{Prayer}

            Last week we spent a week of being. Being in Christ, being His disciples, being shaped by His Word. But what happens when we fail? What happens when our being is marked by sin? This week, we focus on forgiveness. To illustrate how Jesus deals with our sin, let’s start with something familiar … your couch.

            Think about your couch at home. It probably looks nice on the outside, but when was the last time you flipped the cushions? What’s under your cushions? If it’s been a while, you might be shocked by what you find. You might find some cookie crumbs or some change. You might some Nerf bullets, a TV remote, money, a candy wrapper, a sock or two that don’t match. Beneath the surface, it’s a hidden mess.

            Our lives are the same way. We present ourselves all well and good on the outside, but deep down, under the surface, we’re a mess. We push all our junk down, covering it up, hoping no one sees or finds out.

            Many people believe that they are “good people” and they don’t need to change. I’ve heard it numerous times at funerals. “It’s okay. He was a good person. She was a good person. She’s in a better place now because of that.” I’m not sure what Bible they’re reading that out of because in my Bible, in Romans 3, it says that there is no one righteous, not even one (3:10). I think when Paul says no one, not even one, he was including you and me in that. It’s important for each of us to realize that we are a sinner, that we are guilty. And if we don’t acknowledge our sin, we remain trapped in the past. And if you can’t let go of the past, you’ll never be able to grab a hold of the future.

            If you follow Jesus, if you call yourself a Christian, I want you to listen to this … Jesus did not die on a cross, He didn’t suffer a brutal death, and then rise from the dead so that you could live the rest of your life as a slave to sin and feel guilty for all the junk you have buried deep down inside yourself. God sent His Son to die on a cross for you, so that you are freed from your past, so you can be free in the present, and you would go into the future with a sense of freedom and forgiveness. God wants to take away all the junk, the past, and remove it this morning.

            Jesus doesn’t leave our mess hidden. He flips the cushions, He brings it into the light, and He deals with it. One of the clearest examples of this happens in John 8. So, let’s move from the couch to the temple courts.

            In John 8, an accused woman is brought before Jesus. What’s unique about this story among many others found in the Bible is that right above or below it, your Bible will say something like “The earliest manuscripts and many other ancient witnesses do not have John 7:53-8:11.” Some think it’s because of the controversial nature, some because they think that what Jesus does is scandalous. But let’s check it out.

            “But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group” (8:1-3).

            Now as you listen to that you might be like … Hold on! It takes two to tango, so where’s the man? If she’s committing an act of adultery, there has to be at least 2 people. So where’s the man? I don’t know. We’re only told that they just brought the woman.

            “And {they} said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?’”

            Besides not having the man, what they say is right. Deuteronomy 22:22 says, “If a man is found sleeping with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil of Israel.”

            John goes on, “They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing {Jesus}” (8:6).

            You see, this is an elaborate plan they’ve developed to get Jesus. The man may not have been brought in because he was in on it. So, this woman was being used as a means to an end to trap Jesus. If Jesus says yes, He seems unmerciful and goes against what He’s been doing and teaching. If He says, no, Jesus appears to disregard the Law.

            But instead of answering, what does Jesus do? “{He} bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.” Silence. The tension builds. The Pharisees stand there, waiting for Him to respond, expecting to trap Him in a no-win scenario. But Jesus doesn’t take the bait. Instead, He kneels down, drawing in the dust, as if their accusations don’t hold the weight they think they do.

            Frustrated, they “kept on questioning him.” Jesus straightens up and says to them, “‘Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her’”. Jesus stoops down again and continues to write on the ground. Slowly, one by one, the people leave until only Jesus and this woman are left.

            Jesus says to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir.” “Then neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin.”

            This woman had no defense, and yet Jesus, the only One without sin, chose mercy. But He didn’t just let her go … He set her free.

            But let’s dig a little deeper into this scene. When in front of everyone, how many times did the woman speak? None. Imagine the fear in her heart. She was caught in the act, dragged out publicly, shamed, and left vulnerable before an angry crowd. She knew the Law and she knew she had broken it. But what she didn’t know, what she couldn’t have expected was grace.

            Jesus didn’t remove her condemnation … He gave her a new identity. She came into that moment labeled as an adulteress, but she walked away as someone forgiven and restored. This wasn’t just forgiveness … this was transformation. The same Jesus who lifted her up from the dirt gives you and me a new life, too. He doesn’t just forgive our past … He calls us into a future relationship shaped by His grace.

            Many people believe we need to come to Jesus with our best before He’ll come and forgive me. But here’s the thing, Jesus meets us in our mess, flipping the cushions to expose what we’d rather keep hidden. And once He does, He doesn’t leave the mess there … He cleans it up through forgiveness.

            But this wasn’t just about the woman. This was a glimpse of something far greater, something happening in the courtroom of heaven. The same way the Pharisees accused the woman, Satan stands before God as the great accuser. Revelation 12 calls him the one who is constantly reminding us of our failures. He wants you and me to believe that we’re beyond forgiveness. He drags our sins out before the Judge, before God and says, “Look at what they’ve done. Look at how they’ve failed. They deserve punishment.”

            But Jesus is both our defense attorney and our judge. And here’s the amazing part … He doesn’t just argue for our innocence … instead He takes our punishment for us. Imagine standing before the Judge, guilty of sin, waiting for your sentence and then … then Jesus stands up and says, “I’ll take it.”

            John 3:16 is the most known verse. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” But do you know the next verse? “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” The only One with the right to throw a stone instead drops it.

            The enemy may keep shouting accusations, but we can respond … “Yes, I’ve sinned. I’ve screwed up, but God got down in the dirt and Jesus has forgiven me. He has wiped my past clean” If Jesus has come down to lift you up, no one, no person, no devil, can bring you down.

            As we continue to put Jesus’ words into practice, we will see and experience His forgiveness anew. As we experience His forgiveness, we can’t help but extend it to others. Our world is filled with division, anger, and broken relationships. But we, the forgiven by the blood of Jesus, must lead the charge in forgiveness. Jesus calls us to be a people of mercy in a world desperate for grace.

            So, is there someone in your life you’ve struggled to forgive? If Jesus has removed our condemnation, how can we withhold grace from others? Forgiveness is hard, no doubt about it. But it’s the way of Christ. If you’re struggling to forgive, remember … Jesus doesn’t just call us to forgive … He empowers us to forgive by His Spirit.

            Let’s go back to the couch one last time. Jesus flips the cushions, not to shame us, but to set us free. He cleans up what we’ve hidden, removes the mess completely, and put everything back together. And this is what He does with our lives. Let’s live in the freedom of His forgiveness and share that freedom with others. Amen.

            The peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, now and forever. Amen.