Neither Do I Condemn You; Go and Sin No More

There is too much condemnation around us. The eyewitnesses are ready and steady, waiting to narrate our sinful tendencies. Those who caught us right in the act stand at the judgment booth. They are waiting for their turn to wash our dirty linen in public. How much we need to hear the judge saying words that will reverse the obvious end we deserve.   

The Jewish Feast of the Tabernacle was around the corner. Jesus was reluctant to be in Judea because those He sought to redeem were planning His funeral. He would rather minister to the Galileans who joyfully received Him.

His brothers, who also didn’t believe in Him, pressured Him to take advantage of the throng in Jerusalem and gain fame through His works. But He declined. Yet when they had gone, He also went to the feast, but not openly. It was not time to attract attention.

In the middle of the Feast, He stood and taught them many things. He met opposition and proposition, belief and unbelief, faith and scepticism. After this, He went to the Mount of Olives, His powerhouse.

It was necessary to seek more strength from the Father. His Ministry was not dependent on fluency and rabbinical exposure but on study, faith and prayer. Having never studied, the Jews marvelled at His knowledge of the letter. In fact, the secret forces sent to arrest Him at the feast came back empty-handed. but with a Testimony that is a standing rebuke to all the deans of hermeneutics. They testified, “No man ever spoke like this man!” 

Early in the morning, He was in the Temple again. The people came to Him, and He sat down and taught them. But as if they were waiting for Him, the Scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery.

The accusers pressed farther, ” Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?”

If indeed the Woman was caught in the very act, where was the Man? If indeed they wanted to Punish her according to the law of Moses, what does the law of Moses say? 

"And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death" (Leviticus 20:10, KJV)

These men were twice in error. They were neither consistent with the law of Moses nor the principles of fairness. This is the reflection of the human yardstick. Those who are quick to accuse others and eager to bring them to justice are often more guilty in their own lives. Men hate the sinner, while they love the sin. Christ hates the sin but loves the sinner. This will be the spirit of all who follow Him.

Their turn on the judgment seat was done. It was time for the Saviour to give His judgment. 

But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He didn’t hear. But when they pressed upon Him, he bade sinless to cast their stones the first. And He stooped once more.

The woman, shaking with forebodings of sudden death, prepared to die, and she waited longer than she expected. They had all gone away under the harassment of cognitive dissonance.

The woman, recovering from apparent shock, opened her eyes. In astonishment, she saw her accusers depart, speechless and confounded. Then those words of hope fell upon her ear, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” This was, to her, the beginning of a new life. A life of purity and peace, devoted to the service of God.

Don’t we all long to hear such words when pressed by the heavy burdens of our sins?

In uplifting this fallen soul, Jesus performed a greater miracle than in healing the most grievous physical disease. He cured the spiritual malady, which leads to everlasting death. This penitent woman became one of His most steadfast followers. With self-sacrificing love and devotion, she repaid His forgiving mercy. 

The Saviour, While He does not palliate sin, nor lessen the sense of guilt, He seeks not to condemn, but to save.

Even unto you, He is saying go and Sin no more. What if the Woman had sinned presumptuously like people do today? What could have been the result? Eternal loss.

Christ does not say, “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin again and come back to me”. Rather, He says, ” Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.”

Tomorrow, Christ may not be in the Temple, and human beings are not as merciful. Go and Sin no more!

“He who bids you go and sin no more, can keep you from sinning anymore “.