Forgiveness
She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” John 8:11
The scribes and Pharisees caught a woman in adultery. To them, she seemed like the perfect scapegoat for their devious plan. In their eyes, they would either be right, and she would have to be stoned, or Jesus would have to incriminate Himself. They tested Him, but Jesus stooped down to write something.
They kept asking until He said, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” He continued writing. The Scripture does not say what He wrote. Some have said He may have been writing the other laws of Moses. Whatever it was, the men became convicted themselves, and their consciences led them to leave. When Jesus and the woman remained, He asked who remained to condemn her. “No one,” She said. Jesus responded, “Neither do I condemn you.”
Forgiveness is such a simple word, yet a weighty topic. We toss around phrases like “forgive and forget,” yet we are often plagued by doing neither. The sinful nature wants to condemn others for the speck in their eye while wandering around with a plank in its own eye. (Matthew 7:3) The Pharisees set up a trap for Jesus or the woman, but the law of God is ruthless. It plays no favorites. When they were confronted with it, they sulked away with their tail between their legs.
Even though that perfect law condemns the sinner, we can take comfort knowing that the sole Man who came to the one sinner’s defense is the same One who came to all our defenses. By His keeping of the law, Jesus appeased God. There was none righteous but Him. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23-24).
You were once stuck in sin, condemned to death and eternal damnation. But who can condemn you if you have been bought by the blood of the Lamb? No one! “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more,” your Savior says.
Thank you Lord for your forgiveness. Lead me out of temptation. Amen.