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

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And so when they continued asking him,
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  Speaker 1: he lifted up himself and said unto them, He that
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  Speaker 1: is without sin among you, let him cast a stone
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  Speaker 1: at her. John 8.7 Renew, refresh, restart. These are the
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  Speaker 1: words that come to mind as I meditate on John 7.1-8.12.
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  Speaker 1: When I am in a moment of remorse, when I've
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  Speaker 1: made a mistake, I will remember your commands. When I
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  Speaker 1: allow you to take control of my situation, Jesus, through
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  Speaker 1: your power and in your knowledge, you give me the
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  Speaker 1: opportunity to have my situation altered for the better. It
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  Speaker 1: doesn't matter what my punishment should be. When you alter
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  Speaker 1: a situation, you have the ability to delete the sin
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  Speaker 1: in my life so that I can have a fresh restart.
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  Speaker 1: like the woman in today's story. Thank you that whoever
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  Speaker 1: is trying to ridicule and parade my mistake around publicly,
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  Speaker 1: you will silence, and that they will walk away and
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  Speaker 1: reflect on the grace they've been given as well. Let
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  Speaker 1: this 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 story,
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  Speaker 2: Jesus spoke hard truths about being the bread of life.
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  Speaker 2: He spoke of how he was sent by God from heaven,
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  Speaker 2: and whoever ate his flesh and drank his blood would
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  Speaker 2: inherit eternal life. Although Jesus spoke metaphorically, his words caused
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  Speaker 2: many to leave. However, the disciples stayed, for they knew
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  Speaker 2: that only Jesus held the words of eternal life. Now
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  Speaker 2: we witness a woman caught in shame. She is treated
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  Speaker 2: like an animal and drug out in public. She will
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  Speaker 2: soon come face to face with the scandalous power of
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  Speaker 2: God's grace. Inspired by the Gospels.
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  Speaker 3: Hello and welcome to today's episode of the Bible in
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  Speaker 3: a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham. In yesterday's episode, we
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  Speaker 3: heard as Jesus spoke very powerful words. showing us that
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  Speaker 3: he is the one who is sent from God, the
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  Speaker 3: very bread of heaven, who gives eternal life and satisfaction
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  Speaker 3: to our hearts. Many could not accept his words and
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  Speaker 3: departed that day, but others said, You have the words
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  Speaker 3: of eternal life. To whom shall we go? The disciples
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  Speaker 3: remained by his side, believing that he is who he
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  Speaker 3: said he was, the Messiah, the one sent from God
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  Speaker 3: to be the Savior of the world. Today, We'll hear
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  Speaker 3: how Jesus steps in to rescue a woman caught in adultery,
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  Speaker 3: an act that would have cost her her life. But
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  Speaker 3: in the midst of the ruthless condemnation of religious leaders,
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  Speaker 3: Jesus will shine the light of God's incredible grace upon her,
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  Speaker 3: offering her restoration and redemption, a brand new life. So,
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  Speaker 3: let's listen now 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, If any among you is
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  Speaker 2: without sin, let him throw the first stone. Jesus dropped
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  Speaker 2: the stone in front of the woman and Pharisees. It
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  Speaker 2: fell to the floor with a thud. Everyone was silent.
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  Speaker 2: Jesus knelt down again and continued riding in the dirt.
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  Speaker 2: The men looked at his words written in the dust,
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  Speaker 2: and one by one they began to leave. Each man,
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  Speaker 2: beginning with the oldest, departed in a hurry. The woman
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  Speaker 2: watched as the men grumbled. Their faces were filled with worry.
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  Speaker 2: Perhaps they did not want anyone to read what Jesus
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  Speaker 2: was writing. Perhaps it was about them. The Pharisees left
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  Speaker 2: in a hurry, and the crowds left when they realized
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  Speaker 2: nobody was going to be stoned. All that remained was
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  Speaker 2: Jesus and the woman. She was still sitting on the floor,
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  Speaker 2: her knees were bleeding, and her eyes were red. Her
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  Speaker 2: scalp was sore from being drug out by her hair,
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  Speaker 2: and she was still embarrassed by her nakedness. Jesus walked
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  Speaker 2: over to her and knelt onto the floor. He took
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  Speaker 2: the robe off his back and draped it over the
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  Speaker 2: woman's shoulders. He looked at the woman and then looked
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  Speaker 2: around the empty courtyard. My child, he said, who is
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  Speaker 2: left to condemn you? The woman looked around. Her heart
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  Speaker 2: was filled with shame and gladness. She wept. Her tears
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  Speaker 2: fell into the dirt before Jesus. She shook her head
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  Speaker 2: and answered, There is no one left to condemn me, Lord.
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  Speaker 2: Jesus propped up her chin so her eyes met his.
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  Speaker 2: Then neither do I condemn you. Then Jesus helped the
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  Speaker 2: woman to her feet. Go and sin no more. So
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  Speaker 2: the woman departed, feeling the full weight of forgiveness. The
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  Speaker 2: words Jesus spoke to Nicodemus were proven true that day,
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  Speaker 2: that the Son of God did not come to condemn
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  Speaker 2: the world, but that by him the whole world would
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  Speaker 2: be saved, saved from the shame that plagued humanity since
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  Speaker 2: the Garden of Eden. God once clothed Adam and Eve
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  Speaker 2: with the skin of an animal when they were naked.
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  Speaker 2: Now Jesus clothed this woman with grace. This would be
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  Speaker 2: an image of what he would do for all humanity.
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  Speaker 2: He would clothe them in forgiveness and righteousness. Soon all
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  Speaker 2: would feel the full weight of Jesus' love and sacrifice.
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  Speaker 2: This would inspire people 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 in Our
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  Speaker 3: greatest failures and falls will be brought to light in
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  Speaker 3: a public matter, that our secrets will be shouted from
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  Speaker 3: the rooftops, that family and friends and even strangers will
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  Speaker 3: know of 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 sins. 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. I'm Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas.
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  Speaker 3: You can download the Pray.com app and make Bible study
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  Speaker 3: and prayer the priority of your life. And if you
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  Speaker 3: appreciate this podcast, please share it with someone else. I
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  Speaker 3: also want to encourage you to go to jackgraham.org. That's
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  Speaker 3: jackgraham.org for we have resources that are free and available
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  Speaker 3: for you so that you may know Christ and grow
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  Speaker 3: in him. God bless you.