Series: Short Stories with Jesus
Message: Hot Woman, Cold Men.
Preacher: Danni Sherwood
Reflection: Paddy McCoy
Live Wonder: Jessyka Albert
Live Adventure: Jessyka Albert
Live Purpose: Kyle Smith
Editor: Becky De Oliveira
Refresh: Begin with prayer. Ask for the Holy Spirit to open your heart to new understanding and for God’s character to be revealed.
Read: John 8:3–11 in The Message (MSG). Note 1–3 insights or questions.
Reflect: As we stated earlier, we know very little about the woman in the story. As far as the religious leaders were concerned, all that mattered was that she had been caught in the act of adultery. We don’t know if she was actually committing adultery or if she had been entrapped by the religious leaders to make it appear that way. We don’t know if this was habitual behavior for her or if she was actually innocent of all charges. What we do know is that—from the Pharisees’ point of view—this woman had no voice; she didn’t matter. She was only the means that justified what they hoped would be the end.
What I find fascinating in this story is that the only person who gave the woman a voice was Jesus. She was voiceless, a product of her choices and/or the choices of the religious leaders. She had no rights. She was guilty until proven innocent.
But Jesus gave her a voice. After writing in the sand and after all her accusers had left, Jesus said, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She responded, I’m sure softly and with trembling in her voice, “No one, Lord.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
Jesus always gives a voice to the voiceless; to those whom no one else stands up for, those whom society has cast aside or judged by the color of their skin, or the money in their purse, or the place in which they live, or the parents to whom they were born. To the bullied, the discriminated, the cast-off, the lonely, and the judged, Jesus gives voice and that voice says, “You’re free.”
Whatever place in your life where you’ve been kept silent, for whatever reason, may you hear the sweet sweet sound of Jesus’ voice pardon you and set you free. `
Recalibrate: Who are the voiceless in your circle of influence and how could you give them a voice leading to freedom?
Respond: Ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to someone in your life who needs wise words of grace.
Research: Read the stories of those in Scripture for whom Jesus shone a light, demonstrating how significant they were, or those to whom He gave a voice: Matthew 9: 32-33, Mark 5:21-34, Mark 12: 41-44, John 4:1-26.
Padraic “Paddy” McCoy currently serves as young adult pastor at Kettering Adventist Church. He enjoys authentic discipleship, attempts at intergenerational connections in our churches, and having as much fun as possible. His wife Tricia is a social worker specializing in at-risk adolescents, and his two teenagers, Ayden and Allayna teach him daily about the love of Christ.
When all her accusers left, it was just the woman and Jesus. That is often how He deals with us, one on one. When your child does something bad, do you deal with it—publicly or privately? Might it be best to deal with issues one on one with them?
When you get into trouble, who is the person you want to talk to the most? Your mom? Your dad? A friend? Would you want to talk to Jesus right after getting in big trouble?
Why or why not?
In this story, the woman was accused of being unfaithful and caught in adultery. The accusation was really saying that she had more than one love in her life. Have you ever been unfaithful to God? How does Jesus’ response to the woman make you feel?