EXODUS 20:16
TEN WORDS – THE NINTH WORD.
A GOOD NAME IS BETTER THAN GOLD.
In the name + of Jesus.
One time when Jesus was in the temple, the scribes and Pharisees brought before him a woman. They said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” (John 8:4-5) The scribes and Pharisees presented this to Jesus as a difficult case, allegedly looking for a God-pleasing way to settle it. The reality is that they were looking for a way to trap Jesus in his words. If Jesus, who had a reputation for being merciful, were to advise they let the woman go, then he would be rejecting the Law of Moses. On the other hand, if Jesus upheld the Law of Moses and called for her stoning, he would be seen as merciless. And he would be in defiance of the Romans who did not let the Jews execute people no matter what the Law of Moses said.
While the case sounds like a 6th Commandment issue, the motivation behind it was an 8th Commandment issue. The scribes and Pharisees did not care about the reputation of the woman they brought to Jesus. In bringing her to the temple for display, they let the whole city know that this woman was an adulteress. What might have been a private sin was now flaunted before everyone. Her public reputation was ruined. In bringing her case to Jesus, the scribes and Pharisees wanted to see Jesus' reputation destroyed by a can't-win answer. Meanwhile, these religious leaders stood there smugly, as if they were morally superior to the woman, to Jesus, and to everyone in ear shot.
While Americans will overlook many sins, one sin that Americans have a particular disgust for is snobbery. When we are able to say, “That guy acts like he is so much better than the rest of us,” everyone will turn against that person. People will seek to prove he is no better and to destroy him by digging through his past and exposing his secrets. This snobbery is what makes the scribes and Pharisees such easy villains in the Gospel lessons.
Because of our sinful condition, we also engage in our own perverse version of snobbery. We delight in seeing our neighbor in a bad light. We find the stories that expose his shame to be tantalizing, and we are eager to share the juiciest morsels with others. It is all the more true if it concerns a person we don't like. Then we are ready to believe any story that speaks evil about that person. We are even willing to believe lies if it enhances the evidence we want. We want to feel justified for hating and destroying someone's reputation. And for what reason? So that we feel superior. No matter what sins and shames I may have against me, I feel smug when the sins and shames of people are flaunted. This does nothing for the good of my neighbor. And in truth, it really does nothing for my good either—except to fool myself into thinking I am good because someone else is bad. Repent.
The 8th Commandment states: “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:16) Martin Luther's Small Catechism explains it this way: “We should fear and love God that we do not tell lies about our neighbor, betray him, or give him a bad name, but defend him, speak well of him, and take his words and actions in the kindest possible way.” A good name is better than gold. Your reputation determines how others treat you, what kind of relationships you might develop, and whether or not someone will hire you. If you are branded as a crooked person, your job options become very limited. If you are known as a liar, few will trust you with anything that matters. If you have the reputation of being a spiteful person, many people will not give you an opportunity to prove otherwise. A good name is better than gold, and once that name is tarnished, it may not get restored again.
It is not hard to find flaws in people. Everyone is a sinner, and you can find evidence of it for anyone. Everyone has words and works they wish they could take back. Everyone has actions and attitudes that they hope no one ever discovers. If we wanted to mark everyone by their wicked choices and poorest qualities, we could do it. But the 8th Commandment tells us to “defend (our neighbor), speak well of him, and take his words and actions in the kindest possible way.” Unless God has put you in a position to compile evidence to convict a law-breaker, he has not made it your job to report the shame of others. Love overlooks a multitude of evils, seeks to preserve our neighbor's reputation, and will not assume the worst of them. A good name is better than gold, and should be protected accordingly.
This is one of the reasons Jesus ignored the question of the scribes and Pharisees who brought the woman before him. They were not treating her in a way that would preserve her reputation or uphold her in honor. Her sin allowed them to use her for their own wicked purposes. Jesus could have upheld the Law and treated her according to her sins. Instead, Jesus chose to treat her according to the mercy she needed. Rather than uphold the Law against her, Jesus chose to fulfill the Law for her to set her free from condemnation.
A good name is better than gold. Therefore, Jesus came to clear your reputation. He is a gracious God who does not treat us as our sins deserve. He fulfills the Law for us, seeking not to rub our sins in our face, but to relieve us of them. He set aside his glory to be mantled with our shame. So, when Jesus was slandered, he did not retort, “Oh yeah? Well let's take a look at your life for a few minutes!” When Jesus was falsely accused, and he did not expose the real sins of his antagonists. Rather than call upon his Father in heaven not to hold him accountable for the wickedness of others, Jesus accepted our guilt and endured our punishment. Jesus, who honored and obeyed God's Law, died for you and me who have not. Jesus was branded a law-breaker for you. In doing so, Jesus has cleared your name. He has taken away all the charges against you; you are acquitted, free to go.
A good name is better than gold, and Jesus gives you a great name—saint. This means that you are stand before God in pure innocence. Granted, it is not an innocence of your own. It is the innocence which Jesus Christ has bestowed upon you. Just as Jesus took up the mantle of your shame, so he cloaks you in the mantle of his perfect obedience. You have been clothed in Christ through your baptism. Therefore, no matter what the world tries to pin on you, no matter what blame your own conscience sticks you with, Jesus overrules it. He declares that you are guiltless. You are saints. This is your reputation before the heavenly Father, and it will be declared to the whole world at the final judgment on the Last Day. For Jesus has seen to it that your name is written in the Book of Life.
A good name is better than gold. Jesus has granted you a name and a status that stands against any slanderous accusation anyone would smear you with. The world may speak against you with venom and lies, but Christ's judgment remains firm. He speaks to you with grace and peace. Now that your name and reputation have been cleansed, so also you get to speak well of others and defend them. Rather than view people according to their faults and treat people according to their worst moments, we get to cover them with mercy. We can honor them as Christ has honored us. Our Lord did not forever brand King David an adulterer, the apostle Paul a persecutor, and the patriarch Jacob a polygamist. He is pleased, rather, to know them as saints. He does the same for you. And you get to do the same for others.
A good name is better than gold. Receiving someone in love and mercy bestows a blessed peace upon them. For all people want to be loved and accepted. If someone is caught in a sin, love does not excuse it. Rather, you show a greater love for such a person by addressing it privately in order to preserve their good name. We want people free from sin, not emboldened to persist in it. Therefore, love will not ignore what brings God's wrath on someone. But we do not want anyone to be publicly shamed either, and so we speak to them discreetly that they might repent. We want people to enjoy a good reputation before mankind and before God. For, a good name is better than gold.
When the scribes and Pharisees demanded from Jesus how to treat the woman who had been caught in adultery, Jesus answered by asking them how they wanted to be known. “He stood up and said to them, 'Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.' … When they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.” (John 8:8,10) No one who is held up against God's Law comes away clean. We all have sins which condemn us. But Jesus does not deal with us according to our sins. He deals with us according to his mercy. The woman would remember Jesus for his mercy. He called her to flee from her sinful choices, but he set her free from being condemned by them. He does the same for you. When Jesus speaks your name, it is not to shame you or remind you of your sins. It is to bless you, to comfort you, and to call you his beloved saints. This is of greater value than gold.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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