Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.

So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”

She said, “No one, Lord.”

And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

John‬ ‭8‬:‭3‬-‭12‬ ‭NKJV

This scripture has been rolling around in my mind for a few weeks. I’m sure I’m not the only person who can’t comprehend Jesus’ expectation for this woman never to sin again. But was it His expectation? Or was it His truth?

Let’s look at what we know. The Pharisees pointed out that the law of Moses clearly states she had sinned and the punishment due was stoning. Jesus doesn’t deny that.

We also know Jesus began writing on the ground, but it doesn’t offer any insight into what was written. When this next scripture came to me—“For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭103‬:‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬—I wondered, was this what was going through His mind? Could He be reminding Himself that they were all dust by writing in the dust? That thought makes me snicker. Jesus had a lot of patience as God, but what about the part of Him that was a man? I know I would find their machinations irksome.

The next thing we know is that everyone of her accusers left. Everyone knew they had sinned. Everyone, except Jesus. He was the only one who could mete out judgment, yet he chose not to and instead asked her to “go and sin no more.”

I have an inkling Jesus knew she would sin again, but look at the next verse: “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.’” Could this woman have received the heavenly version of a pre-paid credit card? For now, she was walking in the light. Walking in the foreshadow of this next verse.

For the death that He died, He died to sin [ending its power and paying the sinner’s debt] once and for all; and the life that He lives, He lives to [glorify] God [in unbroken fellowship with Him].

Romans‬ ‭6‬:‭10‬ ‭AMP

I’m not saying sin doesn’t have its consequences, or that we should live however we want knowing Christ died for our sins. I am saying that if we follow Jesus, every misstep has been nailed to the cross with Christ. The Pharisees walked away without accepting Jesus, they walked away in darkness, retaining the guilt of their sins.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans‬ ‭6‬:‭23‬ ‭NLT, 1 Corinthians‬ ‭15‬:‭55‬-‭57‬ ‭NIV

We can be like this woman, accepting the pardon for our sin from the only One who has the authority to hold us to account. We can follow Jesus into the light and have victory over sin and death. Or we can walk away into defeat and darkness.

When Jesus told her to “go and sin no more,” I believe He was saying, walk in the freedom of forgiveness. This is what it’s like to have the light of life.

Grace & Peace,

Sandy

Photo by Artem Kovalev on Unsplash