John 8

So, John Chapter 8 is an incredible passage. It starts with the story of the woman who was caught in the act of adultery.

¹ Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. ² And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. ³ And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, ⁴ They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. ⁵ Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? ⁶ This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. ⁷ So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. ⁸ And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. ⁹ And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. ¹⁰ When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? ¹¹ She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

I know you have probably heard this passage a thousand times, but seriously stop to think about the imagery here. This woman was literally caught in the act of adultery when she was dragged from her bed and taken to the Pharisees to be stoned to death. She was probably naked or nearly so when cast before the Pharisees. Perhaps the pharisees would have had enough kindness to cover her nakedness. Perhaps not. Adultery was one of the greatest of sins in their mind. She was disgrace to Israel. She deserved death. It is what the law commanded. But low and behold, a few of the scribes and Pharisees realize that Jesus was at there at the temple that very day. They would bring her before him. Being a man that taught so much about love and forgiveness, they wanted to trap him. The laws were clear. Would he oppose the Mosaic law for such a vile and sinful woman? So, they brought the woman to him and explained the situation. Each of the Pharisees gathered some large stones and waited for the command. But what did Jesus do? He completely ignored them.

Jesus knew all about the sin that she had committed far better than any of the Pharisees did. He paid no attention to any of their accusations. Instead he just sat there, doodling in the sand. Isn’t it nice to know that God does not pay one bit of attention to anything the Devil or anyone else says about us? The Pharisees continued to pressure him to the point where he eventually looked up at them and told them that whoever was sin free could begin the stoning. As the men stood around, each began to feel the conviction of their sins. I believe that they began to feel guilty. Perhaps some of them even realized that they deserved death as much as the girl. Slowly, they began to drop the stones in their hands. They became aware of their own hypocrisy and sin and could not overlook it. Remember, they had brought this woman to Jesus in hopes of finding something to accuse Jesus of, but now, none of them had the courage to stand against him. That is something that the conviction of sin can do to us. It make us weak and fearful to face God.

Notice something else though. There was one person there who was righteous enough to cast the first stone. One person who could have rightfully cast judgement and fulfilled the punishment, and when all the others had left, he was the only one left. Think about the woman’s emotions. Can you feel her fear? Her shame? Her guilt? Jesus could. I believe that he saw the sorrow in her heart. Now notice what he told her, “Neither do I condemn thee.” This one sentence, in particular, jumps out so strong to me. We know that there is “no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1) And we also know from John 3:17 “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” Still, there is something so powerful about the image of Jesus sitting before a woman who in every right deserves condemnation, and giving her none. So here is my question to you. Have you accepted the fact that Jesus has not condemned you? Or do you still condemn yourself?

To often, it seems, that we are willing to ask the Lord for forgiveness but refuse to act as though we have been forgiven. In other words, we remember the sins of our past and won’t let them go. When God forgives, he does so completely. Nothing remains in his mind, and yet we choose to continually view ourselves as sinful and wicked people. Jesus does not want us living that way. How can we live a life fulfilling to God if we still view ourselves as wicked and unredeemable souls? What did Jesus tell the adulterous woman? Not only that he was not going to condemn her, but also, “Go, and sin no more.” That is the Lord’s desire for us. To ask him for forgiveness, forgive ourselves, and then to live as one who is no longer burdened by sin.

Of course, there is another side to this that I must speak on. Sometimes, we are too eager to forgive ourselves. And by that I mean, we go out and sin, ask for forgiveness, and then sin again without hesitation. I know of a man who is always very eager to tell stories of his sexual exploits. He shows a great amount of pride when talking about girls he has been with, and will look for any opportunity to boast about it. You would be amazed how shocked I was to discover that he not only believed in God and considered himself to be a strong Christian, but that he was morally opposed to premarital sex and would always beg God for forgiveness the following morning. This is an example of being too forgiving to yourself. How do you think that Jesus would have felt or reacted if that woman was caught again a few days later…and a couple of days after that. Don’t you think he would be upset? Would he feel like she never learned her lesson? Would he feel like she had no respect for him or was taking advantage of his good graces? And wouldn’t she be?

Jesus told us to sin no more. Now, of course, we all fall short of that, but to each of us, it is our reponsability to live as close to perfect as we can be. As it says in Matthew 5:48 “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” To be content with our sin, and to willingly and knowingly choose to live in our sin rather than to try to live opposed to it is to spit in the face of God. It is showing complete and outright disrespect for his forgiveness and his wishes. It is one thing to make a mistake, but it is whole other ball game to live a life of sin, continually repeat your sin, or to willingly choose sin over what you know is right. Imagine that you are the adulterous woman who has just received forgiveness from Jesus. You deserved to die, but he saved you. How would you feel towards Jesus? How willing would you be to returned to your sinful lifestyle? Next time you are faced with the choice to sin, imagine facing Jesus and having to explain your action to him. Would he understand and agree with your action or would he be very disappointed in you?

Dear Lord, Thank you for the story you have given us of the adulterous woman. Help us Lord, to be willing to accept you forgiveness of our sins and in turn to forgive ourselves. Help us to feel your conviction prior to our sins and to try to live a life that is free from sin. And lastly, help us to not be like the Pharisees, who were so willing to look past their own sin in order to condemn another.