We read in John chapter 8 the account of the woman caught in adultery. This event was preceded by the attendance of Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles. He had been preaching in the porches of the Tabernacle. The Pharisees are incensed at His teaching, and really want to do away with Him. Their legalist behaviour is so contrary to the loving, yet authoritative teaching of Jesus. They are trying to trap Him, yet the people who are listening are marvelling at His words. The Pharisees see a golden opportunity, and bring to Him a woman caught in the act of adultery. They want to see His reaction at this blatant act which is most definitely contrary to the Law of Moses.
The reaction of Jesus is most extraordinary. He simply begins to write with His finger on the ground. They of course don’t give up, and keep questioning Him. Finally He makes this statement. (verse7) “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her”. They begin to slink away, one by one, until no one is left to accuse. Jesus asks the woman, where her accusers are, “Has no man condemned you?” She answers “No Lord”. He says to her, “I do not condemn you either. Go on your way and from now on sin no more” Although we are not given any more information about her, I have a strong feeling that she changed from that day on. The saving words of Jesus always had an incredible impact. Many wonder what Jesus was writing on the ground that day, some think that maybe He was writing down some of the personal sins of those who were accusing. Maybe so, but you know there is a deeper issue in this whole account that I believe we can learn from this week.
In the previous chapter, we read that on the last, and most important day of the Feast, Jesus had cried out loudly, “If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the scripture has said, from his innermost being shall flow continuously springs and rivers of living water”. We know that He was speaking of the Holy Spirit which would be given to those who would believe after He was glorified, raised to honour.
The fact was that the Pharisees would not believe that Jesus was the Messiah, even though there were undeniable proofs. They were rejecting the very One who had come to seek them, and bring them into true freedom. They preferred however to remain in their legalistic darkness.
So when Jesus wrote on the ground, there was something very significant in what He was doing. There is a verse in Jeremiah which says this. Chapter 17, verse 13. “O Lord the hope of Israel, all who reject You shall be put to shame. Those who turn away from You will be written in the dust, because they have forsaken the Lord the Spring of Living Water”. These guys were very well versed in the Torah, and no doubt their thoughts would have gone immediately to this verse.
Legalism has no place in the gospel of the kingdom. It flows contrary to the Spirit of Jesus. As people of the Way, we are to reject legalism, and embrace Him who is the Spring of Living Water. He is still saying to us “Go and sin no more”, and when we accept and receive Him as the true giver of life, we will find that sin has no attraction for us any longer. However trying to do away with sin through legalistic endeavours will never have victorious endings. We are also to flow and receive Holy Spirit, and not curb His activities in our personal lives. The Holy Spirit is the spirit of Jesus on the earth. Why would we want to inhibit His work in us? May I encourage you this week, to thoroughly receive all that He has for you. Nothing that has happened in your past, can curtail what He wants to do in your present and future. My prayer for you this week is that the Holy Spirit will be allowed full freedom to write on your heart. As the apostle Paul says in 2 Cor. “You show and make obvious that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, not written with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on the tablets of human hearts.” Be filled continually with the Spirit.
Think on these things.
Blessings on you and your household
Janet.
I’m on vacation for the next 2 weeks. Will continue with the Selah List when I get back.
Last week, we talked about ‘’THE LOOK OF LOVE’’, and the effect the look of Jesus had on various people. We came to the conclusion that we need to look on Him. In fact He is saying to His church today “Take a life changing look”. I have a sense that if the church stopped long enough to take a look, we would be a different people, well able to walk in our different spheres, and through the eye locking power of His love, bring change into so many areas.
This week’s “thought” is a sequel to last week. I was reading a few days ago, the account of the two on the road to Emmaus. They were having a deep discussion of the events that had occurred in the last few days. Jesus had been crucified, and three days later, the tomb was found empty by some of the women who had followed Jesus. While the two men were walking and discussing, all of a sudden Jesus appeared on the road and began having a conversation with them. They did not, however, recognize Him, and just continued to converse, as they would with a stranger.
He asked what they were talking about, and one of them called Cleopas said, “Have you been living in Jerusalem all of this time, and not heard what’s been going on?” And so the discussion continued, Jesus asking them questions, and they answering. One statement they made, really caught my attention, they were speaking of Jesus, and called Him a “prophet”. What that tells us is that they did not have a revelation of who He was. To them He was another prophet, there had been many along the generations in Israel, and no doubt there would be many more. However, this One that they were now speaking with on the road that day was far more than a prophet. He had been with them for three years, and their eyes were still closed to the awesome revelation that He was the Son of God. As we read on, we see that their hope was that this Man, would have redeemed Israel, and set the nation free. Indeed that would happen, but not in the earthly sense that they were thinking of. Jesus goes on to explain to them some of the things that He had in the past years already explained, and in fact calls them “`sluggish in mind“ and slow to believe.
They turn in to a place to lodge, as it`s already getting late, and urge this Man to come with them. They sit at table together. Jesus takes a loaf of bread, and breaks it, and thanks His Father. At this juncture something awesome happens, THEIR EYES ARE INSTANTLY OPENED. They immediately recognize Him, and He vanishes out of their sight. They are amazed at this revelation, and compare notes as to how even when they were walking on the road, their hearts were burning. They go back to Jerusalem to report to the eleven, and they relate how their eyes were opened AT THE BREAKING OF BREAD.
There is, I believe, still a revelation that we need to have of Him, and I have a sense that in the coming days, as we corporately eat at His table, we will come into yet another fresh revelation of His person. F.F.Bruce, the commentator, explains that the `breaking of bread“ in this passage is the same sacrament as we practice at our breaking of bread service in remembrance of Him.
In many ways, we are like the two on the road; our eyes are not fully opened. There is still a veil that needs to come off, so we can see clearly. We must have personal revelation of Who He is, not the revelation of others. In this day of processed, quick, internet revelation, it is imperative that we come to His table personally and ask for our own revelation. Until we do, our eyes will remain veiled. Know this week that He longs to look on you to present Himself to you in a fresh and new way, at the Breaking of Bread.
In Mathew 17, we read that Jesus comes down off the mount of transfiguration with Peter, James and John, and was immediately involved in another scenario. There was a waiting multitude, and in particular a man, asking for help for his son, who was controlled by a demonic power. He had asked the disciples to heal him but they had been unable to. Jesus rebukes the demonic power, and the boy is immediately healed.
Privately, later, the disciples ask Jesus why they were unable to drive the demon out. Jesus in verse 20 says this “Because of the littleness of your faith. For truly I say to you, if you have faith that is living, like a grain of mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, move from here to yonder place and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.” (AMP) In other versions the text might read faith the size of a mustard seed. The Amplified version however takes into account the Aramaic spoken language of the time, and the word living is more appropriate.
Let’s first look at what Jesus meant by “mountain”. This was in fact figurative speech. A mountain at the time of this culture meant either a person or thing which held authority. So in this case, the mountain would not be an actual mountain, but the demonic authority power structure, which held this boy captive.
Why the mustard seed example? The mustard seed was a weed, and was quite frustrating to the farmers at the time. The reason being, that this little seed had a tenacious component, able to grow in any soil. It would even grow in dry, rocky soil, and push stones out of its way to survive. Despite the sometimes harshness of its environment, this seed would persist in growing, and spreading.
Here is a huge lesson, and encouragement for us. As God’s chosen ones, we are sometimes called to have faith even in harsh and non friendly environments. That’s why our faith has to be living. In fact it has to be birthed in us revelationally. I must have faith that is mine, not my parents, or my husband’s. It has to be alive in me. We have to be consistently tenacious with this faith, and not give up when the going gets tough. There are mountains, of authority that must be addressed, and removed. Sometimes they can be humanistic authorities, which come against the word of God, or demonic authorities which keep people bound and in chains. As His representatives on earth, we have the privilege of addressing and bringing down other authorities which have not bowed down to the rule of Jesus. A tenacious stance is a required state of mind in the bringing down, and removal of earthly mountains.
I am so conscious in this season, that there are many stones to be literally kicked out of the way, so that the life of Christ can bloom and grow in us personally, and in the lives of those we find ourselves praying for in these days. May I encourage you to grow in faith, and in the understanding of it. You will move mountains of human and enemy obstacles. My prayer for you this week is that you will have the characteristic of a mustard seed, not only able to thrive in fertile soil, but actually be able to flourish even in harsh and unfertile ground. This mountain WILL be removed!! By His Spirit working in us, and through us.
I am continually in awe of the significance and merits of the blood of Jesus. The victory of His cross, and the redemption that has been extended to us, is overwhelming. I find myself continually thanking God for sending His Son, and for the blood sacrifice which bought our salvation, and in fact continually causes us to be overcomers.
Exodus 12, explains the catalyst which brought the Israelites out of Egypt, the land of their bondage. Every family was instructed to obtain an unblemished lamb, a lamb for a household, kill it, and eat it in haste. They were to be ready for the journey, shoes on their feet, staff in their hands. The most important instruction was that they were to take the blood of that unblemished lamb, and apply the blood to their door. Actually it was a very specific instruction, it wasn’t just to be dabbed on haphazardly, but it was to be applied to the door posts, and the lintel, above the door space. This is very interesting, because by applying the blood this way, they were left with the Hebrew alphabet letter “chet”, the eighth letter of the alphabet, which means “LIFE” When the angel of death came, that blood mark of “LIFE” showed that this household was safe, and the angel was to “Passover”.
I believe we are being asked the question this week in particular, have we applied His blood to our doorposts. Our heart is a doorpost. We have a choice to make. We either apply the blood which allows His life to flow into us and through us, or we allow death, which allows the enemy to traffic in areas that have not been fully submitted. Do we apply His blood over our family, our marriages, our children, those we love, and care for? If we do this we can ensure that the destroyer is not allowed to come in and dictate his death ways to us. If you are under an attack, or facing difficult circumstances, turn to the life giving blood of the unblemished Lamb, Jesus Christ the worthy One.
The Spirit is saying to the church today, that there is much overcoming to do. The accuser of the brethren must be cast down, by each one of us individually. I love the verse in the book of revelation which says “And they have overcome him by means of the blood of the Lamb, and by the utterance of their testimony”. Testify to your circumstances, use your mouth to speak Truth, and apply His blood to your “heartposts”. You will be utterly amazed as to what will happen. YOU WILL OVERCOME!