Mistaken Identity

John 8:23

He said to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.

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The police in New York City,
they chased a boy right through the park.
And in a case of mistaken identity
they put a bullet through his heart.

"Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)" by the Rolling Stones, written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards

A case of mistaken identity... this song was written in 1972. It begins with the true story of a ten year old boy who was shot and killed after being mistaken for a bank robber.

On the human level, the death of Jesus is a case of mistaken identity. The temple elite thought that Rome would remove them from leadership if the people rioted at Passover, a very real possibility. One of the Chief Priests says it is better for one man to die. Who knew they had picked the wrong man and the right man all at the same time.

It's better for one man to die. And after all, there was a new prophet in town and he is filled with the spirit of God. He performs miracles, he heals, and he teaches that the kingdom of God is come. At the same time, he doesn't teach civil disobedience. He told the people to pay their taxes. He tells the people if they are conscripted to carry a soldier's pack one mile he should carry it for two. In meekness and humility, he has become the most seditious prophet ever. Then again, that part's true.

In this passage from John, Jesus tells the people that he is not like them. Anyone who thinks that Jesus is like them is quite wrong. He's divine in ways we can only dream but really can't imagine. He's even human in ways that our sin soaked lives can't approach. We aren't like him, yet because there are people who think he's just another man he will be crucified.

In a case of mistaken identity, they hung him upon the cross.

The good news for us is that this had to happen. This is what was supposed to happen. Untimely death for unjust causes is always a heartbreaker, but it's the resurrection that follows that brings glory to this life.

It's Different for Girls

John 8:2-9

Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, they said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.

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Don't you know that it's different for girls?
You're all the same

"It's Different for Girls" by Joe Jackson from "I'm the Man"

A friend once asked me the most provocative question about this scripture, she asked "Where is the man?" For those who questioned her intention with raised eyebrows she asked "Where is the man, the one who also must have been caught in the very act of committing adultery?"

Man, it's different for girls, isn't it?

So all of the fat cats in the synagogue are making their points and pointing their fingers and getting ready for a good old fashioned stoning, you know, the kind we had when we were little but don't do so much any more? In the midst of all of this, here's Jesus, just writing on the ground with his finger while all around him blows up.

It calms down enough so that Jesus is demanded to make his judgement against the woman, and judgement against is the foregone conclusion, when he stands up and says, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” That's when time freezes.

Jesus returns to his writings and the crowd begins to turn away, beginning with the Elders.

My friend thinks that Jesus has been writing the names of the scribes' and Pharisees' girlfriends in the dust. Hypocrites, you're all the same.

I guess in this case it was different for girls. She was taken to the temple, presumably in a state of undress. She was dragged through the streets. She was screaming while everyone else was yelling. It was going to be an old fashioned stoning just like the stonings when we were kids. But Jesus reminded them of one thing, that they were not without sin either.

Somewhere there was a man who was sharing the same sin. Somewhere there were friends and family who were just as guilty as she. Maybe not of the same sin, but in the sight of God, what the difference one sin to another.

Jesus knew this. He reminded the scribes and Pharisees that their judgement was coming along too. Maybe this is why the elders left first. They had lived enough life to know when they were indicted. They had the wisdom, they just needed the sharp reminder. As for the young men, they got the message. It's our message too. There is none without sin, and to say so is like dragging this woman through the streets and leaving the man at the scene of the scene.

Readers might ask why I didn't take this writing to the end, all the way to "go and sin no more." There are two reasons:

The first is that today I wanted to focus on the hypocrisy of sexism and how there are times where the sins men and women commit are different for women. I want to say that this is not so.

The second, well, if nothing else, life has shown us that we as a society don't get "go and sin no more." Just watch the news and get back to me on that one.