Jesus is ___________
The light of the world
John 8:12

MESSAGE:
In the movie, Body of Lies, Roger Ferris is a CIA operative tasked with finding an active terrorist cell linked to a series of bombings. His efforts to find the head of the terrorist organization is fruitless as his key informants end up dead. Then Roger meets the Jordanian intelligence director who has a new way to get information from captured terrorists. Instead of torture and interrogation, Hani offers their family new home appliances and health benefits. The terrorists feel indebted to Hani’s kindness and join his team. In this case, mercy goes farther than torture.

Consider the case of the woman caught in adultery. Rule following religious men drag this woman caught in the act of marital unfaithfulness. The priests and lawyers demand that she be stoned for breaking God’s marriage law. Jesus flips the script by allowing only sin free members of the group to throw stones at her. The angry mob leaves the woman alone, knowing that they are not in a righteous place to throw a stone. Jesus then tells the woman to leave freely, but commands her to stop her adulterous relationships. One verse later, the Gospel writer has Jesus declare he is the Light of the World.

Light has two purposes in this story. Jesus uses his light to expose the law makers as unfit judges who were in no place to cast judgement (also, why weren’t they looking for the man? It takes two to commit adultery). Many are content with the message ending with Jesus schooling the uptight boomers, but Jesus shows another light. He shows freedom to the woman and pushes her to STOP messing around with marriages. The Bible doesn’t share what happens to her, but I imagine her second chance at freedom was life changing.

Light exposes a dark deed or a secret sin, disqualifies the judgmental from being cruel and harsh, and it gives a second chance to anyone who needs mercy. Which side of this story are you on? Are you a judge who wants to punish those who sin differently than you? Only Jesus can handle sin properly. Are you suffocating from a secret sin that has no end in sight? Only Jesus can handle it with the right love and care. 
Research: John 8:1-12
Which sin would prompt you to write a strongly worded letter to someone? How is that sin worse than the other ones?

How did the law makers feel when Jesus exposed their harsh judgment instead of letting them carry out the law?

How did the adulterous woman feel when she was commanded to, “Sin no more?”