The Double Edged Sword! | Previous Challenge Entry

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TITLE: The Double Edged Sword! | Previous Challenge Entry
By Carolyn Burgoine
01/31/07
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Many of my colleagues held him in contempt believing him to be a “crank”. Others were convinced he was a resurrected prophet and considered him a threat to our authority as the Jewish ruling council.
The Scriptures promise a Messiah, the Christ of God. All Israelites wait with expectation for the Christ to appear. He will be powerful, the Jews’ Saviour, from King David’s line, King David the great warrior king. He will save his people from the Romans.
This Jesus, why, he is contrary in every consideration! Controversial ! He heals people on the Sabbath! He calls for peace, he welcomes prostitutes and taxmen as his companions. He calms his followers, inciting them not to riot, but counsels them to “love God, love others as yourselves, repent and know God”. Confidently and with conviction he declares God’s kingdom is near, even hinting he is the Christ!
Courage, conceit, conflict, the desire for conquering clashes with the Romans .. these are the attributes I look for in a Saviour. This Jesus does not conform to this description at all! Quite comical when one thinks about the contrast of our expected Christ and this man who claims to be the Christ.
As a Pharisee it was my duty to test Jesus, dispute his claims that he was from God, have him scorned by the people in Jerusalem and exposed for the counterfeit Christ he was. That is my excuse for my presence in the temple court that day.
Together with my colleagues I organised for an unsavory fellow to seduce a woman who had not always been a faithful wife. She was to be caught in the act. Naturally the man was not to be implicated.
Jesus had just sat down on a wall to teach. Word always spread fast when Jesus was teaching, and though it was early in the day, many people had already gathered in the temple court to listen to him.
With my companions, I entered the gates of the temple court with the woman found in adultery in our custody. We wanted to know what Jesus’ ruling would be when we disclosed the evidence of this woman’s adultery. Would he contradict the Law of Moses? Would his “love and peace” commission go that far? If so, we would have cause to arrest him and he would forfeit the trust so many of our people had in him. He would no longer contest our authority.
So we brought the woman before him. He stood up and moved toward us. As spokesperson I addressed 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?”1
Though the beauty of the dawn sky was only just waning, it was evident the day would be uncomfortably hot. Just then my thoughts were of the discomfort of Jesus as everyone waited for his reply, no movement or sound, as though there was not even air to breathe.
Jesus bent down and started to write in the ground with his finger.2 He was writing verbs, actions that we call sin and that we need to make amends to God for. I read the words: coveting, greed, theft, adultery, cruelty, injustice, idolatry, dishonesty, cheating, pride, unloving… the list was long.
We continued to question him. He straightened up and said to(us), “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote in the ground.3
It was then, before he stooped the second time that his eyes found mine and compelled me to meet them. My deceitful heart was laid bare! I despised myself and my actions. “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”4
I knew then He truly was the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the living God. He was here to save us .. from ourselves! I prayed sincerely to His Father, my God that one day I would be able to honour him as the Christ.
Head bowed I noticed he was writing names beside the sins he had listed earlier. I read Nicodemus beside more than one. My companion’s names also appeared on the list. Our shame drove us away.
1 John 8:4b,5 New International Version
2 John 8:6b New International Version
3 John 8:7b New International Version
4 Hebrews 4:12

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