There is no more beautiful story of the amazing grace of Jesus than the account of the woman caught in adultery. The story began as Jesus was confronted by the Pharisees who threw this adulteress at Him in the temple courtyard. They used the occasion to test Him as to whether or not He would obey the law.
“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?” (John 8:4-10)1
Jesus, the only sinless One was the only One who stayed by her side. There is only one Person who could have thrown a stone at her, for He was sinless but He wouldn’t do it. The Pharisees would have happily throne their stones, but their consciences wouldn’t allow them to do so for they were NOT sinless.
Notice that even though Jesus is God and the Author of the Ten Commandments, He didn’t remind her of the commandment, “Thou shall not commit adultery.” He didn’t use the “ministry of death” or the “ministry of condemnation.” (2 Corinthians 3:7, 9) He didn’t say, “If you behave yourself, I won’t condemn you.” No. That’s backwards. It’s “I don’t condemn you, now you have the power to walk in freedom over sin.”
Jesus was preoccupied with her freedom from condemnation, not her sin!
After Jesus had run off the hypocrites, she was left alone with The Light of the World who had no interest in thing a light on her sin. The Light drove out the darkness, and only two were left: the one who has sinned and Love. At the end of the day, it’s always between you and God. “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.” (John 8:11)
Remember, as you ponder this story, Jesus said in John 14:9, “If you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father.” The heart of Jesus is the heart of our heavenly Father. Think about our wonderful Jesus. He was the only One to defend this sinner. Are we defending sinners? Or are we condemning them? The message of the Gospel is this: there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ.2 Why? Because Jesus took our condemnation. The power for this woman to “go and sin no more” was in the truth that Jesus did not condemn her.
(from pages 50-52 of Unveiling Jesus)
Want more from Tricia Gunn? Check out excerpts from the Unveiling Jesus 20-part series!
Unveiling Jesus, by Tricia Gunn, is a verse by verse study of the pure gospel of grace. It’s an amazing journey of love, identity, and freedom in Christ.
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1 All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New King James Version. Scripture is taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
2 Romans 8:1
