THE GIFT OF NO CONDEMNATION

Good morning all..I wanted to send out a devotion today that Ray did for our church..it really encouraged me..for those of you from Crosspointe..you may receive this twice. I believe it will truly minister to your hearts. The Lord bless all of you.

THE GIFT OF NO CONDEMNATION

John 8:11
“Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

This is from a familiar bible story where the woman who was caught in adultery was brought before Jesus. Open your mind’s eye to let yourself be an eyewitness to the scene.

The Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery into the temple where Jesus was teaching. “Moses’ Law states that this woman should be stoned to death. What say you?” they said. They were using the Law to try and trick Jesus, knowing that He preached forgiveness as opposed to Moses’ Law that states the woman be stoned to death for the act of adultery.

You then see Jesus not give a response to their question but to stoop down and write something on the ground with His finger. Remember that this happened in the temple and there the ground wasn’t dirt (as most stories and movies depict) but was of made of stone. Who else wrote with their finger on stones (tablets)?

It was as if Jesus was stating: “You question me about the Law, don’t you realize it was I that wrote the Law on tablets of stone”! He then responds by saying: “Ye who is without sin, cast the first stone.” And returned to writing on the ground. One by one they left until it was just the woman and Jesus. He then asks her: “Where are thou accusers”? Has no one condemned you?” She responds: “No one my Lord.” He then says the most important words a believer needs to understand: “Neither do I condemn you. Now go and sin no more”.

This is a great story of forgiveness but there’s more to the story than that what was said or written. Let’s look at the story from the woman’s perspective and how it pertains to us. She had committed a sin punishable by death. The Law’s purpose is to bring someone to the end of their selves. Look where the law took her; into the presence of Jesus! The Law did its work!

Jesus’ response to the Law was just like a school teacher would say to a tutor: “You’ve done a good job up till now, but I’ll take it from here”! As she stood there with Jesus and the Pharisees, When Jesus said: “Ye who is without sin cast the first stone” the Pharisees knew they didn’t qualify. But there was a man present who qualified, a man who was without sin. Jesus Himself! He qualified to be able to cast the first stone, but He didn’t!

Look at Jesus interaction with the woman after the Pharisees left. He never questioned her about her sin. He never let her feel shame from Him. Knowing that He would soon go to the cross and die a horrific death to pay the price for the sins of the world, including hers, He never let her feel the guilt of what’s ahead for Him.

And lastly, please note that Jesus said to her: Neither do I condemn you, NOW go and sin no more. He didn’t say stop sinning and then I won’t condemn you. He gave her the gift of “No Condemnation” FIRST, so she could go and “sin no more”. Jesus does the same for us. The work He did on the cross takes away the shame and guilt of our sin, and the gift of “No Condemnation” gives us the power to “sin no more”! Now, continuing in the story, if we could interview the woman, I think she would say something like this:

2 Corinthians 9:15
“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”