Who Among Us Has the Right to Throw the First Stone?
We all know the feeling of watching someone else’s failure and quietly feeling a little better about our own. It happened in a temple courtyard two thousand years ago when religious leaders dragged a woman caught in adultery before Jesus, stones practically already in their hands. It happens in our homes, our churches, our own hearts, whenever we pick up a Bible verse not to heal but to wound. As I told my wife this week, I almost wished I could preach this passage as two sermons, because Bible knowledge plus a wrong motivation equals disaster, and I wanted us to feel the full weight of that this morning.
Turning to John 7:53 through John 8:11, I preached a message called “The Only One That Could Throw the Stone.” The Pharisees wanted to condemn her. Jesus wanted to redeem her. The Pharisees held stones. Jesus brought mercy. And the heart of it all comes down to this: Jesus did not excuse this woman’s sin, He came to save her from it.
Point One: Religious People Are Often Quick to Condemn Others
The scribes and Pharisees who dragged this woman before Jesus were the most “religious” people of their day, and yet rather than compassion, there was cruelty. I don’t care what your position is, I don’t care what your background is, if you call yourself religious, God does not call us to be cruel to sinners. He calls us to show compassion. Notice too that the law required both parties be brought, yet the man involved is nowhere to be found. Their concern for the law was inconsistent, which tells me something was off from the very start.
It’s possible to hold a Bible in one hand and a stone in the other, and I really wanted to challenge us with that this morning. I’ve known men to use Scripture to be verbally and even physically abusive toward their spouse. I’ve known parents to shame their children by quoting Scripture and never point to Jesus. So I asked the room plainly: are you more passionate about someone else’s sin than your own? Before we condemn anyone, we ought to ask whether we’re seeking restoration or just seeking punishment.
Point Two: Imperfect People Have No Ground for Self-Righteous Condemnation
When Jesus finally stood up, He said, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” One man once said that sentence put him out of the stone-throwing business for the rest of his life. It put me out of it too. This doesn’t mean sin isn’t serious, or that churches should never exercise discipline, but it means we cannot be self-righteous in our attitude toward other people.
I told you about my cows this week, how my wife left a gate open and a cow got loose, and how my first instinct was to ask how she could have left the gate open. The Lord brought this very passage back to my mind and reminded me, Mike, don’t say a word, because I’ve left plenty of gates open myself. Sin gives us no basis for pride. Notice who left that courtyard first: the older ones. The older I get, the more I realize my sin, and the volume of it.
Point Three: Jesus Forgives Sinners
When everyone else walked away, the scene changed completely. Jesus was left alone with a sinner, and He is the only sinless one in the whole story. He calls her “woman,” the same tender word He used for His own mother, a term of endearment, not condemnation. “Neither do I condemn you,” He tells her. What a Savior. The tragic part is that every single accuser walked away from the very Savior who could have changed their lives, while this woman stayed and left with joy.
Point Four: Jesus Commands Forgiven People to Stop Sinning
Jesus didn’t stop at mercy. He said, “Go, and from now on sin no more.” Grace never excuses continued sin, and truth without grace is just religion wearing a mask of holiness. Jesus did not say stop sinning and then I will forgive you, because we could never clean ourselves up enough to earn that. He forgives first, then calls us to live differently. If you’re carrying sexual sin, or any sin, this morning, hear both halves of what He says: I don’t condemn you, and go, sin no more.
The cross is what makes this possible. Jesus can say “neither do I condemn you” because He is the one who took the stone meant for her, and took the condemnation meant for you and for me. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Discussion Questions
- Jesus wrote something in the dirt that we’re never told the content of. Why do you think His silence and His posture, bending down twice, mattered just as much as His words?
- Pastor Mike shared the story of the open gate and his cows getting loose. When has God used an ordinary frustration in your week to expose a stone you were holding against someone else?
- Jesus’ command was both “neither do I condemn you” and “go, sin no more.” Which half of that sentence is harder for you to actually live out, receiving grace or walking away from the sin?
If you came in this morning carrying the weight of your own sin, the shame of your past, or the condemnation of someone else’s judgment, hear this: Jesus does not condemn sinners who come to Him, He saves them. If you’ve been holding a stone, put it down. And if you’ve never trusted Christ, know that the one who had every right to condemn you is the very one who came to save you.
