Latest / Bible in a Year with Jack Graham / You Without Sin Cast the First Stone

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You Without Sin Cast the First Stone · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: And so when they continued asking him, he lifted up
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  Speaker 1: himself and said unto them, He that is without sin
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  Speaker 1: among you, let him cast a stone at her. John
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  Speaker 1: 8.7 Renew, refresh, restart. These are the words that come
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  Speaker 1: to mind as I meditate on John 7.1-8.12. When I
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  Speaker 1: am in a moment of remorse, when I have made
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  Speaker 1: a mistake, I will remember your commands. When I allow
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  Speaker 1: you to take control of my situation, Jesus, through your
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  Speaker 1: power and in your knowledge, you give me the opportunity
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  Speaker 1: to have my situation altered for the better. It doesn't
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  Speaker 1: matter what my punishment should be. When you alter a situation,
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  Speaker 1: you have the ability to delete the sin in my
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  Speaker 1: life so that I can have a fresh restart like
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  Speaker 1: the woman in today's story. Thank you that whoever is
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  Speaker 1: trying to ridicule and parade my mistake around publicly, you
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  Speaker 1: will silence, and that they will walk away and reflect
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  Speaker 1: on the grace they've been given as well. Let this
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  Speaker 1: fresh restart be the starting point of a repentant heart.
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  Speaker 1: Remove any sin or hindrance within my life that would
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  Speaker 1: move me backwards instead of forward into the glorious future.
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  Speaker 1: You have for me. In Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you
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  Speaker 1: for making prayer a priority in your day. To learn
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  Speaker 1: more about the Bible, stay tuned for today's story. Brought
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  Speaker 1: to you by BibleInAYear.com.
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  Speaker 2: You without sin cast the first stone in our last
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  Speaker 2: story Jesus spoke hard truths about being the bread of
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  Speaker 2: life he spoke of how he was sent by God
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  Speaker 2: from heaven and whoever ate his flesh and drank his
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  Speaker 2: blood would inherit eternal life although Jesus spoke metaphorically his
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  Speaker 2: words caused many to leave however the disciples stayed for
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  Speaker 2: they knew that only Jesus held the words of eternal
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  Speaker 2: life now we witness a woman caught in shame She
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  Speaker 2: is treated like an animal and drug out in public.
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  Speaker 2: She will soon come face to face with the scandalous
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  Speaker 2: power of God's grace. Inspired by the Gospels.
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  Speaker 3: We're so glad you joined us on the Bible in
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  Speaker 3: a Year podcast today. The Bible in a Year podcast
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  Speaker 3: is an outreach of PowerPoint Ministries and can only come
• 2:52
  Speaker 3: to you each week through the support of listeners just
• 2:54
  Speaker 3: like you. Your support today is so important. that we
• 2:58
  Speaker 3: want to thank you for your gift by giving you
• 3:00
  Speaker 3: a copy of my book called The Jesus Book. It
• 3:03
  Speaker 3: is a powerful guide that shows how every book in
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: the Bible points to Jesus and how his living word,
• 3:09
  Speaker 3: the truth of God's word, will transform your life. So
• 3:13
  Speaker 3: to get a copy of The Jesus Book, simply go
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  Speaker 3: to jackgram.org slash Jesus. That's jackgram.org slash Jesus. And thank
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  Speaker 3: you for your support. In yesterday's episode, We heard as
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  Speaker 3: Jesus spoke very powerful words, showing us that he is
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  Speaker 3: the one who is sent from God, the very bread
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  Speaker 3: of heaven, who gives eternal life and satisfaction to our hearts.
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  Speaker 3: Many could not accept his words and departed that day,
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  Speaker 3: but others said, you have the words of eternal life,
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  Speaker 3: to whom shall we go? The disciples remained by his side,
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  Speaker 3: believing that he is who he said he was, the Messiah,
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  Speaker 3: the one sent from God to be the Savior of
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  Speaker 3: the world. Today, we'll hear how Jesus steps in to
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  Speaker 3: rescue a woman caught in adultery, an act that would
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  Speaker 3: have cost her her life. But in the midst of
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  Speaker 3: the ruthless condemnation of religious leaders, Jesus will shine the
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  Speaker 3: light of God's incredible grace upon her, offering her restoration
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  Speaker 3: and redemption, a brand new life. So, let's listen now
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  Speaker 3: to today's reading from God's Word.
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  Speaker 2: The woman's jaw crashed against the stony dirt. She gasped
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  Speaker 2: for air as she turned to her side. Her mouth
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  Speaker 2: was dripping with blood and her clothes were falling off
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  Speaker 2: her body. She had been caught in the act of
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  Speaker 2: adultery by her husband and then drug out of her
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  Speaker 2: bed into the city streets. Half naked, hurt and afraid,
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  Speaker 2: she looked up at the crowd staring at her. They
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  Speaker 2: laughed and scoffed. Shame welled up within her. Her body
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  Speaker 2: and spirit were bruised. Tears fell upon the dust as
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  Speaker 2: she listened to the religious leaders behind her. The Pharisees
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  Speaker 2: had drug her into the middle of the courtyard for
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  Speaker 2: all to see. They made a spectacle of her. She
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  Speaker 2: was reduced to nothing as the whole crowd looked at
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  Speaker 2: her in disgust. She closed her eyes in shame. She
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  Speaker 2: knew what people did to women caught in adultery. She
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  Speaker 2: knew she was about to be stoned. Teacher, one of
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  Speaker 2: the Pharisees shouted, this woman has been caught in adultery.
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  Speaker 2: According to the law of Moses, she should be stoned.
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  Speaker 2: The woman wondered who the Pharisees were talking to, so
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  Speaker 2: she opened her eyes and looked. There, standing in front
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  Speaker 2: of the crowd, was Jesus. The Pharisees had brought her
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  Speaker 2: to him, trying to trap him into forgiving a woman
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  Speaker 2: who was clearly guilty. One of the Pharisees grabbed the
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  Speaker 2: woman by the hair and shouted, So what do you
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  Speaker 2: say now, Jesus? What should be done to her? Will
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  Speaker 2: you obey the law of Moses? Tears streamed down the
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  Speaker 2: woman's face as she looked at Jesus. His eyes were
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  Speaker 2: filled with concern and comfort. Yet underneath Jesus' expression was
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  Speaker 2: a rumbling of anger. Not anger towards her, but the
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  Speaker 2: men who would treat her like an animal to prove
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  Speaker 2: a point. The religious leaders loomed over her, waiting for
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  Speaker 2: Jesus to speak. Instead of replying, Jesus took two steps
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  Speaker 2: forward and crouched down into the dirt. He began to
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  Speaker 2: write words in the dust with his finger. There was
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  Speaker 2: a silence as the Pharisees read what Jesus was writing.
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  Speaker 2: The woman could not see what Jesus was carving into
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  Speaker 2: the dirt, but she did notice that it made the
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  Speaker 2: religious leaders uncomfortable. Jesus stood to his feet and looked
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  Speaker 2: at them. He picked up a stone off the floor
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  Speaker 2: and walked towards them. The woman's heart raced. Would Jesus
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  Speaker 2: give them permission to stone her? Would Jesus be the
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  Speaker 2: one to throw the stone first? Jesus extended the stone
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  Speaker 2: towards the Pharisees and said, Jesus dropped the stone in
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  Speaker 2: front of the woman and Pharisees. It fell to the
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  Speaker 2: floor with a thud. Everyone was silent. Jesus knelt down
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  Speaker 2: again and continued riding in the dirt. The men looked
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  Speaker 2: at his words written in the dust, and one by
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  Speaker 2: one they began to leave. Each man, beginning with the oldest,
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  Speaker 2: departed in a hurry. The woman watched as the men grumbled.
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  Speaker 2: Their faces were filled with worry. Perhaps they did not
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  Speaker 2: want anyone to read what Jesus was writing. Perhaps it
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  Speaker 2: was about them. The Pharisees left in a hurry, and
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  Speaker 2: the crowds left when they realized nobody was going to
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  Speaker 2: be stoned. All that remained was Jesus and the woman.
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  Speaker 2: She was still sitting on the floor, her knees were bleeding,
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  Speaker 2: and her eyes were red. Her scalp was sore from
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  Speaker 2: being drug out by her hair, and she was still
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  Speaker 2: embarrassed by her nakedness. Jesus walked over to her and
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  Speaker 2: knelt onto the floor. He took the robe off his
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  Speaker 2: back and draped it over the woman's shoulders. He looked
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  Speaker 2: at the woman and then looked around the empty courtyard.
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  Speaker 2: My child, he said, who is left to condemn you?
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  Speaker 2: The woman looked around. Her heart was filled with shame
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  Speaker 2: and gladness. She wept. Her tears fell into the dirt
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  Speaker 2: before Jesus. She shook her head and answered, There is
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  Speaker 2: no one left to condemn me, Lord. Jesus propped up
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  Speaker 2: her chin so her eyes met his. Then neither do
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  Speaker 2: I condemn you. Then Jesus helped the woman to her feet.
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  Speaker 2: Go and sin no more. So the woman departed, feeling
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  Speaker 2: the full weight of forgiveness. The words Jesus spoke to
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  Speaker 2: Nicodemus were proven true that day, that the Son of
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  Speaker 2: God did not come to condemn the world, but that
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  Speaker 2: by him the whole world would be saved, saved from
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  Speaker 2: the shame that plagued humanity since the Garden of Eden.
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  Speaker 2: God once clothed Adam and Eve with the skin of
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  Speaker 2: an animal when they were naked. Now Jesus clothed this
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  Speaker 2: woman with grace. This would be an image of what
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  Speaker 2: he would do for all humanity. He would clothe them
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  Speaker 2: in forgiveness and righteousness. Soon all would feel the full
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  Speaker 2: weight of Jesus' love and sacrifice. This would inspire people
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  Speaker 2: to go and sin no more.
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  Speaker 3: We begin today's reading with an unnamed woman caught in sin,
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  Speaker 3: adulterous sin, as she is being humiliated before a crowd
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  Speaker 3: of onlookers. She had been discovered in the act of adultery,
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  Speaker 3: caught in the act, as it were, and the Pharisees
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  Speaker 3: cruel and bitter, it seemed, were out for justice. At
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  Speaker 3: least that's how they wanted it to appear. Old Testament
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  Speaker 3: laws stated that such a woman should be stoned to
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  Speaker 3: death for her infidelity. But these men really weren't seeking justice.
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  Speaker 3: They were actually trying to set a trap for Jesus.
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  Speaker 3: There was no denying this woman had done wrong, but
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  Speaker 3: their quest was not for righteousness. They wanted to turn
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  Speaker 3: the tables and regain control that they'd lost to this
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  Speaker 3: merciful teacher, the Messiah named Jesus, who had come onto
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  Speaker 3: the scene. So they paraded this woman, abused this woman,
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  Speaker 3: a pawn in their scheme, into a public square and
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  Speaker 3: cast her to the ground, challenging Jesus to decide what
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  Speaker 3: should happen to her. In so many ways, this woman
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  Speaker 3: represents a deep fear many people fear, the sin and
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  Speaker 3: the shame that people bear. And that someday our greatest
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  Speaker 3: failures and falls will be brought to light in a
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  Speaker 3: public matter, that our secrets will be shouted from the rooftops,
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  Speaker 3: that family and friends and even strangers will know of
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  Speaker 3: our mistakes and our mess-ups, our grievous sins. Jesus, however,
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  Speaker 3: wasn't going to play the Pharisees' game. Instead, he quietly
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  Speaker 3: knelt down and wrote something in the dirt. What he
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  Speaker 3: wrote will remain a mystery. We don't know, as we're
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  Speaker 3: not told what he wrote or what he meant. Whatever
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  Speaker 3: it was, it didn't deter the religious leaders. They continued
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  Speaker 3: to press Jesus to determine the woman's fate. Jesus simply
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  Speaker 3: stood and faced them and gave a challenge to the men.
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  Speaker 3: If you are sinless, by all means, throw a stone.
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  Speaker 3: It was a challenge that not even the self-righteous Pharisees
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  Speaker 3: could take on. But Jesus wasn't done. He knelt again
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  Speaker 3: and silently wrote in the dirt once more. And with that,
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  Speaker 3: the men slunk away in defeat. Their plan had failed,
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  Speaker 3: and eventually all that remained were Jesus and the woman.
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  Speaker 3: I can imagine Jesus standing there with the woman, looking
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  Speaker 3: over her shoulder to the left and to the right,
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  Speaker 3: and then asking, Where did everyone go? Did no one
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  Speaker 3: condemn you? And the woman, who surely had believed her
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  Speaker 3: death was to be imminent, looks up and sees no
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  Speaker 3: one to condemn her. Timidly, she speaks back to Jesus, saying,
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  Speaker 3: No one, Lord. We see Jesus' reply in John 8, 11.
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  Speaker 3: I do not condemn you either. Go from now on
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  Speaker 3: to sin no more. Can you imagine the weight of
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  Speaker 3: guilt that was lifted from her shoulders as she experienced
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  Speaker 3: God and His grace? If you have ever experienced God's forgiveness,
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  Speaker 3: then maybe you have some idea. I know I do.
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  Speaker 3: Like her, we all stand accused of sin, and there
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  Speaker 3: is no question as to our guilt and even our shame.
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  Speaker 3: But like her, we have been touched by the power
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  Speaker 3: of God through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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  Speaker 3: We have been forgiven, and now we live free from
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  Speaker 3: the shackles of sin. You see, this reading is not
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  Speaker 3: about Jesus overlooking sin or acting like she wasn't guilty.
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  Speaker 3: All have sinned. We all deserve punishment and even judgment.
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  Speaker 3: But this passage today focuses on the words of Jesus,
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  Speaker 3: I do not condemn you. So if we read this
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  Speaker 3: passage and focus only on the words, I do not
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  Speaker 3: condemn you, then we miss the big point. Jesus did
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  Speaker 3: not deny her sin or guilt. He forgave her for it.
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  Speaker 3: He released her from it and freed her not to
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  Speaker 3: sin or to live in sin again. This is all
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  Speaker 3: made possible because of what Jesus did for us, and
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  Speaker 3: it's the message of the gospel, that God's grace is
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  Speaker 3: greater than our sin. that what he did on the
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  Speaker 3: cross includes every sin by every person. He himself paid
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  Speaker 3: the price and the judgment for our sins. He paid
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  Speaker 3: a debt he did not owe because we owed a
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  Speaker 3: debt that we could not pay. Jesus sets us free
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  Speaker 3: from the power of sin and death so that we
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  Speaker 3: can go live an abundant and eternal life. Let's pray.
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  Speaker 3: Dear God, we thank you for today's scripture that teaches
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  Speaker 3: us your amazing grace. We give thanks to you because
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  Speaker 3: we have been forgiven and freed from the penalty of
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  Speaker 3: death through your son Jesus and by the power of
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  Speaker 3: his resurrection. Thank you for your love for us. In Jesus'
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  Speaker 3: name we pray, amen. Thank you for listening to today's
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  Speaker 3: Bible in a Year podcast. And before we go, I
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  Speaker 3: wanted to let you know that the Bible in a
• 14:01
  Speaker 3: Year podcast is an outreach of PowerPoint Ministries and can
• 14:05
  Speaker 3: only come to you each week through the support of
• 14:08
  Speaker 3: listeners like you. Your support today is so important that
• 14:13
  Speaker 3: we want to thank you for your gift by giving
• 14:15
  Speaker 3: you a copy of my book called The Jesus Book.
• 14:19
  Speaker 3: This book is a powerful guide that shows how every
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: book in the Bible points to Christ and how you
• 14:24
  Speaker 3: can better read and understand the Bible and how God's
• 14:27
  Speaker 3: Word transforms our lives. So to get your copy of
• 14:31
  Speaker 3: The Jesus Book, simply go to jackgram.org slash Jesus. That's
• 14:36
  Speaker 3: jackgram.org slash Jesus. And thank you for your support.