In the last post I discussed the different configurations of the altar, which is an approach to worship. One configuration is made of stone, which to me represents the laws of God. (God gave numerous laws on how to worship Him.) But a problem arises when people begin to take the laws - that is the stones - and begin to huck them at each other in judgment. That is the imagery that I get from stoning someone - that the people who are stoning are literally hurling pieces of the law at a person to condemn that person to death. The problem is that no one person has not sinned in their lifetime. Paul says that "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 2:23);" therefore, all are worthy of death by the law. But Jesus said, "judge not, lest ye be judged (Matthew 7:1)." In the Lord's prayer, we ask to be forgiven our sins just as we forgive others who sin against us (Matthew 6:9-15).
Another problem arises when a person changes the law to cast judgment on people. Whether intentionally, or unintentionally, this is what happened with the crowd that wanted Jesus to pronounce judgment on the woman that they had caught in adultery in John 8. The crowd told Jesus that "Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned (John 8:5);" but the question is... which law are they referring to? There are a few possibilities:
#1 - "And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death (Leviticus 20:10)."
#2 - "If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman (Deuteronomy 22:22)."
#3 - "If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city and lie with her; then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die (Deuteronomy 22:23-24)..."
#4 - The law of jealousies in Numbers 5:12-31, for which there is no stoning.
By Jesus' reaction to the accusation, it would appear that the accusation is most in line with the law of jealousies. Jesus stoops down and begins to write in the dust, which is very close to what is required for the law of jealousies. But other than that, the entire accusation seems pretty fishy: the adulterous man is nowhere to be found to prove the story (and suffer also in the punishment); the husband of the woman is nowhere around to make the accusation against his wife; and, there is no law noted above that states that the adulterous wife "should be stoned;" only a betrothed virgin was to be stoned. Was the "wife" put to death? Yes. Stoned? No.
The crowd had misquoted and changed the law just enough whereby it had been polluted.
Regardless, Jesus still carries out the portion that the priest would according to the law of jealousies (as best He could with the materials that were available), then He leaves it to the crowd to determine if they will continue on with their accusations by stating, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her (John 8:7)." When the crowd realizes to condemn the woman is really to condemn themselves, they back off and walk away - allowing the grace of God to redeem this woman from death.
The message that I get from this is that we use the law in a pleasing way, to worship God, and to guide our own actions, but we don't start dismantling the stone altar to hurl the stones at someone else. We are also meant to forgive each other our trespasses. Judge not, lest ye be judged. God bless.
