No One Is Without Sin
Let’s wrap up this study on the Negatives in the Bible. There are many more I could cover, but I feel it’s time to move on, so this will be the last post about it for now. Let’s begin with the story of the woman caught in adultery.
“Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. ”
We’re all familiar with the story. This poor woman—guilty of sin—was singled out and brought before Jesus for sentencing. What really gets me in this story is that these “religious” leaders used this woman as a pawn in their plans. They didn’t care about her. They had no problem humiliating her in front of everyone. They were only concerned with their agenda, which was to trick Jesus. But it was Jesus who had the last word.
We don’t know what He wrote in the sand that day, but whatever it was—combined with His previous statement—sent the men melting into the shadows. “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” Who, in their right mind, would be presumptuous or cocky enough to throw a stone after such a comment? To do so would be an open declaration that the person throwing the rock was without sin, and according to the Scripture, there’s no such thing.
“If they sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or near; ”
“The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. ”
“God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God. Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. ”
“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. ”
Not once or twice, but repeatedly, God reminds us that none of us are without sin. We all mess up. We all make poor choices. We all tend to serve the flesh rather than the Lord. And sometimes we seem to forget that, especially when we’re busy focusing on the faults of others like the religious leaders were in the story above.
These men were proud of their rank and position and bitter at Jesus for drawing people toward the truth. But they were so busy trying to trip up Jesus, they were blind to their faults. They conveniently caught this woman in the act of adultery (which makes me wonder why they were following this woman around in the first place) and quickly pointed the finger at her sin. Again, no mention of their own crimes. No thought for how often they had failed God. They were too busy casting blame to examine their own hearts, and if we’re not careful, we can do the same.
Most of the negatives we’ve explored in this study have actually been positive messages for us. They have served as reminders that nothing is impossible for God, that He never breaks His promises, and that none of His servants will go unrewarded. Today’s negative, on the other hand, seems to be just that—negative. No one is without sin. That’s terrible news, right? Yes, but keeping that principle in mind is a good thing, especially when we’re tempted to point the finger at someone else. No one includes us. While we may not be guilty of the same sin as someone else, we each have our own faults and failures. How about we deal with those instead of worrying about the sins of others? That was Jesus’ message to the religious leaders, and it’s a good reminder to us.