5-17-2022

 Good Morning!

John 8:11; “And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

    This is the ending of one of those stories that many people know. This is part of the woman who is “caught” in adultery and the Scribes, and the Pharisees want to stone her. Jesus comments let him who has no sin throw the first stone and eventually they all walk away. There is one part of this story that Scriptures tells us but doesn’t explain. Two times we are told that Jesus bent down and wrote on the ground, but we aren’t told what he wrote!

    Just think of the scene that is described. If the woman was truly “caught” in adultery; she was probably naked. She was dragged through the streets to the temple naked. You can imagine her fear, her shock, her shame. She was probably cowering up against the wall, trying to cover herself and fearing for her life. She was surrounded by a bunch of angry, judging men!

    As Jesus came to the scene, the Scribes saw a chance to embarrass Jesus so they asked him what they should do. He didn’t answer; he wrote on the ground. What did he write? We don’t know but I have always wondered if Jesus, who is God, looked into each man’s heart and began to write the sins which they were guilty of. Did he look into their hearts and see greed, envy, jealousy, anger, hatred, lust, or any one of a dozen other sins? I have found the sequence interesting; he wrote, he told those without sin to cast the first stone, then he wrote some more. What did he write? What did the woman think about this as the men dropped the stones and slowly and quietly slipped away?

   Jesus looked at her and told her, “I don’t condemn you, go and sin no more.”  We place a lot of emphasis on the first part but very little on the second part. We like the first part because it is a feel-good statement but the second makes us uncomfortable. But look at it, why was the woman in the street naked? She was engaged in a sinful act; if she hadn’t been doing that, she would have never been naked in the street! When you engage in sinful activities, there are negative effects on your life. If you hate or lust or envy; you will experience sadness, anger, anxiety, and discontentment.

    Jesus forgives your sins but if we keep going back to them; we will never live the life which God wants you to enjoy! Sin continually rips us from God’s love by causing us to turn from his grace and looking at our own selfish desire. God is there with us always, offering us the forgiveness that we so desperately need but he also begs us to turn from sin, turn from the actions, thoughts and desires that cause our pain and problems to start with. Jesus forgives our sins and offers us hope, hope for our salvation but also a hope for a better tomorrow. He offers us a hope to live our life in accordance with his perfect will. This is why his directive, “go and sin no more” means hope for us.

Dearest Father, through your mercy you do not condemn us. Lead us to see that living according to your will leads us to live the life which you have designed for us. In Jesus’ precious name we pray. Amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret