Sunday, July 21, 2024
John 8:10-11
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.
The
Temple! What a place to have your sins discovered!
Yet it was in this hallowed place that the scribes and Pharisees brought a
woman who had been caught in the very act of adultery. How horrifying would it
be if we too were to have our most secret acts discovered?
The
Law prescribed death by stoning which was a slow
and torturous way to die. It was corporate punishment in which everyone took up
at least one stone to hurl at the guilty. In such a manner sin was put away
from the people. This was a strong deterrent to those who would sin. Although
the Law had been mostly ignored, at least in the punishment of it, the
Pharisees wanted to know if Jesus would uphold the Law. If He did,
they could accuse him of being harsh! If He did not, they could
accuse him of disrespecting the Law.
The
Woman! As far as we can tell, this woman was not a
prostitute but rather a cheating wife. Clearly, she was entangled in a trap
that had more to do with trapping Jesus than trapping her.
The
Lord chose neither to prosecute the law nor to
ignore it but to apply forgiveness. We would really like to know what He
wrote on the ground! Those standing around with stones were likewise
guilty in this drama. They had planned this and brought her to Jesus – but
where was the man? The Law prescribed stoning for both guilty
parties!
The
verdict was guilty, but Jesus said that there would
be no condemnation! No stones would come crashing down upon her skull, at least
none from Jesus. This does not mean that Jesus condoned her sin. He chose not
to condemn her. It was an act of grace but required repentance! He did
not say “go and keep on sinning” but rather “go and sin no more!”
Rom 8:1
8 There is
therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not
after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Dear
Lord, we are guilty, trapped, and caught in the act! Nothing escapes your gaze.
We are forgiven – if we would only receive that forgiveness! We have both an
opportunity and an obligation to go and sin no more. Thank you for your
marvelous mercy. AMEN
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