Romans 13:8 Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.
The Pharisees strongly disliked the Lord Jesus. His teachings on love and mercy did not sit well with them.
How could He change people’s ideology and cause the Pharisees to lose face? Who was He to do that in the first place?
Little did they realise that He was the one whom the Prophet Isaiah had prophesied about. He was the Son of God, the Lamb on the Throne, the Word that became flesh to offer forgiveness for our sins and save us from eternal destruction!
One day, the Pharisees and scribes plotted to catch the Lord Jesus off guard.
They brought a woman caught in the act of adultery, threw her before Him and said, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” – John 8:4-5
If the Lord Jesus had told them to stone her, His entire message on forgiveness and love would come undone. On the other hand, if He told them to forgive her, He would have spoken against the law of Moses, which was blasphemy.
Interestingly, the Lord Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as if He had not heard their question. When urged for an answer by the Pharisees, He stood up and said, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” – John 8:7
Then He stooped back down and continued writing on the ground…
What was He writing on the ground? It must have been something of real importance and relevance, for Him to go back to it.
It is very possible that the Lord Jesus was writing the Ten Commandments. It was symbolic of laws biting the dust because the God of love was in their midst!
But to those who wanted to impose the law (the Pharisees), the Ten Commandments only served to remind them that “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” – Romans 3:23
Convicted by their own transgressions, they left one by one until there was no one left to accuse the woman of sin.
Law had triumphed… it was the Law of Love!
The Pharisees believed that they were radical followers of God. They were radical alright, but they weren’t followers of God.
Christianity is founded on love. The more radical you are as a Christian, the more you love the people around you.
Are you a radical Christian?
