Lessons on Forgiveness from Jesus and the Woman Caught in Adultery

Grace and truth came through Jesus.

> At the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus hinted that He was God, the source of living waters. He also hinted that He was the One who wrote the Ten Commandments with God's finger.

> What was He writing on the ground with His finger?

> John, who likes to give details, does not tell us what He wrote. But a scripture from a prophet gives us a clue. Jeremiah says, and God replies:

> “O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who forsake You shall be ashamed. Those who depart from Me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters.” (Jeremiah 17:13).

> Surely, the scribes and Pharisees knew this scripture well, so it should have hit them hard.

> Then, following Jeremiah's words, Jesus made them ashamed. When they kept asking Him if the woman caught in adultery should be stoned:

> “He raised Himself up and said to them, ‘He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.’ And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.” (John 8:7-8).

> Holding Captivity Captive

> They got the message and felt ashamed.

> They came with one plan: to trap Jesus. But they ended up in the trap they set. David’s psalms were fulfilled:

> “They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down; they have dug a pit before me; into the midst of it they themselves have fallen.” (Psalm 57:6).

> “He made a pit and dug it out, and has fallen into the ditch which he made.” (Psalm 7:15).

> The accusers of the woman were hypocrites. They must have all sinned in some way. Some might even have been adulterers themselves.

> Jesus knew everything about them. He knows that:

> “There is none righteous, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10).

> When they came asking for a miracle from heaven, Jesus called these same scribes and Pharisees part of an adulterous generation. He said:

> “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” (Matthew 12:39).

> So, it is quite ironic. Adulterers were accusing others of adultery. The pot was calling the kettle black.

> Paul says to self-righteous Israel, and to us:

> “You who say, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ do you commit adultery?” (Romans 2:22).

> So Jesus challenged them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at this woman.”

> The accusers quickly realized that they were not in a position to throw a stone at her. They were all sinners.

> If anyone claimed to be without sin, he would be in trouble. Jesus might have told him about the sins he committed just the day before.

> Do you remember the Samaritan woman Jesus met at Jacob’s well? Jesus told her she had had five husbands, and the man she lived with wasn’t even her husband. Surprised, the woman told her neighbors:

> “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” (John 4:29).

> Yes, indeed! Jesus knew everything about this woman’s accusers, and their sins were probably worse than hers. So He warned His disciples:

> “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” (Luke 12:1).

> “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20).

> Reverse Gear

> The woman’s accusers were confused. Their conscience got to them. They all left, defeated, with their tails between their legs.

> I wonder what they said among themselves after leaving:

> “So Clarus, what were your own sins?”

> “Shut up, Gringory, who doesn’t know in Israel that you have been sleeping with the women who come to you for counseling?”

> “Abi, you think we don’t know?”

> Only one person could throw a stone at this woman. That person was Jesus, the only one who “committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth.” (1 Peter 2:22).

> But Jesus, the righteous, did not say she should be stoned. He didn’t condone her adultery either. Instead, He turned to her and asked:

> “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” (John 8:10-11).

> This is because:

> “God did not send His Son (Jesus) into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:17).

> Paul also confirms this:

> “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made us free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:1-2).

> Jesus warns the redeemed:

> “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” (Luke 6:37).

> The Gospel of Salvation

> This story about the woman caught in adultery is one of the strongest examples of salvation in the Bible. This woman’s sin was not a secret. She was caught in the act. She did not deny the accusation. She did not even ask for forgiveness. Still, Jesus chastised her accusers and did not condemn her. He wrote on the ground with God’s finger.

> The first time with Moses, Jesus wrote the Ten Commandments on stone tablets with God’s finger. His writing was engraved in stone. But this time, Jesus wrote with God’s finger in the dust on the ground.

> His message to the woman’s accusers, and even the woman’s guilt, was written in the dust and could be easily erased. Or the wind could blow and wipe it away.

> “For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children, and to those who remember His commandments to do them.” (Psalm 103:11-17).

> So, we can see why John says:

> The law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” (John 1:17).

> The abundant grace of God was shown to this adulterous woman. Jesus told her, “Go, and sin no more.” That grace was also available for her wicked accusers.

> Paul was a Pharisee. He came from the same background as the woman’s accusers. He was a stone thrower. Many people died under his watch. Still, Paul received God’s mercy and became the greatest apostle. He testifies:

> “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.” (1 Tim 1:12-16). CONCLUDED.