NOT CONDEMNED

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

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 8:10-11

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Taken into custody for committing adultery by the Pharisees and hauled in front of Jesus and the Jews gathered to hear Him teach, the woman must have believed her time was up. Surely she was about to suffer a terrible death at the hands of a mob who would stone her to death.

But then something amazing happened.

Telling Jesus that Moses would have commanded that the woman be stoned in accordance with the law, they wanted to know what Jesus thought. The scriptures tell us the Jewish religious leaders asked with the intention of trapping Jesus into saying something they could accuse Him of but as we saw in the last devotion, Jesus had a surprise for them. You may remember His reply as it went like this:

“Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” John 8:7

After saying this, Jesus sat and continued to write on the ground while one by one, the oldest first and then the younger, dropped their stones and walked away. The woman remained behind unscathed.

What do you think was running through her mind at that moment?

One moment she was a goner, the next a survivor. All because of Jesus, the Jesus who now turned to the woman saying:

“Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

To which she replied:

“No one, Sir.”

Indeed, no one that was there to condemn her remained. No one could throw their stone because not one of her accusers were without sin. They were as guilty of transgressive behavior as the woman they were judging.

So would Jesus condemn her?

The answer is no and through His words, we catch a glimpse of the beauty and grace contained in having a relationship with Christ.

“Then neither do I condemn you…Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Jesus was perfectly sinless. He was one with His Father and if anyone on earth had the right to judge, it would have been Jesus. But note that He chose not to condemn the woman. Instead, He allowed her to live on, this time in a right and righteous way, leaving behind her life of sin.

He’s been doing so ever since then.

Indeed, Paul would pen these words to the Christians in Rome well after Jesus died, was resurrected, and ascended:

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1

No condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Did you catch that?

I don’t know how many times I have ministered to Christians who are living in the guilt of their past mistakes. They live in such a self condemning way that they barely can function, crippled by their regret and shame. They have forgotten the words of Jesus to the adulteress and the words of Paul later.

There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus.

Indeed, when we are in Christ, we are expected to leave our lives of sin behind and live in the kind of righteous way He did. We can do just that when we live as He did, something Christians are supposed to do. It’s inherent to being a Christian. We are to be Christ-like.

So how can we be free from condemnation for our sins?

Because Jesus has already paid the debts we owe. He did so when He was crucified in our place on Calvary’s cross, our sins nailed to that cross with Him. He was the unblemished Lamb of God who came and took away the sins of the world (John 1:29) and after His resurrection and subsequent ascension, every single person who has placed their belief and trust in Him finds themselves justified or in other words:

Just as if they had never sinned.

Or put another way:

Set free from condemnation by being washed white as snow by the precious blood of Jesus, the blood that will lead to death passing over every Christian when Jesus returns.

Indeed, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Believe it because Jesus, who is the Truth (John 14:6), said it and gladly receive amazing grace in its purest sense, now and forever more.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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