Sunday February 28, 2010
Worship through the Word
The Journey: The Way of Grace: The Need for Intercession
Gospel: John 8:1-11
Witness to the Word: “Neither Do I Condemn You”
They came to Jesus and asked for judgment. They got far more than they bargained for. Instead of passing a judgment on the woman, Jesus turned the tables and directed judgment against them. "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her. Now they had to answer for themselves, not only for their actions, but also for what was in their hearts.
I believe the woman must have heard him saying… go ahead, execute her. In first century Israel, religious people took the law of God very seriously and they actually thought that they could keep it. Nevertheless, when faced with the truth, these teachers of the law and the Pharisees would hardly claim that they were actually without sin.
I believe the woman must have felt… quite certain, that among all these “religious men” there must be at least one, that thought of himself as sufficiently free from sin that he would cast the first stone. But one by one, the accusers disappeared. Apparently the best way to escape judgment was to hide. Isn't that how we still think? As long as nobody knows our sin… I’m ok and your ok. We might even believe that we can hide sin from God. Sound familiar, Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Genesis 3:8
I believe the woman must have been waiting anxiously, dreading to hear Jesus' judgment. After all, she knew that she was guilty. This must have been the worse day of her life. Interestingly enough by his own words, Jesus could have been the one… to throw the first stone. After all, he was the only one without sin. The woman remained before Jesus, knowing full well that her sins were obvious, waiting for her judgment. But Jesus said “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more..” This must have become the greatest day in her life. She was guilty and she received a pardon from the one that is the judge of heaven and earth. She got to hear the wonderful words of life:Neither do I condemn you…
I believe the woman never expected that when Jesus acquitted her, he knew that he was going to stand in her place. He would have to answer for her sin with his own life. He gave his life as a sacrifice for the sins of the world, so that to everyone that comes to him, he could say: neither do I condemn you. Very often I think that we are not getting the full impact of this, especially in a culture that minimizes sin. This verse is often quoted and used to justify that we need not take sins and trespasses so seriously. After all, “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” but someone has to pay for sin and its consequences…(Romans 8:1-3) There is no escaping the fact that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:10)
But on this side of the judgment seat, the words of Jesus, to you who come to him today are:“Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” No matter what you have done. The things that you have never told anyone and you hardly have admitted to yourself. The things that you have covered up for so long. What Jesus has to say is: neither do I condemn you. This is not cheap talk, because the wages of sin is death, and Jesus has cashed that paycheck himself.
When you pray to Jesus, he wants you to feel free to tell him everything that is on your mind. Above all, he wants you to tell him about your sins, we call this confession. He is waiting so that he can say: neither do I condemn you... But Jesus also says in this same breath, …go your way, and from now on do not sin. We call this repentance. After all he has been waiting for you to receive the greatest gift of all, Eternal Life. It’s the grace Jesus offers to us all and he paid the full price with his life, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:23-24
