“But what do You say?” The Jewish leaders asked Jesus as we noted last week. There had never been such a question in the Jewish history. As the woman was guilty, she would be stoned. Uncle Daniel, in interpreting King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, many centuries before that day, mentioned the ‘Stone’ cut from the mountain without human hand that destroyed all other kingdoms – Dan 2:45.  That was our Jesus. It seemed that the immortal lined Sir Alfred Tennyson penned was true: “The old order of things changeth, yielding place to new”.

     It seemed that something new and far greater than the Law had taken place. It appeared that the Law was no longer absolute. The Jews leaders brought the woman to tempt Jesus, and said: “This is what the Law says but what do You say?” They did not know that they were fulfilling God’s revelation. “What do You say, in spite of what the Law says?” was very cheering. The Law says, “Don’t commit adultery, don’t kill, don’t steal…” People are still doing all these things. Grace has a different message. “You are a child of God, that lady you are fronting is God’s daughter and therefore, your sister. Her husband is a child of God and thus, your brother”. To my friend in UK, the Law says, “Don’t urinate here, if you do, you will be prosecuted” but Grace says, “You are an adult. Adults don’t urinate here”.   

     Some staff members in Texaco Petroleum Oil Company were stealing things though we were searched when leaving the compound. In 1991, Mr. Bucaram, our new MD, said, “Nobody steals here. Don’t search again”. Stealing stopped. His magic wand was that he reminded us who we were. The Law is a command but Grace stresses your personality.    

     Grace is humble and goes any length to rescue the lost. To have privacy with the woman, Jesus sent away the Jewish leaders as He did to that Aunty from Samaria, notorious for marrying, divorcing and remarrying. In her case, He sent His disciple to a far place to buy food. It was a successful outing with her. To the Jewish leaders, He asked them to stone the woman if they had never committed any sin. Convicted, all of them left, thus accepting their sins publicly what many people find difficult to do in the Church. They surrendered their ambition and their mission, thus, withdrawing the case!

     “What do You say?” They had asked Jesus. When you want to make decisions and when people offend you and you want to react, do you seek His opinion? They taught me in the Scripture Union, never to accept anybody’s position, including their officers, on anything, without seeking God’s position on it. ‘I surrender all…’ they taught me to sing.

      In 1972, a few months after I was born-again, a certain man ministered to us in the Scripture Union. I was surprised, recalling what he did to me in 1961. ‘Spit Fire’, his town’s football club, used to hire me to play for them. When there was a match between the club and my school, I scored two goals against them. He organized their youths to molest me. That day, in 1972, I saw a changed man. He taught us, “My son, give me your heart and let thine eyes behold My ways” – Prov. 23:26. It is possible to give your time, money, etc, to God without giving Him your heart. You cannot ask, “But what do You say?” until you have given Him your heart.

     Seeing that the Jewish leaders had left, Jesus turned to the woman and asked her where her accusers were, “Has no man condemned thee?” That was a rare moment in her life and in the life of every person for God and man to be alone! Imagine you and President Buhari – all alone! May you make the most out of it! You can create that moment now.

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     ‘We are standing, on holy ground; and there are angels all around, let us praise, Jesus right now, for we are standing in His presence, on holy ground’.

      “Has no man condemned thee?” Jesus asked her. Seeing that her accusers had run away, she could have claimed that she did not commit any adultery. She could explain that her problem started the day she resisted one of the leaders, when he wanted to rape her. “He promised me contract awards but I refused his evil desire. When he told me that I would see, I never dreamt that he would frame evil things against me”. A few drops of tears would add colour and emotion to her lie. But she rather said, “No man, Lord”. In deed no man, since her accusers had withdrawn their case by leaving the ‘court’!

     Something for sure had happened in her life – Gal 3:20: ‘Coming to Christ to be justified by faith’. Have you noticed that she called Jesus, ‘Lord’, while the Jewish leaders called Him, ‘Master’ or ‘Teacher’? ‘Nobody calls Jesus, Lord, except by the Holy Ghost’ – 1Cor. 12:3! Like a murderer, who accepted his crime before the trial Judge, she was waiting for the verdict. She knew that it would be worse than the verdict of the leaders. It was not their Law she broke but that of the Person before her. A holy Man should be very angry, when an unholy thing is done. She imagined the worst.

     Was it in a Military Government, what else than facing the Firing Squad? Was it in a civilian Government, it would be waiting for the hangman at the gallows. For the Jewish Law, it would be stoning to death. “Will they cover my face or not? Will they allow me to say something before I die?” She imagined many things. Yes, unknown to her, it was Grace that brought her to Jesus. It does not condemn. The Law sees the past but grace, the future. I understand her pains, for such was my lot on that April 16, 1972, after conviction by the Word of God. My fate was trembling on the balance. The witness for my condemnation, my girlfriend, was sitting at my left side. All the while, I was basking with the euphoria that I was not as bad as my friends.  “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more,” was the unexpected verdict I heard.  The joy of salvation filtered into my spirit.

     As Aunty waited for her own verdict, Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more”. I guess she did not hear Him because she did not expect that. Jesus would have assured her that He had forgiven her. She must have burst out: ‘Oh! The love that drew salvation plan; Oh! The love that brought it down to man; Oh! What mighty gulf that did God span at Calvary; Mercy there was Grace and Grace was free; Pardon that was multiplied to me; there my burdened soul found liberty at Calvary’.

  For further comment, Please contact: Osondu Anyalechi:  0802 3002-471; [email protected]