“Teacher,” they said
to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to
stone her. What do you say?”
They were trying to
trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped
down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding an
answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right,
but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” Then he stooped down again
and wrote in the dust.
When the accusers
heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only
Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. Then Jesus
stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are
your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”
“No,
Lord,” she said.
And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” John
8:4-11
This week, I served on a jury. I had the unique perspective of being foreman
for the group. Thus, my job was to not
only come up with a reasonable decision on my part but also help facilitate the
others in the coming up with the verdict.
Thus, our job was to look at evidence, which in this case was almost
entirely circumstantial, and decide guilt or innocence. As I thought about the various testimonies
brought into the discussion and angles of exhibits, it made me think of my life
and all the wrongs I have done. It was
not that I was dwelling on them and carry them like luggage. Instead, it was thinking where I would be if
I hadn’t had Jesus Christ as an advocate for me. Unlike in a jury case, there is only one
prosecutor, judge, and jury in my life.
God knows all I have done, and has presented a flawless case where one
can only find me guilty as charged. I
confessed to being guilty as charged.
However, we have Jesus Christ as our defendant, and through Him, I am somehow
found blameless. The crimes that I am
guilty of are left without punishment as Jesus Himself paid the price for
it. I am grateful that I have been given
another chance to prove myself worthy of His gift of grace even though I can in
no way do enough to either repay or earn it.
What an incredibly humbling thought!
Jesus frees us from the burden of our past to allow us to
see a future. We all have had moments
where we regretted an action or done things we were not proud of. If you were once like me, you lingered with thoughts
of your past transgressions never being free and feeling less worthy than
others. Some of you despite dedicating
your life to Jesus may have that one incident or thought that continually
hovers over your head. Others have
people much like followers of Christ who want to hang your sins over your head
like a crown of thorns or like jurors who have made the decision of your
guilt. This is not the life God intended
for you. This is why the story of this
woman put before Christ is so important.
The Pharisees, having already in their minds found the woman guilty, put
her before Jesus to either justify their beliefs or discredit Jesus
entirely. Note there is not even a
denial from the woman in the story.
Jesus’ answer has a two-fold purpose for us. First, it is to remind us that all fall short
of God’s glory, and we must not be judgmental of other sinners (i.e. like the
Pharisees). Second, it is to lift the
burden of our past to allow for us a brighter future. This is Jesus’ purpose in our lives. We are given a new life, where we are to
follow Him given a higher purpose to ‘sin no more.’
God’s gift of grace through Jesus Christ is one of the
greatest blessings in our walk of faith.
We are no longer burden by the guilt and shame of our past and our given
a new life. While we as mature
Christians should know this, we are always susceptible to falling into old
habits and believing we are beyond redemption.
But even when we fail the Lord promises to be with us saying, “”But with
everlasting love, I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord, your
Redeemer.” (Isaiah 54:8b) So whether it
is past transgressions before accepting Christ or overwhelming guilt that has
hindered you after, be joyful in knowing your debt is paid, and God wants for
you an amazing relationship with Him on your journey to eternal life. What burdens do you need to cast on God
today? How can you move beyond your past
toward His future for your life? My
prayer is that we understand that while we are guilty of sin, we are given new
life as Jesus Christ finds us ‘Not Guilty.’
Amen.
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