The First Rock

By John Stallings


“It’s a terrible thing for a sinner to fall into the hands of his fellow sinners.”—F.B Myer


Recently I was shocked & saddened to learn that a pastor of a church in a city not too far from where we live was arrested for soliciting sex from an undercover police woman. We ministered in this man’s church on a Sunday several years back but hadn’t heard much if anything from him in recent years.

Juda & I did have the opportunity to have a couple of meals with him & his lovely wife while we were with them in the late nineties. They treated us with kindness & respect & I have to tell you we’re still stunned over this news.

The thoughts that flood my mind are; how does a man call his wife to drive fifty miles one way to a large city & bail her preacher husband out of jail at 2:a.m, especially in the light of what he was charged with. It happened on a Friday night. How does he explain it to his wife? How does a preacher walk into the pulpit of the church he built & explain this to well over one thousand people on the next Sunday.

It’s not a “he-said-she- said” deal. There’s no plausible deniability built in here. Law enforcement had apprehended him, they had video & audio tape, they cuffed him, finger-printed him & there was one of those awful mug-shots. Caught red-handed. -- [Whatever that means.] We’re earnestly praying for this man & his wife & kids & church family.

As I pondered this the last few days, my mind went to the story of the woman caught in the act of adultery, in John 8:1-11. The religious leaders of the day, the “teachers of the law” & Pharisees brought her to Jesus & crudely threw her down at His feet as He addressed a large crowd. It’s easy to see that though these men were religious they weren’t godly & their motivations & intentions weren’t good. As the story unfolds we discover that they were proud, self-confident, arrogant, ruthless, cunning, clever, calculating, & hypocritical to the core. The Feast of the Tabernacles had just come to an end which meant that great crowds were still in Jerusalem.

This story is so popular that even those who rarely read the Bible know about it. Though its 2,000 years old the story still captures our imagination. Our culture has even picked up on the line-“Casting the first stone,” & you’ll often hear it used. No wonder the Bible is still relevant to our day; this story could have happened this week.

A woman has been caught in the very act of adultery by a bunch of rock-throwing legalists. Like the minister I spoke about, she couldn’t deny it because of the circumstances of her situation. Maybe she was sleeping with another woman’s husband or maybe she was a prostitute & earned her living from what they call “the world’s oldest profession.”

Either way she was caught in the act. She knew what it meant to be caught like this. She knew she’d broken Jewish law, she knew she was wrong & she knew the penalty. She knew she’d be taken outside the city where the whole religious community would throw rocks at her until she was dead. After all she was guilty, plain & simple.

Boy was she guilty! She’d been guilty as long as she could remember. All her friends would know how guilty she was now & the unkindest cut of all was; now they were going to tell Jesus on her. To her, [that is-up until now]-Jesus was just another religious leader.

The people who’d caught this woman were “rules driven” folk. They were all about doing the “right thing.” They were “squeaky clean.” Black is black & white is white. They couldn’t remove the sin so they were going to remove the sinner.

I’ve always had a tendency to view these people a little on the mean & cruel side. So harsh, so cut & dried. That’s true in one way but in reality, legally, they were right. They were disgruntled & hostile. The woman’s breaking of a very important law in their society made them angry & they had every right to be doing exactly as they were doing; in a manner of speaking.

So they were going to take rocks in their hands & take care of God’s business here, & if Jesus didn’t take vengeance they certainly would get the job done. They were people with a strong sense of justice & if something had to be done they were going to do it.

There was really no need for a trial here. There was no need for a jury. There was no need to wait for a verdict. She knew it & they knew it; she was dead.

But there are lots of unanswered questions here. Who was this woman? We don’t know. Was this a basically good woman who had a weakness & had just gone astray? We don’t know. Maybe she had just made some bad choices & had ended up hurting the people she loved most. Was she single, engaged, or married? We don’t know. Is she young or middle aged? We don’t know. Had she had any previous relationships with any of her accusers? We don’t know.

How did they catch her in the “act of adultery?” We can’t be sure but it’s almost certain something fishy is going on here. The law was clear that she’d committed a capitol offense but it also states it must be a detailed & precise case with two eyewitness testimonies.

Where is the man, after all “it takes two to Tango.” Adultery by definition requires two people. Was this a set-up? Did they by prearrangement let the man go free? Let’s not forget, all this was done to put Jesus on the spot so they could very well have set up the adultery. They were hoping to impale Jesus on the horns of a dilemma & it might have worked with an ordinary teacher but not with Jesus.

One thing we do know; this woman was now about to be publicly exposed & her reputation was going to be dragged through the mud.

At this point Jesus enters the story. In some ways this resembles one of those T.V reality shows. Jesus was going about His business, preaching to a large crowd in the Temple when all at once this real life drama imposed itself on Him. How would Jesus respond with no preparation at all? All at once the heat is on & Jesus stands right in the middle of a drama with a woman’s life hanging in the balance.

Imagine with me for a moment that you, like the members of this mob have a rock in your hand. Feel the weight of that rock. Maybe you can also remember someone who’s hurt or humiliated you & the pain from the incident stills lingers with you. Feel that rock. Maybe your spouse cheated on you or hurt you in some other way. Maybe you’ve been abused or abandoned with more responsibility & baggage than you can carry.

You try not to hate the person but you surely hate what they did to you. Maybe you were hurt by your parents. Maybe it’s a business partner who took money from you. Maybe that’s why you’ve got a rock in your hand right now. Maybe you’d love to find some way to get back at that person & you’re going to have to make the decision to hold the rock, drop it, or throw it. Hold that imaginary rock for awhile & let’s look at what Jesus did.

Jesus doesn’t suffer from mental blocks. He’s always ready with the answer. Aren’t you glad you know Him? It would be an understatement to say that Jesus saw right through these people & knew exactly where they were coming from. They told Him what Moses’ law required & asked Him what he thought. Was this Jesus a compromiser? Maybe they could trip Him up.

Jesus knelt & started writing in the dust with His finger. As a matter of fact, during this dramatic event He knelt down twice & wrote on the ground with His finger. We don’t know what He wrote but He wrote something. Could He have been ignoring these men, hoping they’d go away? Was He trying to buy time? Did He kneel down & momentarily drop his head toward the earth because He was embarrassed for the women? Maybe He was embarrassed for this blood- thirsty mob. There was a lot for a sensitive person to be embarrassed about. Think about it; all of this happened so quickly we are left to wonder what the poor woman was wearing if much of anything.

Or could it be that He wrote a message? We don’t know but I think so. I think what He wrote was very relevant & very telling. He could have started writing The Ten Commandments, knowing these boys had broken a few of them. Or He might have started writing sins like anger, pride, greed, arrogance or lack of love. Either way, it got their attention. Then Jesus uttered one of His most famous statements; “Let those who’ve never sinned throw the first rock.”

Jesus was saying in essence, “If you’re not living in a glass house, go ahead & throw the first rock.” In recent years we have heard this statement of Jesus used to justify prominent people & the way they use it is far removed from the way Jesus used it & meant it.

Have you ever noticed that those with the least moral authority in their lives are often quickest to tear out the throats of other people? It’s as if they think no one is going to remember or point out that they don’t have the credibility for the job. That never ceases to amaze me.

In fact, in another place Jesus plainly said. “Judge not or you too will be judged.” If you want to start playing God, you’d better be sinless yourself. If we’ve ever needed forgiveness & mercy for our actions maybe that should govern the way we respond to somebody else.

CONSIDER HOW POWERFUL THE “FIRST ROCK” IS

The first rock is an extremely influential rock. It has an awesome power. If the first rock is never thrown then no stones will be thrown. The first rock isn’t going to kill the victim but it will open the door for the others to throw their rocks. I often think about the terrible violence in our public schools & wonder if the “first rock” was the violent video games that made our kids feel comfortable with violence. I believe in a way violence & sexuality in our movies, television & music are truly the “first rocks” that have opened the door to a landslide of sinful rocks that threaten to bury a generation of youth.

The “first rock” of gossip & slander often open the door that will result in a person’s life being destroyed. The first rock of criticism or unnecessary murmuring in a church will give permission to others to throw their rocks & soon unity is buried under a pyramid of broken fellowship.

The “First lie told” is often the first rock that starts an individual down the broad road to deception & hypocrisy.

The “First drink” is often the first rock that opens the door to alcoholism for multitudes of people.

The “First flirtation” sometimes opens the door to a life of sexual promiscuity. There are some things God doesn’t want us to do even once.

Ephesians 5:3 says, --But fornication & all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not be ONCE named among you…..
Jesus knew the law said this woman should be stoned to death but He also knew the throwing of those rocks was, in the long run, not only going to create damage for the woman, it was also going to damage those who threw them. He also knew that behind this little vignette was more than met the eye. It wasn’t exactly an open-&-shut-case.

Jesus knew the incredible damage holding bitterness & hatred inside & trying to exact revenge takes on people. I mean, how is holding hate against someone who hurt you in the past, even though the pain is real, helping your life? Will throwing that rock bring you joy & bring more of God’s blessings to your life or will it just cause more hurt & frustration in your life & the lives of those around you?

DO YOU HAVE A ROCK YOU’RE READY TO THROW?

Here’s what I think Jesus is saying to you & me today; do you have a rock in your hand? Go ahead-- Throw it. Take vengeance, for after all you’ve convinced yourself that your cause is “righteous.” But know this. That rock, in the long run is going to create more trouble for you than it ever is for the person you hurt with it. Before you throw the rock, look at your own life, because you too will ultimately need love & grace & forgiveness for your sins & mistakes.

Let’s watch this story play out. The accusers slip away quietly, beginning with the older first & then they all went away. They dropped their rocks when they saw the damage they were about to cause & when they’d gotten a good look at their own need for forgiveness.

It’s interesting that the older ones went first. Maybe it was because the longer you hold hate & hurt & judgment the more you realize how heavy it is... The more real the pain-the more costly the price of holding it is. Hopefully there was a little more maturity in the older ones.

If that’s you & God is talking to you—drop your rock. Don’t hold it one moment longer. Let a new era of your life begin.

“NEITHER DO I CONDEMN YOU-GO & SIN NO MORE”
After the mob leaves it’s only the woman & Jesus standing in the middle of the crowd. He simply says, “Where are your accusers?” Didn’t anyone condemn you? Then neither do I.” I have this visual of this woman sitting on the ground, embarrassed & sick & tired of life. She’s sitting there crying & feeling guilty. Then I see Jesus lift her head & say something like, “Daughter, you’re not going to die today & not on this hill. Go & live all your tomorrows different than you lived today.”

In the eyes of Jesus, this woman looked better than the men who were accusing her. No doubt these men were troubled by what Jesus said. They saw a “slam dunk” but it all came to naught. They wanted to talk about the woman but Jesus wanted to talk about them. They wanted to talk about the law as it relates to outward behavior but Jesus wanted to talk about the law as it related to their hearts.

It’s easy to see why she looked bigger to Jesus than her accusers. She denied nothing & they admitted nothing. Jesus didn’t smooth over this woman’s sin & dismiss it as if unimportant. He forgave her but told her to get out of the sin business. If we are not walking in God’s plan for our lives, we’re in danger of damaging our souls.

Isaiah said, --Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they shall be as wool. Ish. 1:8

There is more to this story than the obvious dismissal of charges. This woman saw in Jesus an authority she had to respect though she’d never met Him before. She waited patiently for His verdict.

In Christ she saw a man who was different from all other men, a man who treated her with grace & not contempt. Why didn’t she leave when the Pharisees left? Because she knew she was a sinner & she didn’t try to hide it.

Let’s go back to that rock that you & I may be holding in our hands. As we hold the rock, lets ask a question; do we really want to be like Jesus?

If you saw the movie Forrest Gump, you’ll no doubt remember the scene when he & his lifetime love Jenny went back to the house where she grew up & was sexually abused by her father. She stood in front of the house for quite a long time with tears running down her cheeks, hurling rocks at it as if to somehow ease the pain she felt for all the years she was a helpless victim of her abusive father.

Forrest, who was supposed to be educable slow said to Jenny, “You know, sometimes there just aren’t enough rocks.”

That statement showed more insight than would be expected from the not-so-smart Forrest.

And the same is true for you & me. There just aren’t enough rocks if we take vengeance into our hands for the pain we’ve known on our journey.

So let’s ponder a scripture or two.

For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world…..John 3:17.

Let’s also consider….Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus..... Romans 8:1

And let us not forget the words of Jesus in this story,
Neither do I condemn thee, go & sin no more.

As we drop the rocks, let’s run to The Rock.

Whether we are holding a rock getting ready to throw it, or whether we’ve been almost destroyed by the rocks someone has thrown at us, Christ & His restoring love is our only answer.

I pray everyone who reads this will give some thought to the wonderful mercy God has shown all of us, through “The Rock Christ Jesus.”

I love Dottie Rambo’s song, “I go to the rock.”

I GO TO THE ROCK OF MY SALVATION,
I GO TO THE STONE THAT THE BUILDERS REJECTED,
I GO TO THE MOUNTIAN & THE MOUNTIAN STANDS BY ME.
WHEN ALL AROUND ME IS SINKING SAND, ON CHRIST THE SOLID ROCK I STAND,
WHEN I NEED A SHELTER WHEN I NEED A FRIEND,
I GO TO THE ROCK.

Blessings,

John