is If God did not like what those people were going to do that women, then why in the OT did he tell his followers to stone an Adulterss in the frist place? It seems like Christ is going against what the OT had to say by saving that womens life.


Can any one explain it to me a little better?

He didn't actually tell them not to do it. Rather, he said they couldn't be selective - if they were guilty of something themselves (which of course they were) then they were not in a position to condemn the adulteress.

 

[Adstar]

[FONT=&quot]

Now I think it was cool that Christ told those people that only those with out Sin could stone the Adutlress, (really, I am not a Christian but that did cause me to win some real respect for Jesus) but what I dont understand is If God did not like what those people were going to do that women, then why in the OT did he tell his followers to stone an Adulterss in the frist place? It seems like Christ is going against what the OT had to say by saving that womens life.


Can any one explain it to me a little better?

The OT declared that adultery was sin. Jesus did not declare that adultery was not sin. Remember Jesus said to the woman at the end of the incident. "go and sin no more.”

Jesus demonstrated the mercy and forgiveness on offer to all sinners without removing the truth that sin is still sin.

And as it has already been stated Jesus being God can have mercy on whom He wills and has the power to forgive.

Read the following exchange:

Matthew 9
1 So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city. 2 Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”
3 And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes!”
4 But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? 5 For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? 6 But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” 7 And he arose and departed to his house.

Why did the scribes believe Jesus was a blasphemer? Because they believed that only God had the power to forgive a sinner, they did not know that Jesus was the Word of God.



All Praise The Ancient Of Days[/FONT]

 

[indagroove]

Jesus fullfilled the law.

His lesson here was; Mercy, forgiveness, and non judgement.

 

[Sojourner<><]

It's pretty simple really... the law represents God's justice. Christ represents mercy. It's right for sinners to be put to death under the law, and if God chooses to have mercy on them, it's his prerogative.

 

[Adstar]

It's pretty simple really... the law represents God's justice. Christ represents mercy. It's right for sinners to be put to death under the law, and if God chooses to have mercy on them, it's his prerogative.

Well said, and in just one sentance

Romans 9
14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? Certainly not! 15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I will have compassion.” 16 So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.


All Praise The Ancient Of Days

 

[minister50]

We must also remember what the Scripture below says:

(1 Corinthians 2:15) But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.

(1 Corinthians 2:16) For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

 

[Unaware]

Now I think it was cool that Christ told those people that only those with out Sin could stone the Adutlress, (really, I am not a Christian but that did cause me to win some real respect for Jesus) but what I dont understand is If God did not like what those people were going to do that women, then why in the OT did he tell his followers to stone an Adulterss in the frist place? It seems like Christ is going against what the OT had to say by saving that womens life.


Can any one explain it to me a little better?

I would agree with Stinker's post. The reason for the stoning of those caught in the sin of adultery was given at the end of the verse that Stinker quoted ... to keep Israel pure and holy (i.e. set apart) from the pagan countries around it through which God could eventually bring about salvation through Jesus Christ from the Jews.

 

[orthros]

Peace.....I have always accepted the Old Testament as being harsh but teaching self discipline and discipline as a community. Then as we move into the New Testament, Jesus (as He said) did not come to abolish the law (of the OT)but to fullfill it - and this was to bring more love, mercy and compassion into those laws and living conditions including worship. Hope this helps! Blessings, "orthros"

 

[hlaltimus]

Now I think it was cool that Christ told those people that only those with out Sin could stone the Adutlress, (really, I am not a Christian but that did cause me to win some real respect for Jesus) but what I dont understand is If God did not like what those people were going to do that women, then why in the OT did he tell his followers to stone an Adulterss in the frist place? It seems like Christ is going against what the OT had to say by saving that womens life.


Can any one explain it to me a little better?

Good question! Christ only appeared to be contradicting the law, which law required death by stoning in the case of an adulterer or adulterress, when He got this clearly guilty adulteress "Off the hook" as we say. Here we have a far reaching and crucially merciful act of God which includes ourselves along with the guilty adulteress in point of salvation. Jesus, as the eternal Son of God and prophesied Lamb of atonement, was well within His rights to exclude her from what the law specifically mandated because He, as her penal substitute for redemption, had already agreed to absorb that punishment for her and thus satisfy that law, and if this could never have taken place for her, (a hell deserving sinner,) it certainly will never take place for us either. Her hope of forgiveness is our hope as well, even if the crimes don't match up.

Then why didn't the Lord equally forgive all other adulterer's in the days of Moses???

Because God is just as just in His exercise of "Justice" as He is in His exercise of "Mercy". He reserves the divine prerogative to be either just or merciful just as a Potter holds perfect right to dash one clay vessel while preserving another for reasons all his own. It is my opinion that God does exercise mercy at certain times and yet witholds mercy at other times because He very well knows and understands the potential for depravity in our human race. Let's face it: If God got all sinners "off the hook" at all times and at all places...What kind of a horrible, crime riddled world would this then be?

Because Jesus is both the appointed Judge of humanity and their potential sacrifice for redemption, He is completely and consistently fair in exercising strict justice in some while imparting forgiveness which excludes the sentence of justice in others and our own personal faith in Him is what will make the difference.

 

[sbbqb7n16]

For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

John 3:17-18

 

[cfmember]

The church is not Israel, but Israel in the Old Testament was given God's Law, to show what sin was. Paul said he wouldn't have known what sin was without the Law.

The Bible says it's the Law that leads us to Christ, the ONLY one who keeps the Law perfectly. I suppose the adulterers were punished in the OT to teach what people deserve, and the NT teaches what they get, grace. The OT gave grace too, because the condition for salvation is not righteousness (your good works) but belief in Jesus. (Abraham believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness). The OT teaches that all are guilty of breaking the Law of God and deserve punishment, and the NT teaches that Jesus on the Cross paid for 'the sin of the world'. Those above who said Jesus used the adultress to make a point...that all have sin, are right.

And no man has the right to kill others for their sin. (But the people through the Law does...capital punishment, etc).