This is one of those passages in the NIV that is difficult to give a definitive application to. Your Bible may preface the passage (7:53-8:11), with something like, [The earliest manuscripts and many other ancient witnesses do not have John 7:53–8:11. A few manuscripts include these verses, wholly or in part, after John 7:36, John 21:25, Luke 21:38 or Luke 24:53.] However, there is a reason that some translations of the Bible include this text: It is not inconsistent with the character of God, the nature of Jesus, or contradictory to the rest of scripture. It seems to fit the surrounding context and the context of John’s Gospel. There is a beautiful truth that lies beneath this encounter…
The very God who judged the world with a flood, crushed Sodom and Gomorrah, sent an Angel of Death and buried the Egyptians in the Red Sea, the same God that met the people of God at Mount Sanai in fire and thunder, is the same God whom, as Jesus, kneels down to write something in the sand, calls the religious to face their sin, and tells this woman, “Then neither do I condemn you,” - “Go now and leave your life of sin.” In some ways this is another sign, another miracle in the Gospel of John that proves Jesus’ deity, calls for belief, and points the way to life. Even greater so, than the turning of water into wine, the healing of a dying boy, the feeding of the five thousand, walking on a stormy sea, or all of them combined, can compare to the mercy and grace that Jesus extends by the words, “then neither do I condemn you”.
The same miraculous words echoed again as Jesus hangs on a cross between two criminals. We’ll never be able to fully understand this mystery of grace, only able to receive it and believe it. As Jesus hangs to die, he tells one of the criminals, “today you will be with me in paradise.” Having done nothing to merit this eternity, Jesus extends it to those who believe. It’s with this heart of mercy and grace that Jesus reaches out his hand to save us (broken, wayward, disobedient, undeserving, adulterous, liars, selfish, prideful, and sinful people), but also to call us to repentance and command us to follow him. Mercy from God calls for a life unto God. “Go now and leave your life of sin”. If I am worth dying for, then HE is worth living for. If we are worth the price paid for grace, then HE is worth all of our days. It’s encounters like these that remind us: 1.) We are just as deserving of Hell as the worst of sinners. We should examine our own lives and surrender our own hearts before throwing stones at others. Instead, we should lovingly confront and call others to a life of holiness and introduce them to the sweetness of God’s mercy and grace. 2.) We should remember all that we have received from God, his life on a cross for our sin, and that ought to create a change that makes us want to live for him!
The very God who judged the world with a flood, crushed Sodom and Gomorrah, sent an Angel of Death and buried the Egyptians in the Red Sea, the same God that met the people of God at Mount Sanai in fire and thunder, is the same God whom, as Jesus, kneels down to write something in the sand, calls the religious to face their sin, and tells this woman, “Then neither do I condemn you,” - “Go now and leave your life of sin.” In some ways this is another sign, another miracle in the Gospel of John that proves Jesus’ deity, calls for belief, and points the way to life. Even greater so, than the turning of water into wine, the healing of a dying boy, the feeding of the five thousand, walking on a stormy sea, or all of them combined, can compare to the mercy and grace that Jesus extends by the words, “then neither do I condemn you”.
The same miraculous words echoed again as Jesus hangs on a cross between two criminals. We’ll never be able to fully understand this mystery of grace, only able to receive it and believe it. As Jesus hangs to die, he tells one of the criminals, “today you will be with me in paradise.” Having done nothing to merit this eternity, Jesus extends it to those who believe. It’s with this heart of mercy and grace that Jesus reaches out his hand to save us (broken, wayward, disobedient, undeserving, adulterous, liars, selfish, prideful, and sinful people), but also to call us to repentance and command us to follow him. Mercy from God calls for a life unto God. “Go now and leave your life of sin”. If I am worth dying for, then HE is worth living for. If we are worth the price paid for grace, then HE is worth all of our days. It’s encounters like these that remind us: 1.) We are just as deserving of Hell as the worst of sinners. We should examine our own lives and surrender our own hearts before throwing stones at others. Instead, we should lovingly confront and call others to a life of holiness and introduce them to the sweetness of God’s mercy and grace. 2.) We should remember all that we have received from God, his life on a cross for our sin, and that ought to create a change that makes us want to live for him!
Posted in Devotional