Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1904-10-22


from heather customs that they car
ried extracts from the Hebrew law
about with them in little boxes or
phylacteries. They had these boxes
strapped to their foreheads that all
men might see them. But when these
men, these leaders Of Jerusalem, were
standing there condemning poor out
cast woman for her sins Christ In ST.
lence was making figures upon the
ground with his fingers In which they
might read their own condemnation.
What Jesus Christ was writing upon
the ground Is not recorded; but, though
we may never know on earth those ex-
act words, have a good deal of SYM
pathy with that evangelist who said
that Christ was writing the evil his
tory Of each scribe and Pharlsee while
they were speaking against the sobbing
culprit. No sooner did the first scribe
begin to talk than Christ began to
write, as though he had set down these
words: Lawyer, you are not living
with your wife. She has left you on
account of your dissoluteness. She Is
| now gone back to her fathers home.
For what are you condemning this wo-
man? For your own sinT No sooner
did the lawyer look down on the ground
and see what Jesus was writing than
| he turned and departed. When the
next speaker, Pharisee, began to talk
.tnN fA t.ft Dffh
man, yon have never committed the
, crime Of which this woman was guilty,
but you own the house in which she
lives and carries on her vile traffic.
The rent you get from that house is
blood money. Why are you speaking
against your tenant? You are part
ner with her in crime" When the
Pharisee capitalist saw what Christ
was writing and that all the people
were laughing at him he also disap-
peared. SO Christ went through the
list Of different accusers. But whether
Christ was writing the history Of those
accusers on the ground or no we care
not, for one fact we do know-by his
silence as well as later by his spoken
words Christ was teaching the sweep
ing lesson that rich mans sins,
prominent lawyers or physicians or
statesman's sins or a minister's sins
are just as severely condemned in the
sight of God as the poor mans sins.
The divine law discriminates not be-
tween the sins Of the upper and low
er social classes, but between sin and
righteousness. The sin Of the broad
cloth is the same black sin which some
times nests under the rough woolens of
the laborer and the mechanic. Sin is
sin wherever found.
No Immunity Given.
But find in the next place another
trenchant lesson. The divine law does
not accept zeal in bringing others to
justice as a ground for absolving the
prosecutor Of his own wrongdoing. The
scribes and Pharisees cannot atone for
their sins by denouncing and condemn
ing others Though man might prove
every other man living example Of
total depravity and devote his life to
the exposure and arraignment Of GRIM
inals, he must take his own place at
the bar and answer the indictment Of
his own iniquities. Instances have
been known Of a criminal under hui
man government securing for himself
immunity from punishment for his own
crimes by betraying his leader to the
officers Of the law or even by himself
executing sentence on that leader, but
such men are despised for their per-
fdy, even by the community that profits
by the treachery. A similar principle
is applied in our courts of justice when
a man is allowed to turn states evil
dence. 1t sometimes happens that
there is no way of convicting a notori-
Gus criminal but by the testimony Of
a confederate. That confederates evi-
dence has to be purchased, and the
price paid is a pardon for him of his
own share in the crime. 1t is q heavy
price to pay, miscarriage of justice,
but it is a result Of the inadequacy Of
anu IL ndo llO
place under divine law.
When Por6rio Diaz became president
Of the Mexican republic he did not in
the beginning employ honest men to
capture scoundrels. The hills and the
mountains of Mexico were the retreats
of scores and hundreds Of brigands
and robbers. What DiaZ did in the
beginning was to send for some Of the
leaders Of the rowing bands of thieves.
He then commissioned these leaders as
representatives Of his own govern
ment He dressed them up in Mexi-
can uniforms and sent them forth as
police to hunt down and bring to JUS
tice their late companions in thievery
and murder. He sent these scoun-
drels forth to capture scoundrels. Aye,
and they did their work well! Javert,
because he had at heart all the make
up Of scoundrel, made a fine sleuth-
hound on the heels Of Jean Vatican.
And thus many scoundrels in Mexico
during the first administration Of DiaZ
won their pardon for past crimes, not
by repentant hearts, but by trying to
bring the outlaws of MeXico-men like
themselves-to justice. In the scene OF
my text these scribes and Pharisees,
sinful men at heart, sinful in their
past lives, were striving by their ac-
cusatiOA of this wicked woman to gain
character for virtue and purity that
they knew they did not deserve.
Each Must Answer For His own.
But what did Christ do? Did he
say: "Pharisee, thou art hbertine.
Scribe thou art morally corrupt" Oh,
no! He turned and simply held up be-
fore their countenances the mirror OF |
eonvicting conscience, in which they |
could see their own sinful selves. |
Christ said, "He that is without sin |
among you, let him first cast a stone at |