Live the Imperative!

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Opening Prayer

Holy Father, You are Creator, Redeemer, and King. I offer my praise and worship to You.

Read JOHN 8:2-11

^[2] At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. ^[3] The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group ^[4] and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. ^[5] In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” ^[6] They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. ^[7] When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” ^[8] Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. ^[9] At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. ^[10] Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” ^[11] “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Meditate

Jesus stands ready to forgive any sin in your life, but confession and repentance mean a change of heart. With God’s help, you can accept Christ’s forgiveness and stop your wrongdoing!

Think Further

I suspect that most of you have in your Bible words such as, “the earliest manuscripts … do not have John 7:53–8:11,” but this story is completely in character with what we know of Jesus and there is no reason to doubt its truth.

There are several points to note: (1) Where is the man? There are many sins we may be able to commit in isolation, but adultery is not one of them. The absence of the man demonstrates that the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law are only interested in trapping Jesus. (2) What is the nature of the trap? If Jesus upholds the Law (Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:22-24), he would contradict his well-known compassion and his willingness to forgive, but if he denies the Law he could be dismissed as a lawless person and his credibility would be instantly undermined. (3) What did Jesus write on the ground? We cannot tell, but whatever the ambiguity in Jesus’ actions, his words are terribly, overwhelmingly clear, and the men who come to discredit Jesus are themselves discredited. Jesus’ words to the woman indicate that the woman was indeed guilty of adultery, but he speaks words of forgiveness, grace and mercy–with the imperative to leave her life of sin (10,11).

Does this passage suggest that adultery is unimportant? Absolutely not! Forgiveness and tolerance are not the same, and being forgiven does not mean that sin does not matter. For Jesus to bring forgiveness to the woman took him to the cross, and the proper response to that forgiveness is a change in lifestyle (Rom. 6:1,2). That’s the good news! There is no sin that lies outside the scope of his mercy and grace, but the same imperative is given to those who seek his forgiveness–to “leave your life of sin” (11).

Apply

Jesus says to us “Neither do I condemn you … Go now and leave your life of sin” (11). Receive now his forgiveness and live out the imperative.

Closing prayer

Merciful God, I confess I have sinned. At times I allow sin to settle down in my life. As You make me aware of my sins, I release them to Your forgiving grace.

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