I think most of us are familiar with the story of the adulterous woman brought before Jesus for judgment. If nothing else, we all know better than to cast the first stone, based on what Jesus said (some of us end up throwing a lot of stones anyway, but that’s beside the point). One thing that I think some people miss, though, Jesus told her that He didn’t condemn her, but He didn’t say that what she had done was okay.
She was fortunate enough to have been caught in the middle between Jesus and the Pharisees. She probably didn’t feel fortunate at the time; under Roman law, adultery did not carry a death sentence, but under the Law of Moses, it did. The Pharisees wanted Jesus to either affirm the Law of Moses, which would lead to a charge of insurrection against the Roman government, or not, which they could then use to accuse Him of heresy. So this woman, who ordinarily would have been left alone, is arrested, and taken to Jesus, presumably on her way to be stoned. That must have been a frightening experience. In any case, Jesus sidestepped the question entirely, and did not address her guilt or punishment, and instead addressed the guilt of her accusers. Once the men who were prepared to stone her walked away, then Jesus asked her, “Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee?” She, fortunately, had the wisdom to say, “No man, Lord.” He responded, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.”
I think some people get the idea that Jesus didn’t condemn her because she had done nothing wrong. I don’t think that the Scripture suggests that. He didn’t say that she hadn’t sinned, rather, He told her not to sin any more, which, in fact, suggests that she had sinned. I think that it is safe to say that the entire episode had nothing to do with her guilt or innocence, but on the willingness of sinful men to accuse other people. Are any of us truly guilt-free? Yet, we have this ideological flaw that, if we look at our sin, and we look at someone else’s sin, well, at least my sin isn’t as bad as his sin… But, in God’s eyes, sin is sin. At judgment day, you can’t tell God, well, at least I never killed anybody, He will just remind you of the people that you have hated for no real reason badly enough that you would have been glad if they had died.
I don’t imagine that it was easy for the adulterous woman to walk away from the lifestyle that she was accustomed to. Of course, having come that close to death because of the way she lived was probably enough incentive to keep her on the straight and narrow. Some people don’t turn to Christ until they have had a similar experience. The rest of us need to learn that kind of urgency. Either way, none of us can keep from sinning for any length of time, it is only the grace of God that sustains us. We need to give God our best, and pray that our efforts will be blessed.
She was fortunate enough to have been caught in the middle between Jesus and the Pharisees. She probably didn’t feel fortunate at the time; under Roman law, adultery did not carry a death sentence, but under the Law of Moses, it did. The Pharisees wanted Jesus to either affirm the Law of Moses, which would lead to a charge of insurrection against the Roman government, or not, which they could then use to accuse Him of heresy. So this woman, who ordinarily would have been left alone, is arrested, and taken to Jesus, presumably on her way to be stoned. That must have been a frightening experience. In any case, Jesus sidestepped the question entirely, and did not address her guilt or punishment, and instead addressed the guilt of her accusers. Once the men who were prepared to stone her walked away, then Jesus asked her, “Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee?” She, fortunately, had the wisdom to say, “No man, Lord.” He responded, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.”
I think some people get the idea that Jesus didn’t condemn her because she had done nothing wrong. I don’t think that the Scripture suggests that. He didn’t say that she hadn’t sinned, rather, He told her not to sin any more, which, in fact, suggests that she had sinned. I think that it is safe to say that the entire episode had nothing to do with her guilt or innocence, but on the willingness of sinful men to accuse other people. Are any of us truly guilt-free? Yet, we have this ideological flaw that, if we look at our sin, and we look at someone else’s sin, well, at least my sin isn’t as bad as his sin… But, in God’s eyes, sin is sin. At judgment day, you can’t tell God, well, at least I never killed anybody, He will just remind you of the people that you have hated for no real reason badly enough that you would have been glad if they had died.
I don’t imagine that it was easy for the adulterous woman to walk away from the lifestyle that she was accustomed to. Of course, having come that close to death because of the way she lived was probably enough incentive to keep her on the straight and narrow. Some people don’t turn to Christ until they have had a similar experience. The rest of us need to learn that kind of urgency. Either way, none of us can keep from sinning for any length of time, it is only the grace of God that sustains us. We need to give God our best, and pray that our efforts will be blessed.
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