John 8:9

ALONE WITH JESUS

‘And they … went out … and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.’

John 8:9

The sinner and Jesus were left alone. They must always be so. None should come in there, specially where sin is the question to be settled. So long as the scribes and Pharisees remained there was not a word passed from the lips of the Saviour to her, nor from her lips to Him. When all had gone out, He spoke to her. Not till then. Till they are all gone out thou wilt never hear thy Saviour’s voice speaking to thy soul. He is thy Saviour, and only He. All must go out, and thou be alone with Him. Not till then wilt thou hear His voice saying to thy troubled soul, ‘Neither do I condemn thee.’

I. A glorious release.—What a glorious discharge for this poor trembling one! The law thundered, Satan charged, conscience accused, man pointed the finger of scorn. What of it? Above them all she heard the voice of God proclaiming, ‘Neither do I condemn thee.’ She could look them all in the face, for God had looked upon her. She could face every frown and tremble not, for heaven’s sunshine had fallen upon her stricken soul in the smile of Jesus. The storm that raged within had subsided, for He Who ruled the winds and the waves had uttered His voice, and now there was a great calm.

II. God’s order.—And mark the order—pardon first, then obedience. This is God’s order. Human religion exactly reverses it. It says, ‘Go, and sin no more, and then you may hope to be forgiven.’ It puts the sinner altogether off the work of Christ for pardon, and places him on his doings for it. God’s way is first to pardon, and then to enjoin obedience. And why? Because man can do nothing in this world without a motive. What is that motive? The love of God shed abroad in his own soul. Christ has forgiven him while yet a sinner; and this free, unmerited grace to one so unworthy is the great motive constraining him to holiness of life.

III. Alone with Jesus! What a sweet and holy spot! What a blessed refuge to which the soul may betake itself from the charges of Satan, the accusations of the world, aud the sorrows of life! There the self-condemned and the penitent may bathe His feet with tears. There the aching heart, stung with the scorn and reproaches of the world, may find sweet repose.

Rev. F. Whitfield.

Illustration

‘The solution of many difficult questions respecting the life of Christ, lies in the right understanding and recognition of the character of His first mission to our world. It was purely spiritual. He did not come as a magistrate, or as a judge, or as a king: that He will be when He comes again. But, when He came before, He was very jealous on this point; and scrupulously careful to show that He had nothing at all to do with the administration of justice, or the adjudication of any matter. Christ did not really either condemn the woman who was brought to Him, or acquit her. He treated it as outside His province. His duty, as Judge, was not yet begun. The Scribes and Pharisees “tempting Him,” but still treating Him as a high authority, said, “By the law, this woman should be stoned; but what sayest Thou?” They placed Him in a judicial position; but Jesus positively declined it. He declined it to the Pharisees, by first appearing not to notice what they said; then, by waiving the point, and leaving it to their own consciences. And He declined it to the woman, by throwing it back upon her accusers: “Woman, where are thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee?” And then by refusing all responsibility: “Neither do I condemn thee; go, and sin no more.” ’