Eventide & Altar

The story of Susanna is one of the most dramatic in the Old Testament. Two corrupt elders - men appointed as judges - lust after a married woman. When she refuses them, they fabricate charges of adultery. The assembly believes them because of their position. Susanna is condemned to death.

Through tears she looks to heaven, for she trusted in the Lord wholeheartedly. She prays: O eternal God, you know what is hidden. And God sends Daniel, a young boy, who exposes the lie through simple cross-examination. The elders' stories don't match. The innocent is saved. The corrupt are punished.

Then John 8: a woman is caught in the very act of adultery. The scribes and Pharisees bring her to Jesus - not seeking justice but setting a trap. If Jesus condemns her, he contradicts his message of mercy. If he forgives her, he contradicts the law.

Jesus bends down and writes on the ground. What he wrote is one of the great mysteries of Scripture. Then he stands and speaks: let the one without sin cast the first stone. He bends down again. One by one, starting with the eldest, they leave.

Then the conversation that changes everything. Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? No one, sir. Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.

Two truths, held simultaneously. Jesus does not condemn - and Jesus calls for change. Mercy is not permission. It is a door opened so you can walk through it into a different life.

In the evening of life, you have been both Susanna and the woman. You have been falsely accused - your motives questioned, your character maligned, your faithfulness doubted. And you have been genuinely guilty - of things you've confessed and things you haven't, of sins of commission and omission, of stones you've thrown at others.

God handles both. He vindicates the innocent through truth. He spares the guilty through mercy. He does not confuse the two. Susanna is not told to go and sin no more - she didn't sin. The woman is not vindicated - she was guilty. But both are saved. That is the breadth of God's justice.