When in a Dilemma!

“So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” John 8:3-9

The way God created human being is so broad, such that our choices, wants, and needs are unlimited, even our decisions and actions need to be carefully selected. If not, we are bound to make a mistake in critical issues of life. There is a famous quote by Alexander Pope “that to err is human but to forgive is divine,” which is the more reason why we need to meditate on God’s word before taking any action.

The Bible said that the Scribes and Pharisees brought to Jesus a woman taken in adultery to trap him. He was put in a dilemma by the question of “what do you say” John 8:5. But Jesus, with a real theological dilemma, did not respond immediately to their request. Instead, he uses intellectual curiosity from the word of God to ask questions.

If Jesus says to stone her according to the law of Sinai, then they will accuse him of violating the Roman law because capital punishment could not be exercised in the case of adultery. If Jesus said, do not stone her, they will accuse him of violating the law of Sinai. Instead, He structured his inner conscious mind in the word and used it to ask questions about the nature of sin.

Some would have been swift to answer these antagonistic religious leaders like most we Christians do amid a dilemma, but Jesus exercised both restraint and patience (vs. 6), and the trap that was set for him backfired on them. After your prayer to God, have you ever taken time out to meditate on his word? Proverbs 14:29 says, “It’s smart to be patient, but a hot-tempered person promotes foolishness.”

Prayer:
1. Father, give me the grace to be swift to hear, slow to speak and slow to wrath in Jesus name (James 1:19)
2. Oh Lord, help me to overcome my quick temper and emotion in Jesus’ name. Amen.