A beloved southern Baptist and Texas pastor told a story once—a story of a young lady who was brought before the church by some members and leaders for discipline, because of an alleged violation of the church covenant. The church leadership confronted her, brought her before the church membership, and suggested that she be dropped from the membership roll of the church because of her sin.

As the church members argued and debated about what they should do and the temperature in the room rose and seemed to be reaching the decision to cast this woman out of the church membership, the pastor finally stood up and dropped a bomb that silenced the entire congregation and put an end to the debate:“I have a better idea, let’s call the church treasurer and have him read the giving record of every member, and let’s vote to drop everyone who has violated God’s law against covetousness.” The church went silent, and the woman’s accusers disappeared.

A powerful story that illustrates the inescapable inclination of human beings, even the best of humanity, redeemed human beings, Christians—to so quickly point the fingers of judgement everywhere else but ourselves! A humbling story that demonstrates our hard-hearted hypocrisy through our audacity to point the finger at someone else, even though we know if we’re honest with ourselves, we are well aware of our own dreadful sinfulness. A conscience-crushing story that reveals not only our willful blindness to our own sinfulness—but the reality that as we pronounce judgement on someone else, more often than not, we end up condemning ourselves with our own words.

And this, my friends, is the lesson and the warning that we find on the lips of our Lord and Savior this morning: Jesus—God—alone is qualified to Judge because he alone is without sin—and therefore not only should you take great care when pointing the finger of judgement at others—especially if your life is drenched in sin—but you should bend the knee to him because though he alone is qualified to cast the first stone at you—he didn’t—but received the judgment of God you deserved upon himself on the cross so that you never would—believe in him!