“The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?"
And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her."
But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more."
There is a beauty in this passage, more precious than gold and silver, rubies and diamonds.
She was found naked (buck naked, booty out, clothes off naked). She was taken from the bedroom, or brothel, and thrown at the feet of Christ by her accusers and His enemies.
[Side note: When you are naked or desperate, facing a life or death uncertainty, being persecuted or attacked, or being embarrassed by accusations and enemies— the best place to be is at the feet of Jesus].
They said, the law says to stone her. They said she deserved death. They said! Funny how “they” will always say something about your dirt, but not theirs. Funny how “they” will throw you in the dirt for doing the same dirt! They said, “Jesus— so what’cha gonna do playboy!”
In that moment, they probably expected Christ to grab the jagged stone near His hands and unleash a fury of stones on her. In that moment, they probably expected Jesus to be like the guy in Mulan and say, “You know the law!”
In that moment, they probably expected Jesus to be like Scar when he spoke to the hyenas, “Kill him!”
But as they waited with hateful breath and murderous condemnation, He waited. When the moment got intense... Christ flipped the table like a game of spades gone wrong.
He “turned things upside down with unexpected, undeserved grace.” Christ flipped things on their heads with a divine and unnerving, yet “incredible ability to demonstrate grace without undermining our call to live lives that please God.”
In that moment , He offered the gift of forgiveness and grace, not just to the woman, but to all her accusers and even His. In that moment, He put love and forgiveness right up against the call to walk in purity, and holiness— the call to let sin rule us no more. In that moment , when she (like us) was most fearful of death and that painfully, Christ demonstrated the love that God has for us even in our lowest moments— when we stand before Him completely naked, not even a fig leaf!
[Side note: Isn’t it amazing that we find forgiveness in the moment when all of our sins, our everything is laid bare before God and we have nothing to hide. Isn’t it amazing that in this passage she is naked and unashamed in front of the One who walked in the Garden when Adam and Eve were naked and unashamed. Unconfessed sin robs us of the freedom to be fully known and fully loved].
“People tend to lean to one extreme when it comes to our wrongs— and that is judgment,” including myself, but Christ Jesus offers us a different way— the way of forgiveness and compassion, grace and mercy, identity and real love, wholeness and holiness, the way empowered by the power of the Holy Spirit to live a life free from the fear, pull, and condemnation of sin.
If you are struggling to receive God’s forgiveness and grace for past sin, if you have been harboring thoughts about your past failures keeping you from the fierce nearness and love of Christ, surrender to God in prayer today and hear Him say to you, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more."
John 8:11 ESV
https://www.bible.com/59/jhn.8.11.esv
Jesus gives conviction and forgiveness, not condemnation!
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