Let he who is without sin cast the first stone

For me, two of the scariest verses in Scripture are Matthew 7:1, 2 which say “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” The problem of course, is that we make judgements all the time. But if I am to be judged by the same standard that I judge others, I want to be pretty careful not to judge at all!

I had a conversation this morning, concerning a sexual predator who had just been sentenced in the local courts here. Who wouldn’t judge him, and who wouldn’t condemn him? Well, while I in no way condone what this man has done, I know myself and the Scriptures well enough to cease and desist from judgement and unforgiveness. Let me say more!

The heading of this morning’s post is from the story in John 8:1 – 11. They had been trying to trap Jesus into saying something that would get him in trouble with the authorities. The law prescribed that adultery should be punished by stoning, and as the story goes, they had brought a woman caught in the very act that very morning. It’s interesting to ask where the man was, because I always thought it took two to commit adultery. But I’m in danger here of being distracted.

So Jesus had a dilemma, if He said to stone her upholding the law, He would be in trouble with the authorities. But if He said not to stone her, then they could accuse Him of not upholding the Law. Jesus writes on the ground, we do not know what He wrote, but after saying “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone,” they all left from the oldest to the youngest. Jesus asks the woman where were those who would judge and condemn her, and there were none. “Neither do I condemn you,” said Jesus “go and sin no more!”

Now there are two possible ways to be right with God. The first is to keep the law perfectly, you know the 10 Commandments and all that stuff, but Jesus was the only one who did that perfectly, or could do it perfectly. The second way is by grace, to receive forgiveness of our sins through what Jesus did on the cross. In the end we have a choice!

In a way it’s a simple choice, I mean who would not want all that they have ever done to be forgiven by God? In another way it’s not so simple. The point is, according to the scary scriptures I mentioned above, we cannot choose grace for ourselves, and choose the law and justice for others. What I am saying is that according to these verses the moment we judge and condemn others, we put ourselves back under the law, where we must suffer the penalty for our own sin. But it’s even worse than this, because as the second of the scary verses above says “The measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” In other words if you judge harshly, you will be judged harshly too!

So the question for you and me this morning is “Do you and I judge, and if so with what measure do we judge?” It can be quite subtle really, it’s not that long ago that the Lord convicted me of judging those who judge!

Lord, have mercy upon me this morning. Let all judgement and unforgiveness be far from me. Lord this is very difficult at times, thank You for Your word! I am not without sin, so I cannot cast the first stone. When I am tempted to judge and to hold unforgiveness in my heart, remind me of these things, and keep me walking in Your grace, not in the Law. In Jesus Name Amen