No condemnation

She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more” (John 8:11)

That the Lord Jesus has come not to condemn but to save the world (John 3:17) is that which underlies Jesus’ regard of a person. The Lord Jesus does not condemn an adulteress caught in act. This is the heart of the good shepherd.

She said, “No one, Lord”

1. “She” is a reference to an adulteress caught in act
2. According to the law of Moses, such a person is to be stoned to death (John 8:5, Cf. Deut.22:22)
3. This is where the trap comes in
   1. Jesus would be perceived as someone ruthless if he held the law of Moses literally
   2. Jesus would no longer be regarded as someone credible if he rejected the law of Moses outright
4. What is the alternative left for Jesus?
   1. Jesus awakens their (the questioners’) conscience as to the reality of sin in their own life (John 8:7)
   2. Jesus, seeing all have left the woman, asks her if any of them has condemned her at all (John 8:10)
5. The woman then said to Jesus that none of them had condemned her

Neither do I condemn you

1. Jesus too does not condemn her for her sin of adultery
   1. Not because He does not authority/power to condemn
   2. But because He chooses to forgive
2. This explains why Jesus has come into the world (John 3:16-17)
3. No wonder that there is no condemnation in Christ (Romans 8:1)
4. This is God’s grace of forgiveness, so to speak

Go and from now on sin no more

1. What must the woman do then?
2. She must forget the past – her sin of adultery (“go”)
3. And she must discontinue living in sin
4. One then must be spiritually and morally committed to God’s grace of forgiveness granted in Christ Jesus

Let us learn to imitate Jesus as to how He regards any person, sinful and adulterous.  He seeks to restore them in the spirit of gentleness as well as with a great deal of care, as the Apostle Paul urges us in his letter to Galatia (Gal. 6:1-2).