Before we move into chapter 8, we feel the need to give a little insight into the feast of Sukkot, (booths). To understand the full context of what was playing out here, one should at lest look at the feast Yeshua was taking part in. As some may know already, Sukkot is a feast of remembrance. It is to remind us of the time Israel spent in the wilderness, and how HaShem both protected, and met their needs. Yeshua, as some may know, must fulfill every prophecy ever given about Him. Sadly many have over looked this in their churches, and are missing a big part of the greatest love story ever told. All 7 feast show us a part of the work Yeshua must do. By not understanding them, we run a greater risk of not knowing if we are seeing the Beast of Rev.13, or if it is really Yeshua. As will be seen in post to come.
As for Sukkot, what follows comes from the Mishnah, (at lest I hope I remeber that right.) Yes I know not many people take the time to really study almost anything. sadly they miss out on so much in due to this short coming. We are not going to try to cover everything, just the end of the feast.
There would be 4 menorahs set up inside the Temple court yard. That would be the inner court, where the sacrifices were made. They stud about 75 feet tall, and the bowls that held the oil held around 2.375 gallons, the wicks were made from the worn out vestments of the high priest. They gave enough light so that no one in side the inner court was in the dark. Close to the end of the feast is where where this chapter picks up. One last thing, Sukkot was a joyous time.
Now lets move forward. I do ask that you keep in mind the first 11 verses were not a part of the oldest available text.
Jhn 8:1Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives,
Keep in mind that things were getting a bit heated, and the leaders of religious law. Don't confuse this with Biblical law. Though they do have the same root, one has been perverted, and the other Yeshua teaches on. There will be more on this as we move into Mat. chapters 5-7.
Jhn 8:2but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them.
Jhn 8:3As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.
Jhn 8:4"Teacher," they said to Jesus, "this woman was caught in the act of adultery.
Jhn 8:5The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?"
This was a st up to get Yeshua to say anything that might be seen as Him going against Torah.
Jhn 8:6They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger.
In the oral teachings, some say Yeshua was writing the sins of the men that brought the lady to Him. In so doing they would have looked at what He was doing, and seen their sins layed out for everyone to see, if they simply looked. So what Yeshua said next hit home with them.
Jhn 8:7They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, "All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!"
Jhn 8:8Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.
Jhn 8:9When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman.
Jhn 8:10Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, "Where are your accusers? Didn't even one of them condemn you?"
Jhn 8:11"No, Lord," she said.
And Jesus said, "Neither do I. Go and sin no more."
There is a lot that can be said of this encounter, however as we are here to teach and not condemn, the big take away should be that we should never try to belittle, or look at another as lost when we know nothing about them. After all once one looks at the sin in their own life, it becomes harder to convict another. Yet as you read through this thread you may well find some that freely pass judgement on others for nothing more than daring to stand up for truth. How can one tell this is the case, by simply looking at the unanswered questions. Oh they will say they did answer them, yet when looked at, what is found is a non-answer that attempts to change the distract from the real question. This always done by attempting to use one passage to negate the true meaning of another.
Jhn 8:12Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, "I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life."
As we should know Yeshua is the light of the world. When we walk in His light, we are open to truth, even when it is something we may not like.
Jhn 8:13The Pharisees replied, "You are making those claims about yourself! Such testimony is not valid."
There are many things in life that remind us of this passage. The action of one passing judgement on another, when they know nothing of the one they judge is the most common that we see.
Jhn 8:14Jesus told them, "These claims are valid even though I make them about myself. For I know where I came from and where I am going, but you don't know this about me.
Jhn 8:15You judge me by human standards, but I do not judge anyone.
That last staement by Yeshua has been said in many ways. The one that stayed with me however is one we found in the writings of of a wise old Jewish teacher. ( This may not be a direct quote so please don't try and pass it off as being so. ) It is something like this. We as man kind feel the need to make right our understanding, so we only judge things by what we hope is truth. Even to the point of becomeing more like the Pharisees, in the way we defend the doctrine of men. Or as I am known for saying, denominational doctrine. Oddly there are some that become so irrational when their understanding is challenged, it seems if they could, they would happily kill the challenger.
I will stop here for now, and hay who knows, there may be at lest one person out there that has found they want a little more info on this. Don;t be scared, the ones that want to bring this to an end are only out to make themselves look smarter than HaShem, and the world. They can't harm you.
Isa 54:17But in that coming day
no weapon turned against you will succeed.
You will silence every voice
raised up to accuse you.
These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the LORD;
their vindication will come from me.
I, the LORD, have spoken!
