The Bible Has The Answer

This is the account of the adulterous woman who was brought to Jesus.  Of course, if you have an adulterous woman caught in adultery (“the very act”) you must have another party.  We read that early one morning Jesus came into the temple and the people were sitting around Him as He was teaching them.  “The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery and having set her in the center of the court, they said to Him, ’Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act.’”  If she was caught in the very act she was not alone but it seems that these men were only concerned to grab her.  Perhaps the fellow was too burly, too big or too scary for them to also lay hold of him.  The Law of Moses decreed that such should be put to death for their actions and they bring the woman to Jesus.  But we read in verse six they were saying this not because they were desperately concerned about the Law of Moses.  They were, as at other times, seeking to discredit Jesus.  They were seeking to embarrass Him, seeking to get Him in a corner and put forward an impossible situation where they could accuse Him.  Should He go the one way or the other?  They were thinking that there were only two options for Him to choose.  They were saying these things, “testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him.”  But Jesus did not answer them.  He stoops down and begins to write on the ground.  They press forward and demand an answer of Jesus.  He straightens up and says, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”   And the account goes that there was a pause.  And starting with the oldest and then right down to the youngest of those accusers they started filtering out quietly one by one – and Jesus is left by Himself with the woman.  And He says, “Did no one condemn you?”  She replies, “No one, Lord.”  Jesus declared, “I do not condemn you, either.  Go.  From now on sin no more.”  Some think that Jesus said, “Go and do whatever you like.”  That was not what He said.  He says, neither do I condemn you.  Go, “sin no more.”  The truth is that these individuals were seeking to trap Jesus.  Perhaps the whole thing was a setup.  Perhaps the leaders knew the guy and had set this up so they would have someone to bring to Jesus.  Maybe they said to the fellow, “look, you escape and we’ll turn a blind eye.” That would seem to be exactly what is taking place here and why the man was not dragged in before Jesus as well.  The man was every bit as culpable, likely much more so, than the woman.

This question emits something from our entire experience as human beings: our cars had a beginning, our houses did not always exist, our lives have a starting point, even the earth itself we read in Genesis 1 & 2 of how that there was a beginning. We can trace everything about ourselves back to some starting point. So for us to consider something that didn’t have a beginning really stretches our thoughts and pushes us beyond our own experience.

But we read in Psalm 90:2 that “before the mountains were born or you gave birth to the world even from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” This is saying that “everlasting past and everlasting future you are God”. Psalm 93:2: “Your throne is established from of old. You are from everlasting.”

Pointing back that God had no beginning, He never became a being. See also Psalm 102:25-27. God did not have a beginning. He has always been and always will be.

“Is there a secret that I’m missing?” “Is there something that I need to do?” “Is there something that my life doesn’t have because it doesn’t seem to be ‘overcoming’?”

We read in Romans 8:37: “In all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.” And we also have James 5:17-18: “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.”

The Book of Romans tells us that we can “overwhelmingly conquer,” and we also have a reference that there was a man who had a nature – he had a disposition just like ours. Elijah had good days and he had bad days. There were days when he could barely get up and there were other days when he was literally on the mountaintop besting hundreds of opponents standing all by himself.

Let me simply say that if you have been told that every day you are going to be on a mountaintop experience, you are going to be a very discouraged believer in Jesus Christ. At the end of John 16:33 Jesus himself says, “In this world you will have trouble but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” We can be overcomers because of what He accomplished. But if you imagine that every day is just going to be right out there in space, it’s going to be absolutely stellar, think not but consider this: that in the eternal perspective that you have overcome the world with Christ your Savior.

1 Peter 5:6-10 says, “Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God.” There is the secret: “Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you at the proper time. Casting all your anxiety on Him for He cares for you.”

If you’re wondering how you are an “overcomer,” how you live a victorious Christian life, lay your life before Him, and whether the sun is all beautifully shining or whether the skies are gray, continue to walk with Him and to trust in Him. He cares for you and in the right time He will continue to uphold you and see you through.