“But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn He went to the temple complex again, and all the people were coming to Him. He sat down and began to teach them. Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, making her stand in the center. “Teacher,” they said to Him, “this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery. In the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do You say? ” They asked this to trap Him, in order that they might have evidence to accuse Him. Jesus stooped down and started writing on the ground with His finger. When they persisted in questioning Him, He stood up and said to them, “The one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her.” Then He stooped down again and continued writing on the ground. When they heard this, they left one by one, starting with the older men. Only He was left, with the woman in the center. When Jesus stood up, He said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? ” “No one, Lord,” she answered. “Neither do I condemn you,” said Jesus. “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.””, John 8:1-11 HCSB
- Another detail that I noticed this time through is that these people brought the woman in to the temple complex! How humiliating! Imagine someone being busted in the act of adultery, being brought to church, and being forced to stand in the center of the church!
- So Jesus did not condemn the woman but He did tell her to stop doing what she was doing. What if the woman didn’t change and kept doing what she was doing before? Would Jesus have the same answer? Maybe!
- It sounds to me that none of us have any right to condemn any one else since we are all sinful. That doesn’t mean we don’t try to help each other overcome sin, but we are not to condemn other people.
“Then Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows Me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.””, John 8:12 HCSB
- I assume that the “them” is referring to the original people who Jesus was teaching before the scribes and Pharisees brought in the woman because they had all left one by one. But who knows how far they went. They could have come back.
- Without Jesus, none of us can see where we are going. Life is awesome but can also be extremely difficult, for everyone. Walking through this sometimes difficult life without light is generally not a good idea! The good news is that we all have access to the light: We can all follow Jesus!