No Condemnation in Christ
John 8:2-6 (NIV)
At dawn he [Jesus] appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
The Pharisees had the master plan. They were going to take down this Jesus who ate with sinners and healed on the Sabbath. They had caught a woman in the act of adultery. Surely, Jesus would throw the first stone. He must because the law required it.
The same law they said she’d broken required them to testify against her.
However, Jesus knows that the woman is just ammunition. The teachers and Pharisees don’t care about her act of infidelity. They care about taking down their foe—the radical who sought to upend their way of life.
You can feel the tension of the moment—the condemned woman standing in the temple court with men surrounding her. An audience beyond them. Jesus writing in the sand. The crowd of accusers was growing frustrated with the man they sought to trap.
At their persistence, Jesus replies, “You who is without ANY sin, cast the first stone.”
It’s a mic drop moment in the temple court. The men fall away silently one by one. When they all leave, Jesus turns to the woman.
He could bring condemnation to her, but instead He gives her a way out.
Jesus said words that ought to strike triumphant chords for each of us, “If none of your accusers remain to condemn you, condemnation is not what I want to give you either. The gift I am giving you today is compassion. Go and sin no more.”
The message here is that no one who is in Christ has to live condemned. Jesus knew then and knows now that you need divine compassion, not condemnation.
Jesus knows something about this woman and you. He sees the you on the other side of this season of turmoil. His why is: “If I can just give her a chance to live on the other side of these bad choices, she will prove to creation that she can honor God with a better life.”
The reason you are not condemned is because God sees that same chance in you.
You are not who you should be—yet—but you are not condemned.
Compassion will always cure more sins than condemnation. Jesus knew this woman didn’t need to die. She needed a chance to change. That’s why He didn’t join the guys trying to condemn her. He knew her capacity for change.
Do you know how much Jesus wants you to have a better second half? Do you know why He won’t let you withdraw from life? Do you know why He snatches you up when your emotions get too low?
The only explanation you need is that God saw something in you that you couldn’t see in yourself.
God knows you don’t need to die, you need time to change. Go and embrace His compassion.
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death,” Romans 8:1 (NIV).
