³ “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

What would Jesus do,” was a popular saying a few years ago. But many used it to support any “good feel” activity or “politically correct” notion in vogue. In order to ask that question, one must know Jesus Christ on His own terms, not what we want Him to be. And here is the rub, Jesus doesn’t fit into a box, and as God in the flesh, acts in very unpopular ways. Knowing Him is knowing true grace. But that doesn’t mean He is a pushover.

When the legalists of His day demanded an answer concerning a woman caught in adultery, He refused to bend to what they thought was their clever trap. Those who don’t know Christ are quick to jump to the popular quote of Jesus saying, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7). But there is more about Christ in this story to those who desire to grow in their knowledge of Him.

Those self-righteous Pharisees (John 8:3) paraded their self-exalted morality before the Lord, with the woman being a mere puppet to advance their vendetta against Him. They were trying to corner Jesus for hypocrisy in a no-win dilemma. If Jesus said to let the woman go, He would be guilty of contravening the Law of Moses, under which He was submitting Himself. If He said to stone her, then that would buys into the Pharisees’ manipulation and contravene the love that He had been preaching. Is Law greater than love, or love greater than Law? They were forcing the terms of engagement with Jesus, but Jesus refused to be manipulated.

Christianity’s detractors today fall into the same category as the Pharisees, thinking they have the moral high ground, and try to catch Christians in a dilemma. What would Jesus do? He would not bow to their manipulation today, and we should not either. He showed how their guilt was no less than hers (in fact, it takes two to commit adultery, but they only brought the woman – sounds like a political scandal cover-up). The room was filled with guilty sinners.

After they all left with painful self-awareness of their own threatened exposure, only the woman remained. Since now there was no witness left to accuse her, there was no legal case before the Law of Moses—and therefore no condemnation. But Jesus did imply that the woman was guilty of sinning, for He finished by saying to her, “Go and from now on, sin no more.” He did make a judgment, but not to condemn, but rather to free the woman from her sin.

Lord, help me to know You better so that I might respond to my dilemmas better.