Caught in the act…Stones & TD Jakes
Caught... Stones & TD Jakes (Leave TD Jakes Alone Part II)
The woman caught in the act of adultery is quite telling, giving us diverse meanings and metaphors. I aspire to take this real account during the Lord’s ministry and apply it to the rumors concerning Bishop TD Jakes. Many are familiar with the scenario in John chapter eight. An anonymous woman, caught in the very act of adultery is brought before the Lord by scribes (teachers and experts in the Law) and Pharisees (religious echelon of the day). Either she is married or the man, who is questionably absent during the melee. (We assume it is he). The air was pregnant with scandal, hypocrisy, and deceit. They brought her to the Lord asking for a verdict while referencing the Law of Moses. Actually, they cared nothing about upholding the law, nor the woman, nor bringing about justice, nor the sin of adultery. Ensnaring the Lord is what they wanted—a bane that pursued Him throughout His ministry. “And they watched him…that they might take hold of his words...” (Luke 20:20).
Had the Lord pronounced the woman guilty thus enforcing the death penalty according to the Law, they would have accused Him of lacking compassion and mercy that He taught daily. Had He pardoned her, He would have broken the Law of Moses and been disqualified from Messiahship. From a natural standpoint, it was a no-win situation for the Lord. However, through the divine wisdom of God, the Lord skillfully placed the ball in their court by issuing an command to the angry mob. “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her” (John 8:7). Boom. A looming hush presided because we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory (Romans 3:23). Based upon the Lord’s edict, only One had the authority to stone the adulteress, and He thought not to. Amid prevailing silence, the Lord turned His back and wrote words on the dirt as a reminder of where we all came from. Some scholars believe that each person’s specific sins were written, and when they saw them—secret sins, fantasy sins, hateful sins, nasty sins—stones dropped as they retreated in shameful conviction, starting with the oldest.
“Woman where are those thy accusers…hath no man condemned thee?” He asked. “Neither do I condemn thee” (John 8:10,11). With one visitation with the Master, she was released from the judgment of God and the condemnation of man. Boom. “Go, and sin no more” (John 8:11). In other words, do not put yourself in position where the enemy can accuse you again.
Unfortunately, this scenario continues to this day as stones are being thrown at spiritual leaders by those obsessed with exposing others—which brings us to Bishop TD Jakes. Recent allegations have hit the fan as far and wide as his reputation as “America’s Best Preacher.” https://content.time.com/time/magazine/0,9263,7601010917,00.html
Accusations of Masonic allegiances, sexual improprieties, and financial mismanagement are the bane of any ministry, but especially mega churches. Once such shocking allegations were leaked, content creators, particularly Christians, surrounded the Bishop like hungry sharks circling a bloody sailor adrift in the Atlantic Ocean. The Bishop was stoned by questionable, weak, and unsubstantiated allegations.
What many Christian bloggers don’t realize is that we are uniquely knit together into a cosmic, mysterious love of God (Colossians 2:2). When one is honored, we are all honored; when one is defamed, whether we like it or not, we are all defamed. Envy, the lack of agape (love of the Father), and ignorance of this Biblical truth are major contributors to this “exposure” culture that is rife throughout the Body of Christ (I Corinthians 12:26).
Even Joseph knew to put the Egyptians out before revealing his identity to his brothers while unraveling some fifteen years of messy family matters (Genesis 45:1-2). The Egyptians are a type of the world. What is the church doing slinging our dirty diapers in the face of a world that deems all believers a bunch of hypocrites? Can’t we deal with matters among ourselves without spreading gossip, hearsay, and malicious rumors that only denigrate others?
All backbiting is rooted in carnality, a term used to identify the Corinthians by the Apostle Paul. It speaks of being fleshly, possessing eternal life (being saved) but acting like a mere unbeliever. The fruit of carnality is war, backbiting, vengeance, envy, lust, division, lawsuits, strife, sectarian boasting such as (I’m a Right Wing Conservative or I’m a Liberal Democrat), immorality, and a host of other ungodly traits.
Whenever we salivate at another’s weaknesses, failure, or even hypocrisy, we are carnal. If we celebrate their downfall it is proof that our darkened hearts lack the touch of the purifying light of God. Even David could not rejoice at the demise of King Saul but rather mourned and extolled him without one negative rant. (Read Stego) https://www.tonipughministries.org/blog/stego
How steep have we fallen into the devil’s trap by warring against one another while he spends days getting a manicure and pedicure (no doubt with a hack saw)! How depressing. What is worse, we attack one another under the delusion that we are somehow advancing the kingdom of God.
Does He expose unrighteous living? Indeed. Does God judge His people? Certainly. Nonetheless, under the New Covenant much of this judgment is redemptive; additionally, you must consider God’s peculiar ways. When Israel rebelled and turned to idols, He raised up adversaries to bring judgment against them—and then punished those adversaries for touching His anointed.
May we never fall under the disciplinary hand of the Most High by vilifying His wayward ministers.
So, how should we respond?
· We hang our heads low, weep, intercede that lessons will be learned, repentance will occur, and healing will break forth, and that the kingdom will advance.
· Keep failures out of the beauty parlors, and barber shops (the world) for they see us in the same light.
· Keep dinner table talk on the Word and not on gossip.
· Examine our own hearts. Hypocrisy is so insidious. Why do we gossip? Are we self-righteous? If there is ever a broad sweep of the Holy Spirit illuminating past transgressions and frailties of His Body the sake of purging, then you can “be sure YOUR sin will find YOU out” (Numbers 32:23). Many will shut up and sit down.
· Seeing that a divine spiritual audit is possible for every believer, everyone should drop their rocks while considering that we all return home to glass houses.
· Finally, let’s leave TD Jakes alone. Whatever is going on between him and heaven—let’s stay out of it. “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall” (I Corinthians 10:12). Don’t allow clicks, subscribes, likes, shares, and views to suck us into a web of malicious reporting that will eventually become a noose around our own necks. The soup of gossip is nasty enough, but when accompanied with the rotten meat of self-righteousness, sandwiched between the moldy bread of greed and jealousy, it makes for a putrid lunch indeed.
Read Pt. I of Leave TD Jakes alone https://www.tonipughministries.org/blog/leave-td-jakes-alone
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