The prophet exults in the deliverance of the Lord from the
nation’s enemies. He sees the cities of
those nations who come against Israel as destroyed and the people of those
nations as knowing that their strength was and is no match for the Lord of
Israel. In the end, Isaiah sees that the
result of all this is that all peoples will be gathered in and invited to taste
and see that the Lord is God. It is not
a victory for the nation whereby all others will bow down to her, all are
invited to the feast to share in God’s victory.
He is gracious to the nation and to the vanquished. Salvation is the removal of the covering that
spreads over all people, death, and it will be swallowed up forever. No one foresaw how He would swallow up death,
by experiencing it and overcoming it.
The idea and vision were no match for the reality.
There is little or no evidence that the penalty of stoning
was carried out for adultery and the Romans would certainly have had a problem
with this being done, so why do they bring the woman to Jesus to test Him? The writing in the dust baffles us all, we
have no idea what Jesus wrote those two times that ultimately led them to walk
away from this scene. Did He write, as
the Father had done, the Ten Commandments?
Whatever it was must have been to convict them of their own sin based on
His words, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone
at her.” He could have cast that stone
and then it would have been on. Where
was the paramour? She couldn’t commit
adultery alone. This was early in the
morning, how did all this come about?
There are many unanswered questions by this passage and, it must be
said, the passage doesn’t find its way into any of the most ancient
manuscripts. In the end, it is an
enigmatic story that defies easy interpretation and can only lead us to see the
grace of God in Jesus’ unwillingness to begin or even join in the judgment of
this woman, leading Him to admonish her to “Go and sin no more.” The sin wasn’t ignored, it was forgiven.
John sees a vision of one like a son of man, and it is a
fearsome sight to behold. The chief
characteristic of this one is the brightness, the light that is part of every
trait he describes for us. The hair,
white as wool, like snow, his eyes aflame, his footwear not only bronze but
burnished bronze, the face shining like the sun in full strength. No wonder he fell to his knees before this
Him, it would have been overwhelming to see such a one. He holds the keys of Death and Hades, the
power over these things, the most terrifying power imaginable but at the same
time, comforting to know that He, no one else, holds this power. It is grace alone that bids John fear not
when in the presence of such power. The
measure of grace is restraint of power and in all three lessons today we see
the Lord forebearing in mercy. The
nations who oppose Him and His nation receive mercy by sharing in the
feast. The woman caught in sin punishable
by death is freed from judgment and finally, John is given mercy in standing in
the presence of the Lord in all His glory.
We need to see His grace anew from the perspective of His greatness and
holiness shining its light on our sinfulness.
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