“Has no one condemned you?”
“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.'“ John 8:10-11
Of all of the encounters with Jesus in the Bible, this one is a favorite. Because the woman is us.
We were found in sin, in the act of sin, and brought to the feet of God. We were accused. The Law stood against us. God would be the judge. And the verdict is so obvious - guilty.
And so we sit at the feet of Jesus, waiting. Waiting for the judgement that’s to come. Waiting to be told we that have failed — again — after being given every chance.
But the guilty sentence doesn’t come.
And as the crowd waits, Jesus unexpectedly starts silently writing in the dust.
The list of the reasons why we should die are uttered over and over again. We don’t have anything to say to defend ourselves. We just continue to wait.
And then Jesus says the stoning can start - but only by those who haven’t sinned.
Little by little, the voices grow fewer… until no accusations are left against us. And we hear the beautiful voice of Jesus say, “Has no one condemned you?”
He just saved our lives. The answer is, “No one, Lord.”
It seems like mercy was too easy. We messed up and were getting off without penalty.
But there are three things that are true:
The guilty sentence we were expecting did come. But Jesus offered to place himself over us and take the punishment our sentence deserved. By his wounds, we are healed (Isaiah 53:5).
When Jesus said the one who was without sin could cast the first stone, that eliminated everyone…. except him. He alone had the right to condemn us. But instead, he saved us (John 3:17).
Mercy isn’t cheap. The end of the story is this: “Neither do I condemn you; go and from now on sin no more.” Not because Jesus wants us to follow a rulebook… but because he has to pay for every sin we commit.
Mercy was a price heavily paid by the only sinless One.
He took it on himself. The devil will say we don’t deserve it. And it’s true. But God gives us our worth, not ourselves.
If we choose him, he covers us.
He take the judgement on himself.
And as we navigate life, although we can’t be 100% sinless like Christ, we don’t use it as an excuse (1 Peter 2:16). We don’t live on our own - the power of the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in us (Romans 8:11). And with Christ, we can do all things, until we see him face to face — forgiven, protected, and loved.
This verse is from the book of John, one of the gospels that gives us glimpses into eternity and Jesus himself shares the gospel and fulfills it!
If you want a companion to study with, grab our John Bible study journal in our shop and enjoy the precious time of knowing God’s sweet words!
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