Challenges

 “This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him.”

‭‭John‬ ‭8‬:‭6‬ ‭ESV

As people of faith, we are often confronted by those with questions. And these questions are not just any questions. They are questions that directly challenge our beliefs.

These questions are asked not to learn about us. They are asked not to learn about our faith. They are meant to produce a “gotcha” moment.

What they are seeking to do, in that moment, is to discredit us. They are seeking to eliminate any type of influence we may have. And they may even be seeking to destroy our own faith.

This is what the crowd was seeking to do with Jesus in the eighth chapter of John. They had brought to him a woman, caught in the act of adultery. And they reminded him of what was prescribed by the Law.

Such people were to be put to death. They were to be stoned. And they asked Jesus what he had to say about this.

Whichever way he answered, they thought they had him. If he failed to condemn this woman, they could accuse him before the people. They could say that he didn’t hold to, or that he denied, the clear teaching of Scripture. But if he did condemn the woman, they could accuse him before the Romans. They could accuse him because, as we read in John 18:31, it was not lawful for them to put anyone to death. They could accuse him, then, before the Romans of violating their law.

Jesus, however, is God. And his wisdom far surpasses that of man. He, then, was able to answer them in such a way that he could not be accused.

He told them that whoever was without sin should cast the first stone. He reminded them, in other words, that they were all guilty. And, for this reason, they were all deserving of judgment. Like the adulterous woman, they were all deserving of death.

We, of course, are not God. And we do not possess the same level of wisdom. For this reason, we may not be able to answer such challenges in a way that preserves us from accusation.

We should, however, expect such challenges. We should expect that people will seek to discredit us. And we should expect that they will seek to undermine our faith.

We, therefore, must seek the wisdom of God. We must ask that he will strengthen us in faith. And we must entrust ourselves to his care.