Jesus… asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no-one
condemned you?” “No-one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn
you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” John 8:10-11
Condemnation… It’s an ugly word, isn’t it? But its meaning is familiar to all of us.
Being found guilty of something can take various forms.
A person in court, if the charge against them is proved, is condemned to suffer some punishment. Somebody in the workplace who offends his or her colleagues and gets cold-shouldered as a result, may say “I felt everyone was condemning me.” There was a time (still is, in some cultures) where a woman who became pregnant outside marriage, was condemned by her community (quite likely including her church).
Especially painful is when it’s our own conscience that does the job. We have a dark secret. But no-one knows about it, so that’s all right – except, of course, that it’s not all right, because we can’t shrug it off or wipe it out. Deep down we feel we deserve condemnation; we are self-condemned.
If you believe in God, that makes it even worse. The Bible tells us clearly that, while God hates to condemn, there are times when he has no choice. Because he is holy, he cannot turn a blind eye to our sins; a sin overlooked is a sin condoned, and what kind of God would that make him?
Just reading this might stir up in your mind uncomfortable thoughts – thoughts of guilt and shame. But there is good news…
The woman in John 8 was condemned by the religious leaders for her adultery. They bring her before Jesus (where was the guilty man, we wonder?) to expose and humiliate her. She stands there, alone, her head bowed, enduring the harsh gaze of her accusers.
They invite Jesus to join them in their condemnation. But he refuses. He bends down and writes something in the dust with his finger (what was it he wrote! – wouldn’t we love to know?). His silence as they keep badgering him becomes embarrassing, and in the end he stands up straight and says, in effect, “All right, she’s guilty; adultery is indeed a grave sin. Stoning to death is a just penalty, so go right ahead…” But then he pauses, fixes the crowd with his eye and adds: “But you will make sure, won’t you, that the first stone is thrown by someone who has never sinned…”
And then? Silence. Not a stone is thrown; and that angry crowd slowly melts away. When it’s just the two of them, this little conversation about condemnation takes place between Jesus and the woman.
I wonder what happened to her? Did she indeed “leave her life of sin”? Or was she sucked back into it? We aren’t told – and that’s because it’s not what matters. What matters is how we respond to this beautiful story. What about our condemnation, our guilt, our shame?
The German poet Heinrich Heine famously said: “Dieu me pardonnera, c’est son metier” – “God will forgive me; that’s his job.” (I’ve no idea why, being German, he said it in French; but never mind.)
Very witty, Herr Heine. Ha-very-ha. But wrong, totally wrong. It’s not God’s “job” to forgive, and anyone taking that kind of casual attitude is in for a rude awakening. Sin matters, because it wrecks our relationship with God, damages our human relationships, destroys our peace of mind, and jeopardises our eternal well-being.
But having said that, we must immediately add: “But it is God’s delight to forgive!” Nothing gives God greater pleasure than to pour out his forgiveness on the person who is honestly, truly, humbly sorry. Jesus said that when that happens the very vaults of heaven echo with the sound of rejoicing (Luke 15:3-7).
This is the wonder of God’s grace. Grace means God giving us what we don’t deserve – instead of condemnation, love and acceptance; instead of rejection, welcome, hope and a whole new life.
Are you bowed under a weight of condemnation? Well, if so then it’s my joy to be a bringer of good news – I hope I’ve said enough for you to know what to do!
To hammer the point home even deeper, here are a couple of other wonderful statements from the New Testament…
“God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:17).
“There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).
“No condemnation”! Why not? Because Jesus, by dying on the cross, has taken it on our behalf.
Thank God for that!
Lord Jesus, thank you that “in my place condemned you stood”. Help me to understand and to delight in the wonder of forgiveness – but never to take it for granted. Amen.
Condemnation… It’s an ugly word, isn’t it? But its meaning is familiar to all of us.
Being found guilty of something can take various forms.
A person in court, if the charge against them is proved, is condemned to suffer some punishment. Somebody in the workplace who offends his or her colleagues and gets cold-shouldered as a result, may say “I felt everyone was condemning me.” There was a time (still is, in some cultures) where a woman who became pregnant outside marriage, was condemned by her community (quite likely including her church).
Especially painful is when it’s our own conscience that does the job. We have a dark secret. But no-one knows about it, so that’s all right – except, of course, that it’s not all right, because we can’t shrug it off or wipe it out. Deep down we feel we deserve condemnation; we are self-condemned.
If you believe in God, that makes it even worse. The Bible tells us clearly that, while God hates to condemn, there are times when he has no choice. Because he is holy, he cannot turn a blind eye to our sins; a sin overlooked is a sin condoned, and what kind of God would that make him?
Just reading this might stir up in your mind uncomfortable thoughts – thoughts of guilt and shame. But there is good news…
The woman in John 8 was condemned by the religious leaders for her adultery. They bring her before Jesus (where was the guilty man, we wonder?) to expose and humiliate her. She stands there, alone, her head bowed, enduring the harsh gaze of her accusers.
They invite Jesus to join them in their condemnation. But he refuses. He bends down and writes something in the dust with his finger (what was it he wrote! – wouldn’t we love to know?). His silence as they keep badgering him becomes embarrassing, and in the end he stands up straight and says, in effect, “All right, she’s guilty; adultery is indeed a grave sin. Stoning to death is a just penalty, so go right ahead…” But then he pauses, fixes the crowd with his eye and adds: “But you will make sure, won’t you, that the first stone is thrown by someone who has never sinned…”
And then? Silence. Not a stone is thrown; and that angry crowd slowly melts away. When it’s just the two of them, this little conversation about condemnation takes place between Jesus and the woman.
I wonder what happened to her? Did she indeed “leave her life of sin”? Or was she sucked back into it? We aren’t told – and that’s because it’s not what matters. What matters is how we respond to this beautiful story. What about our condemnation, our guilt, our shame?
The German poet Heinrich Heine famously said: “Dieu me pardonnera, c’est son metier” – “God will forgive me; that’s his job.” (I’ve no idea why, being German, he said it in French; but never mind.)
Very witty, Herr Heine. Ha-very-ha. But wrong, totally wrong. It’s not God’s “job” to forgive, and anyone taking that kind of casual attitude is in for a rude awakening. Sin matters, because it wrecks our relationship with God, damages our human relationships, destroys our peace of mind, and jeopardises our eternal well-being.
But having said that, we must immediately add: “But it is God’s delight to forgive!” Nothing gives God greater pleasure than to pour out his forgiveness on the person who is honestly, truly, humbly sorry. Jesus said that when that happens the very vaults of heaven echo with the sound of rejoicing (Luke 15:3-7).
This is the wonder of God’s grace. Grace means God giving us what we don’t deserve – instead of condemnation, love and acceptance; instead of rejection, welcome, hope and a whole new life.
Are you bowed under a weight of condemnation? Well, if so then it’s my joy to be a bringer of good news – I hope I’ve said enough for you to know what to do!
To hammer the point home even deeper, here are a couple of other wonderful statements from the New Testament…
“God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:17).
“There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).
“No condemnation”! Why not? Because Jesus, by dying on the cross, has taken it on our behalf.
Thank God for that!
Lord Jesus, thank you that “in my place condemned you stood”. Help me to understand and to delight in the wonder of forgiveness – but never to take it for granted. Amen.
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