DAY Ten of Twenty-one "Son of God"

DAY Ten of Twenty-one "Son of God"

John 8:10-11

10Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn't even one of them condemn you?”

11“No, Lord,” she said.

And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

John 8:1-11

1Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives,

2but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them.

3As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.

4“Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery.

5The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”

6They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger.

7They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!”

8Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.

9When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman.

10Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn't even one of them condemn you?”

11“No, Lord,” she said.

And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

SORTING IT OUT “Is there no one left to condemn you?”

How wonderful those words must have sounded to a woman who knew she was facing death. Only moments before, her fate had been sealed; caught in the act of adultery, she was sentenced to be stoned. Then Jesus had compassion on her and saved her from her accusers.

The story doesn’t end there. Jesus spares her life in this beautiful act of compassion, but His last words to her are, “Go, but do not sin again.” Jesus’ mercy is paired with justice. He doesn’t say, “I forgive you, feel free to go on committing adultery.” He tells her to stop. This is a hard teaching.

The miraculous forgiveness of our sins doesn’t give us license to keep sinning. Paul writes about this in his letter to the Romans, “Should we continue to live in sin so that God’s grace will increase? Certainly not!” (6:1b-2a).

Turning away from sin means turning to God. Only He can give us the strength to leave our sinful ways.

YOUR TURN What secret sin can you confess today? What steps can you take to leave that sin behind?

-------