May 21: Neither do I condemn you!

Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, making her stand in the center. “Teacher,” they said to Him, “this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery. In the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do You say?” They asked this to trap Him, in order that they might have evidence to accuse Him. Jesus stooped down and started writing on the ground with His finger. When they persisted in questioning Him, He stood up and said to them, “The one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her.” Then He stooped down again and continued writing on the ground. When they heard this, they left one by one, starting with the older men. Only He was left, with the woman in the center. When Jesus stood up, He said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, Lord,” she answered. “Neither do I condemn you,” said Jesus. “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”  (John 8:3-11 — Holman Christian Standard Bible)

This event in Jesus' ministry illustrates what another verse says: God did not sent His Son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. Jesus loved this woman and wanted her to be forgiven and to know that God loved her. The religious rulers were just using her for their own purposes; they didn't care about her. Neither did they care about the Law of Moses; if they had, they would have also brought the man that was committing adultery with her. They were only looking for an excuse to criticize Jesus. If He had told them to go ahead and kill her, they would have criticized Him; if He had told them not kill her, He would have appeared to be breaking the Law of God.

Jesus doesn't approve of the sin in our lives. But His goal is not to condemn, He wants to forgive us and help us overcome its urges. He commands us to repent of our sins and turn to God, because he knows that if we continue to live in sin we will die — now and forever. That is why He died in our place on the cross — to be our sin offering. Through faith in Him and His death on the cross, all our sins are forgiven and we begin a brand new life, fresh and clean. This woman did and so can you.

Do you notice how the Lord Jesus treated this woman? No guilt-trip, no labels, no causing her to feel like dirt for a week… he didn’t call her a loser or a disappointment. I think we should all examine our image of God as we read this passage. God is not a nasty, condemning, holier-than-thou judge in the sky waiting for us to make mistakes. More than anything He is a friend who wants to help us. He told her to “go, and sin no more”, like a good friend would, but He didn’t alienate her. The Bible doesn’t mention anything else about this woman, but I’m sure that Jesus’ treatment of her did more to change her behavior than any rebuke. I believe His kindness inspired her to make a total turn-around. — If there’s a sin in your life that you need to turn away from, don’t wait another day. Do it right now.