THE K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S . (3) THE COMPASSION OF CHRIST, vs. 10, 11, “N either do I condemn th ee.” Jesus was very tend er w ith the sinner. He read her heart. He knew her story. He will not in terfere w ith hum an law. He sends her away w ith words of ex hortation, “Sin no m ore.” The woman cowered in the presence of the men, bu t they cowered in His presence. The ligh t repelled them while it drew her. She confessed Him as LORD. Can you imagine a more wonderful and beautiful picture of compassion as the h ea rt of the Lord Jesus goes out to the sinner, publicly exposed by h eartless men, now forgiven by Him agaihst whom every sin is committed! He came into the world to save sin ners (1 Tim. 1:15, 16) and He does save them . He came not to call the righteous b u t sinners to repentance. There is a tim e coming when He will be th e Judge, for th e F ath e r will commit all judgm ent unto the Son (John 5 :2 2 ). This is logical. All sin is against the Son, for He. bore the sin of all men. When the judgm ent day comes for those who have rejected Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord— those who have de nied Him— will come th e words, “De p art from me” and they will go into the outer darkness, unending, eternal, where the worm dieth not. (Mark 9:44.) Jesus did not condone. He did not condemn, bu t He did lay bare th e fact of her sin, “Go and sin no more.” He d^id not say, “Go in peace.” He read her heart. He knew her penitence. His compassion was shown in His treatm en t of her. He is the foe of sin, but the. friend of sinners. Cruel hatred had th ru st her into His presence, bu t His loving com passion sent her away, tenderly rem ind ed of h er sin, bu t w ith assurance of forgiveness. We can tru ly believe th a t she never forgot the considerate Christ, who, in the moment of h er hum iliation, had revealed to her the h eart of the
309
Son of God who came into the world to save th e chief of sinners. Topics fo r Study The U nchang ing 'F act of Sin. The Contrast in Sinners: The Adul terous Woman— th e Scribes and P h ari sees. The All-seeing Eye of Christ. The Need of Compassion. How to be Tender and yet True. W hat a wonderful picture! Jesus, th e L ight of the World. W hat th e cloudy fiery pillar was to Israel of old, Jesus is to th e world today. But only His followers -know th e blessedness of it. Ju st th ink of those blessings— the cloudy pillar was a leader, deliverer and illum inator to God’s people in the desert. All th is our Lord Jesus is will ing to be to us. In H im all grace abounds, so th a t we, having all suffi ciency in all things should be abundantly filled and satisfied. When we are in •doubt He will be our Guide— when darkness and disaster cover our path— He will illum ine the darkness and de liver us from all our fears. When trials and troubles are our lot He will be our Shield and Exceeding G reat Reward. The peace and joy of our life will be in exact proportion as we appropriate Jesus in these various aspects of His character and work. It is folly to re serve Him for special times and p u r poses— He is not like electric ligh t to be used only when we are in th e dark— but like th e glorious sunlight always ready when you walk in its rays. And th a t is what He demands— “He th a t fol- loweth me”S -H e is the Leader. We must p u t Him first. He will follow us, bu t it is only when we go astra y and are w alking in darkness. But “if we follow to know th e Lord” “ then shall we know and He shall come upon us as the rain .” Hos. 6:3. Let us ask (1) W hat is the law of Christ? (2) W hat is the SUGGESTIVE COMMENT By Rev. H. Gough Birchby
Made with FlippingBook Online document