Free From Condemnation

The Pharisees and religious leaders brought a woman caught in adultery to Jesus while He was teaching in the temple. They pretended to ask Jesus for advice on how to punish the woman for her sin. They tried to use this woman as bait to corner Jesus and discredit Him.

The Mosaic Law sentenced an adulterous woman to death by stoning. But the Roman law prohibited capital punishment. So, how would Jesus navigate the religious, legal, and political laws? The Pharisees must have thought that they had set the right trap for Jesus.

But they ended up being trapped themselves by Jesus’ answer: “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” They could not think of a clever comeback or sound legal argument for this response. Jesus’ words pierced their hearts and made them conscious of their own sins. One by one, they left the scene, unable to carry out the stoning.

Finally, the only one left with the woman was Jesus. Lovingly and mercifully, He assured her that He did not condemn her. He set her free, but not before charging her to stop living a sinful life.

We all engage in adulterous behavior, spiritually. Time and time again we turn our backs on Jesus and reject His love. The penalty for our unfaithfulness is death. However, Jesus sacrificed Himself so that we might live. On the cross, the sinless Lamb of God bore the lashings, the stoning, the torture, and the punishment that we rightly deserve, so that we can be free from condemnation, and free to love Him and live for Him.

Respond

• What sinful habit is Jesus asking you to leave behind today?
• Whose life will you affect by telling them about the freedom you found in Jesus?