The Writing on the Floor (An Exposition of the Mercy of God)

There is an interesting story in John chapter 8 from verse 1 to 11 about a woman who was caught in adultery and was brought to Jesus. The scribes and Pharisees that brought her told Jesus that according to Moses’ law, she is supposed to be stoned to death, but they wanted to know what Jesus has to say about her. 

Instead of answering them, the Bible says that Jesus stooped down and began to write with His finger on the floor. When they continued asking Him, He stood up from the ground and said “he that is without sin should cast the first stone” and He stooped down again and continued writing.The once angry and 'ready-to-kill' men became convicted by their own conscience and from the eldest to the youngest, they dropped their stones and left. Jesus lifted up Himself after a while and saw He was the only one left with the woman. He asked her where her accusers and those condemning her were and she said they were gone and no one was condemning her anymore. Jesus then said to her “I also am not condemning you. Go and sin no more”.

Now, the Bible doesn’t tell us exactly what Jesus was writing on the floor, but His stooping down to write on the floor was enough message for us. If you had seen Jesus writing on the floor with His finger, one thing that would have come to your mind would be “why are you using your clean finger to write on a dirty floor?” Do you know what? This is another way of saying “who is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you visit him? Psalm 8:4”

Jesus is the Perfect Reflection of the Mercy of God. In Jesus, God stooped down to our level to touch us, save us 
and raise us up; even when we did not deserve it.  

The ground is a place that we don’t usually give so much 
attention to. We step on it and despise it. But here was Jesus stooping down and giving attention and loving touch to this dirty ground. We that were made from the dust of the ground and we that had sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. He cancelled the handwriting of guilt that was against us and 
He rewrote our story.
The woman that was caught in the act was so sure that her life was over. Her guilt may have heightened when she saw they were bringing her to Jesus; the Son of God Himself. But 
like Cece Winans once sang, “Mercy said No”.

Do you know what God laid in my heart about the people who went away shamefully? When you pick up a stone, you expose a hole in your floor. Jesus actually didn't want to 
answer them nor disgrace them, but because they didn't get 
the illustration He was giving them and they were insisting, He had to put it to them. Well, that is a message for another day.

The Mercy of God is for Preservation. Mercy is about bad 
things that you deserve (possibly because of your mistakes) being averted or removed from your life. The reason you came out safely from your bathroom this morning was because of the mercy of God. Some people while coming out of their bathroom have slipped, broken their heads and died. 
There were people who were not driving as fast as you but 
they had an accident and they died. It was the mercy of God that preserved you. That is why we sometimes pray and wish each other journey mercies. In Lamentations 3:22, the Bible 
says it is of the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed.

Mercy is a Dimension of the Grace of God. Hebrews 4:16 says we should come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help in our time of need. This verse is also amazing because usually, you are not supposed to come boldly to ask for mercy; you come fearfully and not sure if mercy would be offered to you or not. But the truth is because of Christ God is obligated to show you His mercy right now. He wants you to come and obtain it for yourself because Jesus has paid for it.

David said surely goodness and mercies shall follow me all the days of my life…in Psalm 23:6. God is rich in mercy (Eph.2:4). He wants to show you His mercy in every area of your life. He wants to preserve you from everything that wants to accuse and consume you. By your faith in Jesus, you have access to God’s mercies. God wants us to hope in His mercies (Psa.33:18).

 

Mercy Helps us to Meet Up. Mercy doesn’t encourage us to mess up or misbehave, it helps us to meet up. In 1Corinthians 7:24, Paul the Apostle said he obtained mercy to be faithful. Jesus told the woman that He is not condemning her….and that she should go and sin no more. The power to live above sin comes from your freedom from condemnation. In Christ, God is not condemning you; God is reconciling you to Himself and empowering you to live as His child that you are indeed.

Romans 4:5 says God justifies the ungodly. It always amazed me to see this scripture. How would a Holy God justify or declare and ungodly man innocent and acquitted? Then I found the answer: our sins were transferred to Christ’s account and Christ’s righteousness was transferred to our account. God justifies the ungodly because He has made them righteous in Christ. So whosoever believes in Jesus is declared not guilty. In Christ, God has forgiven us our sins already. What we do is to receive this forgiveness and draw near to God. God doesn’t only forgive us, in His mercy He also changes our nature and makes us just like Christ. Our perspectives of ourselves must change in the light of God’s mercies. We must see ourselves forgiven, new and changed; not old and condemned sinners.

Psalm 130 verse 3 and 4 says if God should count iniquity who will stand? It goes on to say “but there is forgiveness with you so that we may fear you”. It is actually God’s mercies that make us reverence Him, draw near to Him and desire to please Him. God also wants us to show and reflect the mercies He shows us unto others.    

I believe that if the man that the woman committed the adultery with had come along too, Jesus would have shown him mercy. But maybe he unfortunately chose to remain in his guilt and continue in his sin. Who knows?

As the Hands of Jesus were spread wide on that Cross, they were spread for you and for me. God is calling us to come and receive His mercies today. Will you come to Jesus and obtain God’s mercies? I really hope you would.