He, who is without sin, cast the first stone.
Jesus in His pre-incarnate being was with the Israelites, in fact, He was leading them through the wilderness to the Promised Land in Canaan. He was the pillar of cloud and the tower of light that led them in their arduous journey through wilderness, to the Promised Land. HE was their captain of the Lord’s Host written in the book of Joshua before their military expedition into a well-fortified Jericho. Many incidences recorded the pre-incarnate deified form of Christ in the old testaments.
“He came unto His own, and His own received Him not,” recorded by Apostle in gospel of John. It ought to be a heartfelt agony that His own people, whom He raised and set apart to be a special people, yet they did not know Him. In Luke 19:40-44, Jesus wept over Jerusalem and rebuked the Jews for not knowing the day of their visitation.
There was one appearances of Christ at Mount Sinai that is relevant to our topic discussed. On the fearful and dreadful mountain was the presence of the Holy God. Moses was asked to remove his sandal as where he met God; the place he stood was holy. There and then, the pre-incarnate Christ personally wrote the Ten Commandments on the two tablets of stone. Now in the flesh, at the second temple where He was teaching, the scribes and Pharisees challenged Him with the Law of Moses on adultery. Just imagine the audacity of His people. Without a word, He stood down and rewrote the laws, namely the ones that the accusers had trespassed. Slowly, each one of the accusers vanished from sight as they were convicted of their own sins. The One who wrote the Laws invited the accusers to cast the first stone if they think they are righteous enough to do so. None of them did.
Jesus was born into this sinful world, but knew no sin as He took on the flesh. Certainly, He fulfilled the Law of Moses which made Him qualified to condemn the woman. Who else is eligible to cast the stone at the accused? But did He? Grace as a person extended His hand of mercy, just as He did with us, by asking, “Has anyone condemn you?” The fearful and terrified woman replied, “No!” He then told the woman that neither would He condemn her. Therefore, go and sin no more. That meeting with Grace changed the woman completely. She felt no condemnation but forgiveness. Forgiveness begets empowerment of freedom to step away from the former self into full acceptance in God. She, thereafter, sin no more. That is the power of Grace.
Jesus the good Shepherd is calling out today to all who are weary and burdened, to come to Him. He promised those wearied and heavily burdened by the loads of sin with rest. The gentle Saviour urges us to come to Him, though our sins may be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Christ our Redeemer went to the cross bled His precious blood as a ransom for our sins, wants us to respond to His Grace.
So today, if you do hear His voice calling you to come to Him, do not neglect or ignore His call of the gospel message of salvation. We do not want to be, likened to the Jewish people who did not know the time of their visitation. For that, Israel as a nation, Jerusalem their beloved city was destroyed in AD 70 by the Roman army. The last destruction left Jerusalem in desolation and its people dispersed across the continents in the final Diaspora of the Jews. The nation of Israel did not exist for nearly two thousand years until 1948. So, we too can also be in the same predication if we hardened our hearts to His calling. Our gravest punishment would be missing the Promised Land, and not entering rest in God through all eternity.