3/29 Through the Bible in Devotions

John 8

“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.” (v. 9)

We all know the story of the woman taken in adultery, and of the events that followed, but I think we often miss a very important factor in this passage; “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.” It was not the writing in the sand that convicted these men, but the word that Jesus spoke! Notice that “They which heard it” were convicted, not “they which saw it”. Now this may not seem to be a big deal to many of you, but it shifts the focus from the Shifting sands of the world to the Word of God! This woman obviously needed something other than condemnation; she needed Jesus, the “Living Word”, and it was this same Word that convicted her, and the others to the extent that they left like dogs, with their tails between their legs. Notice that the conviction came from hearing, but it also worked through their “own conscience”, and therefore became effective in the purpose that it was meant to accomplish. The Lord has a way of affecting the conscience.
When conviction comes, condemnation leaves, or at least that is the proper plan. What Jesus wrote in the sand, and why He chose to do it, we do not know, but it was His words that convicted them, and not the writing, as so many like to suppose, and the condemners left.

These men sought to tempt Jesus, to cause Him to defy the law so that they could accuse Him before the people, but as usual, Jesus turned their game around on them. He has a way of doing that with evil, and using it for good. Romans 12:21 tells us to “overcome evil with good”, but before that it cautions us not to be overcome with evil. Evil has a way of turning the tables on us, but Jesus can turn the tables on evil. Let’s let Him fight our battles. The difference is in our walk. Do we walk with Jesus, or go our own way? When we walk with Him, evil seems to flee; when we walk with Jesus, the adversary runs away. A walk without Him is a lonely and trying trail; they who walk alone, walk alone!