Nathan told David of a rich man who killed his neighbor’s one and only lamb in order to feed his friend. Upset that a rich man would steal from a poor man, David was right in saying the rich man should give four lambs to the poor man, for that was the restitution decreed in the Law (Exodus 22:1). The problem was that David didn’t stop there. He went on to issue the death sentence upon the rich man. This was neither God’s Word nor His heart. In David’s awareness of his own sin, he was judging another harshly.

That’s always the way it is. We will be harshest with the people who commit the same sin with which we struggle. My sins look terrible on someone else. The Master of mercy, the Model of grace was Jesus Christ. He stood up for the woman taken in adultery; He was tender with the woman living in sin. Why? Because He Himself was free of sin.

When Nathan told David the illustration was about him, suddenly David understood. Whenever there’s a finger pointing at another, three are pointing back. This sobers me. We’re all guilty. The Old Testament, as well as the Sermon on the Mount, drive us to the place where we say, “I’m a sinner. I need grace.”