The Matchless Mercy of God
Today’s blog was written by guest writer and friend of RforH, Dr. James Carlson, who reminds us of one of God's most amazing attributes: mercy. When I truly understand that He lavishes His benefits upon my life daily―benefits that I haven’t earned and, frankly, don’t deserve―it gives me a glimpse of the depths of His love for me. We pray this timely reminder will bless you.
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One of the most compelling scenes in the movie, The Passion of the Christ, is when an adulterous woman is brought to Jesus by Pharisees and Old Testament lawyers. They want her stoned because she has broken one of the Ten Commandments. Jesus sees the tragedy of her life and the need of her heart and offers her forgiveness. Before this gracious act of mercy, however, he confronts the religious leaders with their own sinfulness. One by one, they walk away. The Biblical account is found in John 8:2–11.
Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery.
Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him.
Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”
And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
She said, “No one, Lord.”
And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
There’s an amazing prophecy about this event in Jeremiah 17:13, written over 600 years before Jesus earthly ministry.
O Lord, the hope of Israel,
all who forsake you shall be put to shame;
those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth,
for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water.
all who forsake you shall be put to shame;
those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth,
for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water.
What did Jesus write in the dust of the ground with his finger? The names of the accusers who had forsaken the Hope of Israel? The names of the accusers who had forsaken the Spring of Living Water?
They wanted to see the woman die. Jesus wanted to see her live life to the fullest.
Many know John 3:16.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
But they stop there, and don’t read on to also internalize the message of John 3:17.
“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
The forgiveness Jesus offered the adulterous woman is extended today to every one of us! “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
In 2 Peter 3:9 we read, “God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” Did the woman in the story accept Jesus’ offer? Without a doubt. This is why her narrative is included in the Bible.
Did any of the Pharisees or scribes ever repent and receive Christ as Lord and Savior? We know some did, like Paul the Apostle. In 1 Timothy 1:15 and 16, he wrote, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy.”
In 1738, Charles Wesley wrote a beloved hymn entitled “And Can It Be?” The third verse shared below is a powerful exposition of the mercy of God.
He left His Father’s throne above
So free, so infinite His grace—
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam’s helpless race:
’Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For O my God, it found out me!
’Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For O my God, it found out me!
So free, so infinite His grace—
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam’s helpless race:
’Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For O my God, it found out me!
’Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For O my God, it found out me!
In Luke 18, Jesus told the parable of a tax collector (a publican) who had lived such a sinful life that he believed he was unworthy of salvation. Desperate to find God, he went to the Jerusalem Temple, beat his chest, and cried out, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” At the same time, within earshot, a Pharisee boastfully prayed, “God, I thank you that I am not like one of these publicans.” Jesus surprisingly declared, “The tax collector went home to his house that day justified rather than the other.”
How thankful we can be that the Almighty is a God of mercy; otherwise, there would be no hope for any of us.
If you are not a Christian, and you think that God could never forgive your sins because they are too horrendous or too revolting, think again. Jesus paid the penalty for the transgressions of the world when He died on the cross. Salvation is a free gift for anyone who desires to receive it.
This is the mercy of God.
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