Today, it seems many of us have drifted away from the compassionate nature of Jesus Christ. Too many church sermons have become: "Those people are our enemies! We must win at any cost. The end result justifies the means." 

That isn't very Christ-like, is it? What would Jesus do? We should examine the basics of Christianity. Jesus Christ said:

(John 13:34-35 NKJV)  A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

He also said:

(Matthew 5:43-44 NKJV)  "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you"

(Matthew 6:14-15 NKJV)  "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

(Luke 9:23 NKJV)  ... "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me."

(Matthew 7:12 NKJV)  "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets."

When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, He replied:

(Matthew 22:37-40 NKJV)  Jesus said to him, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

Those are the two greatest commandments in the Bible. Many times they tried to drag Jesus into the heated politics of the day. Israel had been conquered by the Roman Empire, and they ruled with an iron fist. 

Israel was burdened with heavy taxes to support an imperialistic military power in distant lands. It was a form of triple taxation, with layers of taxes. Rome took their share, the local rulers demanded theirs, and the tax collectors tacked on an extra fee for themselves. By the time everyone was paid, there was nothing left but empty pockets. People sometimes had to sell what they had in order to pay the taxes. That is why tax collectors were so hated.

You can see how cruel the Romans were in the crucifixion of Jesus. Pilate ordered Him to be scourged and crucified, but the Roman soldiers mocked, struck, and spat on Him.

People constantly tried to drag Jesus into the political struggle between Israel and the Romans. In (Matthew 22:15-17), the Pharisees and Herodians set a trap for Jesus by asking Him, "Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"

If Jesus rejected the taxes, He could be accused of rebellion against Rome, which was a death sentence. If He approved it, He would be considered a traitor to Israel. So He said, "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's." (Matthew 22:15-17).

Jesus made it clear that you can love God and still pay taxes to Caesar. Politics and faith are separate things. Your walk with Christ does not depend on loyalty to a political party. It's not one or the other. But when people stop loving God and start using religion as a weapon, you get situations like the one in John chapter 8. The end becomes more important than the means, and people become collateral damage.

Jesus was teaching at the temple when a crowd of scribes and Pharisees dragged in a woman caught in adultery and threw her in front of Him, right in the middle of His church service:

(John 8:2-6 NKJV) Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, "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?" This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.

The scribes and Pharisees here were not concerned about the woman. They saw her as a weapon they could use against Jesus. It was an obvious setup, as they didn't even bring the guilty man, who may have been one of them. They said they caught her in the very act, and it takes two to tango. This was an engineered case with a predefined outcome.

If Jesus said, "let her go," then He would be breaking the law of Moses. If He said, "stone her," then He would be breaking the law of Rome because the Romans had taken away the right of Jews to officially execute people for religious offenses. And probably rightly so, as you can see what they did to Stephen (Acts 7:57-59). They thought they had Jesus in a no-win situation.

(John 8:7-11 NKJV)  So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."

I would love to know what Jesus wrote on the ground... Whatever it was, it changed their minds, and they began to leave one by one, with the oldest leaving first. It seems that they began to look back on the times when they could have been caught in the very act, and it would have been them standing in the circle naked and alone. 

This was hypocrisy at its finest. Highly religious people pretending to be doing something good. Acting like they are taking out the trash because of their zeal for God, when that is not why they are doing it, and they don't even know Him. What you see being done to others can be done unto you.

(John 16:2-3 NKJV)  They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me.

It is so easy to see sin in others while being blind to the sin inside you. A promise Jesus gave that is not taped to many refrigerator doors is this one:

(Matthew 7:1-3 NKJV)  "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?"

We are not doing God a favor when we wear a cross and treat others like trash. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap (Galatians 6:7 NKJV).

Jesus said plainly, "All will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

You can pray this with me if you like:

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please forgive me for the times when I wanted to cast the first stone, not realizing that it could be me dragged in naked and alone. I am sorry. Help me see others through Your eyes and rise above the noise. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!