When the Church becomes the Angry Mob

One night last fall, I was pulled from a dead sleep by a Bible story. Maybe God was talking to me, or maybe it was because of my midnight run to Taco Bell. Regardless, the story of the adulterous woman and the religious angry mob (John 8:1-11) was projecting brightly in my brain at 4am.

I could see the woman’s tears trickle down her face, soaking into her flushed cheeks. She had been caught in the act of adultery and they were going to make her pay. Finger-shaped bruises were fast forming on her wrists as the religious elite dragged her through the streets of first-century Jerusalem; their shouts overpowering her desperate cries as they marched their convict to the temple.

It’s always a sad day when “God’s people” become an angry mob.

The Pharisees had orchestrated this scenario, seeking her out as bait to trick Jesus with. She was a mere pawn, as if her violation of their law gave them the right to treat her as such.

They had labeled her as a sinner first, and a person second

Given their knowledge of the Law, the quickness and ease of their process, and the lack of surprise from the crowd, I would wager that this wasn’t their first street side stoning.

They were well-versed in the art of seeking and judging the sinful

They knew Leviticus 20:10 mandated death for adulterous people. So according to the scriptures, they had a right to do it! However, the full law states that they were supposed to stone BOTH people involved. Either they lost him, or someone was picking and choosing which parts of the law they wanted to enforce…

They were using (pieces of) scripture to condemn only who they wanted to

These Pharisees donned and shined their badges as God’s Moral Police (self-appointed, of course) and pulled this sinner into the public realm to face the consequences of her evil deeds. They carried their convict through the city and cast her at the feet of Jesus, ready to whip out the list of scriptures that so clearly condemned her.

I’d bet they were quite proud of themselves. Attacking heresy AND sexual sin at the same time? Talk about two birds with one stoning! Boom goes the dynamite.

What would Jesus do? Um, well, the exact opposite of how most Christians “debate” on Facebook. (oh yes I did)

Rather than attempting to verbally “one-up” them, he remained silent, and started scribbling in sand.  The result? His silence silenced the angry mob. YOU try sustaining a one-sided argument without looking foolish.

He didn’t say a single word about the woman’s sin, and instead zoomed the scope of conviction onto their own hearts. "Let the person without sin cast the first stone."

It’s tougher to be trigger-happy when YOUR life is in the crosshairs.

Then he kept drawing, and this time his silence disarmed and drove them away.

Ok. Hold on. Let’s get this straight: God’s righteous avengers came shouting, with the Law in their hearts and stones in their hands. They had freedom of speech AND scriptures to back them up, and yet Jesus ignored their scripture quoting, and made them leave. Why?

Well, if you asked the woman, I’m sure she’d tell you that he did it for her.

Because it’s hard to believe in a God who loves and forgives when all you can see are the stones in the hands of his people.

You see, angry mobs only ever seek destruction. They always aim to eradicate something. Or some sin. Or someone. Or some people. But Jesus, who claimed to be one with God (John 10:30), therefore showing us exactly who God is and what He’s like (John 14:7), sought restoration instead of judgment. (John 3:17)

When restoration is the goal, sometimes being “right” isn’t helpful. Seeing that God desires mercy over sacrifice (Hosea 6:6), it looks awfully backward if “his people” continue to seek and emphasize judgment instead.

It's possible be “right” in a way that only destroys those that are “wrong”

Well what about her sin, then? Jesus can’t just let that slide, right? Again, Jesus was brilliant, of course. He turned to the woman, who had just received life anew.

And without the woman ever admitting any sin (that we read of)

Without her ever publicly declaring repentance (that we read of)

He told her he refused to condemn her, refused to sentence and judge.

He forgave her. She didn’t even ask for it.

Before tackling the way she was living, forgiveness came first

THEN he finished by telling her to leave her “life of sin.” Sin is an archery term for missing the bullseye. He didn’t say to stop being an adulterer. He kept it general.

Jesus didn’t define her by her worst sin

Jesus faced a religious culture where God’s “righteous” were eager to exploit certain sins in order to turn attention from their own, a culture where God’s "servants" were content to cash in on certain sins for political or social gain.

Jesus didn’t do that. He lumped it all together. “Go. Sin no more.” Plain and simple. Because as the apostle James tells us, if you break one law, you’ve broken them all.

From sexual impurity to overeating.

From lying to your grandmother to ignoring poor people.

From cheating on taxes to disrespecting government leaders.

From building bigger barns with your excess to stealing quarters from your parents.

They’re on the same level.

So while holding stones in their gluttonous fingers, they failed to see that the very rocks they picked up made their hands even dirtier than hers.

In a temple full of “God’s people,” Jesus was the only one who was actually concerned about the woman as an individual. He knew her story contained more than her sins. And he was the only one who offered hope, the only one who could.

I believe Jesus is the head of The Church. I believe He commanded us to live like he did, to pray like he did, to love like he did, and to act like he did. He was her hope. And he calls us to be the same. 

The Church is supposed to be JESUS to the world, NOT be the angry mob.

When the Church becomes the angry mob, everyone loses.

We were not meant to hold stones.