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 any more." (Apologetics Bible)
This is the end of the story of the woman who was taken in an adulterous act, and the enemies of Jesus brought her to him to trap him into making an error in judgment. There was opposition to him by this time, and he almost didn't come to Jerusalem. But then he did come, and the stage was set to force him into errors.
It didn't work. He didn't say anything to the accusers. He wrote on the dirt with his finger. Did he name their sins? Did he name the time or date of their violations of the Law? Were there other women not present he could have called? Were there other more grievous sins concealed in their hearts? They slipped away as the crowd mummered. The woman was left alone.
His message for her was simple. There was no condemnation. No stoning. No penance. He just said "Go your way and don't sin anymore."
It's almost too easy. Forgiveness is big and powerful, and we try to make it noteworthy. To make it have that kind of impact you'd almost have to name the sin and rehearse it. But Jesus just forgave. Sin does have that big oppressing weight that crushes the human spirit into nothingness. But forgiveness is just big and powerful to the one whose sins were forgiven. For her, it was amazing. She could walk in righteousness and sin no more.
"No one Lord." she answered.
"Neither do I condemn you." said Jesus. "Go and from now on do not sin any more." (Apologetics Bible)
This is the end of the story of the woman who was taken in an adulterous act, and the enemies of Jesus brought her to him to trap him into making an error in judgment. There was opposition to him by this time, and he almost didn't come to Jerusalem. But then he did come, and the stage was set to force him into errors.
It didn't work. He didn't say anything to the accusers. He wrote on the dirt with his finger. Did he name their sins? Did he name the time or date of their violations of the Law? Were there other women not present he could have called? Were there other more grievous sins concealed in their hearts? They slipped away as the crowd mummered. The woman was left alone.
His message for her was simple. There was no condemnation. No stoning. No penance. He just said "Go your way and don't sin anymore."
It's almost too easy. Forgiveness is big and powerful, and we try to make it noteworthy. To make it have that kind of impact you'd almost have to name the sin and rehearse it. But Jesus just forgave. Sin does have that big oppressing weight that crushes the human spirit into nothingness. But forgiveness is just big and powerful to the one whose sins were forgiven. For her, it was amazing. She could walk in righteousness and sin no more.
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