"'Then neither do I condemn you,' Jesus declared. 'Go now and leave your life of sin.'"
(JOHN 8:11)

John 8:1-11
No consideration of “Jesus, Friend of Sinners” would be complete without a look at the story of the woman caught in adultery. By the civil laws God gave Israel, she should have been put to death for her sin. Jesus shocked the religious authorities when He refused to condemn her.


Jesus wasn’t giving her a free pass. He wasn’t dismissing her sin as anything less than the serious offense it was. One of the key points of the Gospel is that God is perfect in His justice; He must punish sin, otherwise He is not a just and righteous God. But at the same time, God is perfect in His mercy. When the Lord revealed His Name to Moses in Exodus 34, He proclaimed His mercy and His justice. This is the Savior who came to meet the woman.


For three reasons Jesus did not condemn her: He was showing the religious leaders that God was instituting a new covenant, not based on the law. He was modeling the mercy He wants us to imitate. And, ultimately, Jesus knew what the others did not – He Himself would one day be condemned in her place.



Scripture Focus

John 8:1-11

Insight

NO OTHER RELIGION HAS THE GOOD NEWS THAT GOD CAME DOWN IN THE FORM OF A MAN TO REDEEM UNWORTHY SINNERS.

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