Think of the story of Simon, the leper healed by Jesus (Luke 7:36-50). He invited Jesus to a dinner at his house. During the feast, a woman anointed Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume. If this scene is the same one recorded in John 12:1-8, that woman was Mary of Bethany, sister of Martha and Lazarus. It is possible that this is also the same woman who was taken in adultery in John 8:3-11.

In the account of Luke 7, the woman tried to keep her actions private, but forgot that the fragrance would fill the air. So the act became public. Simon said (to himself): “If Jesus were a prophet, He would know what kind of woman this is that is touching Him. He would know what kind of sinful life she lives” (based on Luke 7:39). Jesus spoke up and said, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” “Speak on,” he said (7:40). And Jesus told the story of the two debtors (7:41-43). Simon realized that Jesus knew his innermost thoughts—which meant that Jesus knew what a sinner he had been! Simon held his breath to see if Jesus would expose him before the crowd. Surely, self-righteous Simon deserved to be exposed. Yet Jesus handled it privately. He maintained Simon’s dignity and his reputation with his associates. He did not expose him. At the same time, He graciously accepted Mary’s impulsive act. Think what these stories tell us about our God.

In the person of Jesus, God was present among us in human form, face to face with sinners. One of the best known of these sinners was the poor woman taken in adultery. But she wasn’t the only sinner in that story. There were also the pious, but heartless accusers who brought her to Christ in an attempt to trap Him into contradicting the Old Testament (John 8:5-6). This was not the first time they had sought to entrap Him like this. But each time they had done it before, He had met them with His customary skill and grace and the whole occasion had turned against them. This time, to be sure that they could convince the crowds in the temple (8:2), they made sure they had convincing evidence. So when they brought the woman to Jesus they said they had caught her “in the very act” (John 8:4, NRSV).

It is immediately apparent from the story what kind of people these were. According to the Old Testament rules, they should have brought the man as well (Lev 20:10). There is no way they could claim they hadn’t observed the man involved, because they had said “We caught her in the very act,” which would be difficult to do without observing her partner as well. So their dishonesty was immediately apparent. After they put this poor woman in front of a large crowd in the temple (8:2), they said to Jesus, “You know the texts in the Old Testament. You know what the Bible says should be done to this woman. Do you agree? Should she be stoned, or not?” John 8:5. And the whole crowd watched to see what Jesus would say.

Jesus chose to say nothing. Instead He bent over and wrote with His finger in the dust on the ground. A few footprints, a few puffs of air, and the record would be gone. It doesn’t say in the Bible that He wrote their sins, but judging by their reaction, that is what He must have written upon the ground (based on 8:6-7). As they looked over His shoulder and saw their lives delineated in the dust, they left one by one from the oldest to the youngest. Before they left, though, Jesus turned to them as He was writing these things down and said, “I suggest that the one of you who has never sinned throw the first stone at her” (8:7). Then He bent down and went on writing. When they were all gone (8:8-9), He turned to the woman who was left there and said, “Where are your accusers?” She looked up and said, “I don’t know. They are gone.” Then He spoke those incredible words to a woman that had committed a really reprehensible act. He said, “I don’t condemn you either. Just go home and be a better woman from now on” (based on 8:10-11).

How graciously and generously Jesus, the Son of God, sought to recover the woman’s dignity and self-respect. We marvel at His treatment of her. But what about His treatment of those pious, heartless accusers? He evidently knew the facts of their lives by what He wrote in the dust. Why didn’t He gather the crowd a little closer and say, “Let Me tell you something about these pretentiously pious frauds. Do you know what this one has done, and that one?” Didn’t they deserve to be exposed? What does it say about God that He didn’t expose those self-righteous accusers? Is it that God finds no pleasure in embarrassing His children? In the first chapter of this book we noted that all His professing children, good and bad, are members of God’s family. God did not publicly humiliate those men, even though they would have deserved it.

What do you think it will be like, someday, to stand in the presence of the Infinite One and realize that He knows everything about us—and I do mean everything? Even if we are among the saved, will we be comfortable to spend eternity with Someone who knows us so well? Our answer to these questions depends on the kind of person we believe our God to be. In this chapter we will again consider the most convincing evidence that God is not the kind of person His enemies have made Him out to be; arbitrary, vengeful, unforgiving, and severe. The evidence of how He treats His erring and troubled children points to a God who is infinitely powerful, but equally gracious.

One day we all will stand before God, whether we are saved or lost. Forbid the thought, but if anyone should die before finishing this chapter, the next moment of consciousness for that person would be face to face with God. The Bible states this clearly in many places; this is one of the most vivid:

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it. . . . And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. . . . And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, by what they had done (Rev 20:11-12, RSV).

Even if we are among the saved, will it be comfortable to spend eternity with Someone who knows us so well? Even though we have been forgiven, we all have been sinners. Paul is very clear about this in Romans 3: “There is not even one who is righteous. . . . For all have sinned, and all fall short of God’s glorious ideal” (Rom 3:10, 23, TCNT). So even though we are saved and forgiven, will God haunt us with the memory of our sinful past? As I’ve already mentioned, the answer depends upon the kind of person we believe our God to be. All through Scripture God has spoken to this question, not in claims and promises alone, but with evidence and with demonstration. And surely the most convincing demonstration was provided by the way Jesus treated even the worst of sinners.

Lou: Related to the previous chapter on the emergency measures, a questioner writes, “I was disappointed that you used Galatians 3:19-25 as referring to the Ten Commandments, whereas I think Paul was concerned about the doctrine of circumcision. The entire book of Galatians was an endeavor to change the church’s view of the ‘ceremonial’ law. See Acts 15 and so on. Isn’t it true that the sacrificial system is the added law? Doesn’t Colossians 2:14-16 talk about a law that was to be blotted out?”

Graham: One could readily come to that conclusion, but I think one would pay a price in taking that view and not including all law. One might be tempted to say that a legalist is a person who still follows the ceremonial laws, as the Pharisees did. “There’s no way you could be legalistic about the Ten Commandments.” Yet the most damaging legalism over the centuries has been with respect to the Ten. Certainly the most damaging legalism has been with respect to the fourth of the Ten Commandments. So I believe Paul’s point is about all law. All law was an emergency measure to bring us back to faith and a right relationship with God. That’s the point. So if you leave out the Ten in Galatians 3, you are suggesting that there is no way you can be legalistic about the Ten Commandments.

Lou: A few more questions. “If the universe was satisfied when Christ died, then why are we still here?”

Graham: Ah, that’s a great question. We will answer that in detail in Chapter Eighteen. “What is God Waiting For?” is a question we ought to keep in mind throughout these conversations. Why did He wait so long to send His Son? Why is He waiting so long to send Him back the second time?

Lou: Here’s an intriguing question: “Would we lose our freedom if God always rewarded the righteous? If righteousness always paid off, why rebel?”

Graham: That might explain why God does what He does sometimes, as with Job in Scripture. It’s true. If every time I did what was right God rewarded me, that would be quite a motivation, wouldn’t it? Then I would do what I do because God has told me to, and He has the power to reward and destroy, as in the first of the three reasons for obedience we talked about earlier in the chapter. That would produce a certain kind of obedience. But isn’t it far more impressive if, like Job, we’re not rewarded right away and we love God anyway? God’s friend Job was able to say, “Though God slay me, yet will I trust Him” (based on Job 13:15).

Lou: That reminds me of the third type of obedience you talked about earlier. If God commands me to do something beyond my present understanding, I can trust Him even when it appears that righteousness is not rewarded.
Two questions: “What is the difference between killing and murdering? Is it because it damages yourself when you hate your brother?” And another person says, “I am confused. `Thou shalt not kill’ is a commandment, and yet God told His people to kill.” Can you touch on these very quickly?

Graham: In both Hebrew and Greek the sixth commandment speaks of murder. “Thou shalt not murder.” Many modern versions are so translated. What’s so bad about murdering is what happens inside. As Jesus said, “He who hates his brother has already done the damage. He is a murderer” (based on Matthew 5:21-24). On the other hand, God has never said, “Go and murder people.” He did instruct His people to kill in battle. But He didn‘t want them to. It‘s very clear. He said, “Let My angel do it. Let Me put My children to sleep.“ He never wanted them to kill at all (see Exod 23:23-30). That too was an emergency measure. But at the end of the millennium God doesn’t violate that law either. Do you think He hates His children as they die? Of course not. He doesn’t even kill them. He watches them die and He cries. God has never violated His Ten Commandments. Never.

Lou: Our next chapter in this series of conversations will be number thirteen, “How God
Treats His Erring Children.”

Graham: For me, that topic is the most convincing evidence of all that God is not arbitrary, exacting, vengeful and severe, and it is evidence in demonstration, not in words. It is about how He treats us when we sin.

The “Why” of Obedience:
Three Options

(1) Because God told me so and He has the power to reward or destroy.
(2) Because God told me so and I love Him and want to please Him.
(3) Because experience has shown what God wants is the right and sensible thing to do. I
want to do it even when I don’t fully understand.