Too often the church has got this wrong.
We try to follow our Lord Jesus Christ, but we are the most judgmental people in town. Jesus wasn't.
At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them.
The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”
They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.
When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
John 8 v 2 – 11
Women's Place in The Middle East
The first question is Where was the man?
In the Middle East the honour of the family rests with the women. This means that girls and women are more protected, more restricted, more oppressed and more condemned than the boys.
This was a trap. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees were testing Jesus, who often accepted sinner’s repentance and forgave them. Would he follow the Law of Moses? They wanted to find something to accuse him of.
Jesus distanced himself from the proceedings, as if he wanted nothing to do with them. Then he straightened himself up and dropped a bombshell:
Let any of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.
Instead of judging the woman, Jesus is forcing them to judge themselves. The older men left first, because they knew themselves better. Occasionally arrogant young men may believe themselves perfect, but inside everyone knows that they have done wrong.
Only when the accusers had left, Jesus addressed the woman. He didn’t condemn her, but he didn’t condone her lifestyle either.
By saving her life, he had given her the opportunity to change.
Go On - Melanie Mozer
This is such a powerful song.
Forgiveness is a way of life for a Christian.