No More

One of my favorite stories about Jesus is the one where those meddlesome scribes and Pharisees bring him the woman caught in adultery.  Found in John 8:1-11.

Jesus is in Jerusalem, teaching in different places.  Everyone is going to listen to him.  The Pharisees and their ilk were upset with this.  Right before this story takes place, they had sent guards to bring him in.  The guards were so blown away by what Jesus said that they couldn't do it.  It almost feels like a, "These aren't the droids you're looking for," type moment.

Then one of their own a guy named Nicodemus points out that their custom is to hear out people before judging them.  The others start insulting him by saying, "Are you from Galilee too?!"  I kinda get the feeling that Nazareth and the Galilean area was kinda like the "Jersey Shore" of Israel in the day.  I mean even Nathanael (one of the disciples) says, "Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?"

But I'm getting of topic.  Sticking to form, the Pharisees try to trip Jesus up in some theological-legalistic trap.  While Jesus is teaching in the temple they bring a woman "caught" in adultery before him.  I'm not an expert in the law, but the fact that they bring her into the temple like that seems kinda fishy...but I digress.

They flaunt the Law at Jesus.  "Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women (those caught in adultery.) So what do you say?"  I can almost hear them being sarcastic with that last bit.  You've got to love what Jesus does next.  He bends down and starts writing in the ground.  When he seemingly didn't hear them, they just keep barking about it.  Eventually he stands up and say, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her."  And he goes back to his writing in the ground.

The movie The Passion of the Christ portrays this very simply and with out the dialogue.  At this point of the story it shows the Pharisees dropping stones and walking away.  In the extreme foreground you see Jesus' sandaled foot as his thumb traces across the ground in slo-mo.  Then we see the woman's trembling hand reach out toward him.  It's very moving and powerful.

John's gospel wraps it up like this.  After Jesus goes back to writing in the sand the second time, the Pharisees all begin to leave, starting with the older ones.  Soon "Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him."  I don't know why, but I like that she is standing.  I get the feeling she might have been a little proud or haughty, and was not weeping and trembling on the ground.  But that is just me.  Jesus says to her, "Woman, where are they?  Has no one condemned you?"  She replies, "No one, Lord."  See right there, she knew something was different about him.  If she didn't when she came in, she did then.  The Pharisees called him "teacher," she calls him "Lord."

The best part of this story happens now.  I kind of get the feeling that she is still standing looking at Jesus, who is still writing on the ground.  He says to her, making eye contact for the first time, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more."

Sin no more.

Not, "When you sin ask for forgiveness," or "Try your best, when you mess up come and see me."  No he says; go and sin no more.  I don't condemn you.  Go.  Stop it.

It is an incredible gift.  It is the same gift he gave to each and every single one of us.  We just have to choose to accept it.  And get this, it's not a gift that he take back from us anytime we sin after that.  It's not a game.  For most of my life I played that game.  It wasn't until recently that I realized I was playing by myself.  Jesus wasn't passing my forgiveness back and forth like a game of catch.

Go, and from now on don't sin anymore.  Stop it.  He took away the sins of the world.  So let them be taken away.  Stop grabbing them again and again.

Just go, and from now on sin no more.  He believes in us.  He believes in you!

Sin.  No.  More.

grace, peace + hope
-Jesse