CONDEMNED
verb: declared to be reprehensible, wrong, guilty; to blame
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
John 8:11 NIV
How would it feel to be referred to as “the woman caught in adultery?” Or equally derogatory– “the adulterous woman?” In this short Bible passage, we don’t get to know her name. The only thing we really get to know about this woman is what she did wrong.
Most of us would much prefer to be included in God’s book for something other than our biggest mistake, our most humiliating moment, or our gravest sin. In this story, she is caught in bed with someone she is not married to, dragged into the temple, and thrown down in front of Jesus. With no regard for her, and seemingly no interest in the man who had been in that same bed, the Pharisees questioned Jesus in an attempt to trap him. Should she be put to death or not? Would this teacher everyone was interested in follow the Mosaic laws or the Roman rule?
Jesus was in what seemed to be a lose-lose situation.
And so was the “woman caught in adultery.”
She had every reason to assume that she was about to be condemned to a horrific and agonizing death by stoning. She saw the sharp, hard rocks the men were holding and shuddered as she imagined them striking her head and body until all life was beaten out of her.
But Jesus had a better plan. He always does.
He stooped down. By bending down, he put himself on the same level as this woman. He acknowledged her, protected her, and graciously gave her a moment of dignity.
He surprised everyone and wrote in the sand. I wish so much that I could know exactly what he wrote. But even though the words are still a mystery to us, something about them connected powerfully with the hearts of each person there. One by one, the accusers of this humiliated woman dropped their stones and walked away.
He saved her from punishment. Jesus forgave her in this moment for all of her sin–the adultery and everything else. He spared her life and told her he did not condemn her.
He set her on a positive path. He drew her into a deeper relationship with him and gave her another chance, a fresh start. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”.
His purpose is not to punish, but to free us. Not to condemn, but to redeem us.
Not to judge the world, but to save it. (from John 3:17)
Jesus still does all these things for us when we mess up.
He stoops down to show us he is still with us.
He surprises us with a better plan than we have imagined.
He saves us from the punishment we deserve. We may suffer the consequences of our choices, but he will not cast us out.
He sets us on a positive path and continues to lead us in this adventurous life with him.
INVITE HIM IN
We all have parts of our story that we don’t want to be remembered for. But Jesus doesn’t want us to stay stuck and nameless and unforgiven in those places. Let’s drop the rocks we hold ready to throw at ourselves. Jesus came to give us true freedom, healing, and grace. And a really good part in his story of redemption and love.