“Has no one condemned you?"
“No one”, she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you”,
Jesus replied.
“Go and sin no more”.
...the profound nature of this one sentence, “Go and sin
no more”. We see it as just a simple response, the churchy response. The just
don’t do it again, slap on the wrist response. We see the hippy Jesus giving
the young sinful woman a pass, because he is just all about love. So then we
must look deeper than just a first glance.
we must see more than just the words
on the page.
jerusalem
was all a buzz...
...it was once again time for the Feast of Tabernacles, a feast
that celebrated the coming Heaven and eternal life. So all Jewish people
flocked to Israel to be a part of the festivities. Every hotel room in
Jerusalem was sold out. All of the best concerts were happening at night and
all of the best after parties were being thrown by all of the best people. It
was the place to see and be seen. This year had even more excitement because
there was talk of a new prophet claiming to be the Son of God, the Messiah,
coming to the Feast.
before
she left home...
...she swore to herself that this time she wouldn’t give in. She
had made a New Year’s Resolution that she wasn’t going to be that person
anymore, that she was better than that. This past year had been full of
heartbreak and regret and she found herself constantly escaping into the
pleasure of sex. She had given up on true love. Every man that she had ever
known had broken her heart, so instead of picking up the pieces she just filled
the empty space with empty men who left her in an empty bed.
But
all of that was behind her. She was a new person. She was ready to fall in
love, to be swept off her feet and to get married and have kids. She was tired
of being the butt of all the jokes; she was tired of being the black sheep in
the family. She finished packing and set out for Jerusalem. She had heard all
of the gossip surrounding the Feast this year and she wanted to be there for
this historic occasion.
he
had definitely made an impact at the feast...
He started the week low key, just
moving among the crowd and doing small miracles. He even went up to the Feast
in secret after His brothers had sarcastically told him to go publicly and
welcome the camera flashes of the paparazzi. But He couldn’t keep His message a
secret. By the middle of the Feast He was teaching in the temple courts while
the Jewish religious leaders looked on with hate in their eyes. They wanted
nothing more than to first discredit him and then kill him, in full view of
everyone at this Feast. So they devised a plan to shame Him in front of all of
His new found followers and to reveal Him for the fraud that He really was.
as
she got ready for the final feast on the final night...
...she smiled because she
was in love. She had met him just a couple of nights before. He was an up and
coming political leader. They were from the same town, she knew his parents. He
knew her past yet still wanted to be with her. If she was ever going to find
redemption in the eyes of her family it would be by marrying a man like him. He
invited her to sit at the table nearest to the head table, near all of the
religious leaders and political officials. The feast was amazing, everyone was dressed so beautifully.
The food was delicious, nothing like the food in her town. The entertainment
was amazing. Then after the meal and entertainment had subsided and everyone
was just lost in conversation she saw Him, Jesus, the Prophet claiming to be Messiah.
Jesus stood up many tables away and in a loud voice he said, “If anyone is thirsty
let him come and drink. Whoever believes in me streams of living water will
flow from within him.”
She couldn’t believe
that he just stood up in front of all of these people and made such a bold
statement, the people sitting around her murmured that He must be drunk. But in
His voice, in His words, her heart felt something different. She wasn’t a very
religious person so she really knew nothing about Him other than his celebrity
reputation, but something inside her longed to know more about Him.
the
feast ended and her new love took her back to his hotel room...
They were sitting on the
deck overlooking the city. People had already begun to leave to beat all of the
traffic. But she was content with staying. She was exactly where she wanted to
be…here with him…falling in love for the first time. As the night progressed
they talked about everything. They laughed and joked and drank…and drank. She
knew that she was drinking too much and she could feel her inhibitions slipping
away. He leaned over and kissed her. It had been so long since she had been
kissed like that by a man like this. There was a voice in her head warning her
of going any farther, reminding her of the commitment that she had made to
herself. But with each embrace the voice became as distant as the sounds of the
parties in the street below. She spent the night with him. She gave him every
part of herself, just knowing that this was the love that she had been looking
for. After it was over, before she went to sleep, she looked over to his
sleeping face and smiled knowing that this was the beginning of a wonderful
life for her.
in
the early morning just as the sun was breaking...
...she was awoken to the sound of
soldiers busting through the door of the hotel room. She looked over and he was
gone, she was a little tipsy from the night before and laying there completely
nude. She lost her breath as they kicked open the door. It was the Jewish
religious guard and they were screaming at her to get on the floor. She was
breathless, her mind wasn’t even awake yet, she kept looking for him to come
and make sense of all of this, but he was gone.
The
soldiers threw her nude to the floor and tied her hands behind her back. Then
lifting her above their heads they carried her out of the room and out of the
hotel with much commotion. The people on the street stopped and stared, some
even followed behind the processional of soldiers to find out what was going
on. Mothers turned the heads of their children away and fathers spat upon her,
knowing that she was nothing more than an unclean whore.
she
had no idea where they were taking her...
They marched her out of the city and up
toward the Mount of Olives. She began to cry uncontrollably because she feared
the worst. Any person caught in the act of adultery was to be stoned to death, publicly.
She wept not for herself but for the embarrassment that this would cause her
parents once word of her death reached their town. She knew in her heart that
she deserved to die, if not for this sin, then all of the others. But she
became filled with rage wondering why he was spared from this same fate.
As
they approached the mountain she saw the Jewish religious and political leaders
waiting for her. They were in a circle, stones in hand and there he was among
them. They threw her down in the middle and as the crowd yelled “Stone her!”
they stood silent and stoic. They
untied her arms and she used her hands to cover what little dignity that she
had left. Why weren’t they
starting yet? Why not just kill her and get it over with? It was as if they
were waiting for someone else that hadn’t arrived yet.
then
she saw him, coming down from the mountain...
His face was glowing much like it
was the night before, when he got up at the Feast and gave His speech about
living water. They were waiting on
him to get there. Her rage then turned to Him. He was about to make His career
by stoning her. His rise to power and fame was to begin here with His first act
as a religious leader, stoning the slut. He was just like all the rest of them.
His
followers, the religious leaders and the crowd surrounded Him and in a matter
of moments he was there in the middle of the circle with her. Finally they
spoke…
“Teacher”,
they said in the most condescending way, “this woman was caught in the act of
adultery. In the Law of Moses it says to stone such women. What do you say?
 |
| credit to david hayward from nakedpastor.com |
instead
of answering them...
...He bent down and began to write something in the sand. She
was too scared to look up so she couldn’t quite read what He was writing. They
continued to question Him as the crowd screamed, “Stone her!”
Finally
He stood up and responded, “If anyone of you is without sin, then let him be
the one to cast the first stone.” Then he knelt back down and continued
writing, never looking up at them again. All you could hear was the sound of
stones hitting the ground one after another, first slowly, then as a low
rubble. The oldest and wisest left first, not wanting their ancient sins to be
revealed. Then the younger ones, seeing that this was no longer the popular
thing to do, left planning to never speak of this event again. The crowd left
also, moving on to the next big thing. Until no one was left, there was no
longer any circle around them, just Him and her.
he
stood and asked her...
“Woman where are your accusers? Does no one condemn you?”
For the first time she breathed and
looked up. Her muscles ached because she had been preparing for that first hit
of the sharp rock against her bare skin. Her eyes caught His eyes. She couldn’t
tell if she was squinting because of the sun behind him or the radiance that
came from him. She looked and saw that they were truly alone. Once again her
mind could not process what was happening. Just seconds before she was about to
be killed. She replayed His question again, “Does no one condemn you?”
“No
one sir”, was her reply. And with that all was silent. She knew in that moment
that He was the Son of God that He claimed to be. She knew that she was a
sinful person. She knew that He would be justified in not only condemning her,
but killing her and damning her to Hell. She was silent, but you could hear her
heart pounding in her chest.
and
then he spoke...
“Then neither do I. Go and sin no more.” With that statement, he
helped her to her feet, covered her in his wrap, looked her deep in her eyes
and kissed her on the forehead. She felt her knees buckle as the weight of
death was lifted off of her.
He
walked away toward town and the temple courts to continue spreading His
message.
she would remember this moment as the first time she truly fell in
love.
we
all deserved death...Labels
We all have taken advantage of Grace. Yet when we come
before the Savior and Lord broken and helpless, He does not respond with anger
and condemnation but with love and mercy. Whether we have failed Him for the
first time or the millionth time, when we come back repentant, His response is
still the same. Because he knew that we would never be good enough. He knew
that we could never save ourselves. That’s why he died on the Cross for us, to
free us from sin and He rose to life to give us life.
in
those five words...
...I find the strength to start again when I fail His plan. In
those five words I am remainded why I love Him so much. In those five words I
am thankful that He loves me. So I challenge you to move on beyond the first
glance of His statement and to see the heart that of the Man who spoke those
words.
In His words you too will find freedom from your sin and the will to
live again.
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