Walking Away From Sin – John 8:1-20
1 while Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. 5 Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.10 Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, sir.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.”
Jesus the Light of the World
12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” 13 Then the Pharisees said to him, “You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid.” 14 Jesus answered, “Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15 You judge by human standards; I judge no one. 16 Yet even if I do judge, my judgment is valid; for it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. 17 In your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is valid. 18 I testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me testifies on my behalf.” 19 Then they said to him, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” 20 He spoke these words while he was teaching in the treasury of the temple, but no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.
What does the passage say?
V. 1-11 The leaders in the day of Jesus couldn’t stand Jesus. Many things bothered them, but the recognition Jesus had seemed to bother them the most. It says, “Swarms of people came to him” (v. 1 The Message). This was the reason they brought the women caught in adultery. They wanted to see how he reacts. If he let the women go, he will be breaking the law, and if we condemned her, it would turn the people away from him. Jesus doesn’t fall into their understanding of the Law. He later says, “In your Law…” (v. 17 NIV). It shows how they destroyed God’s Law. Going back to the story, he neither tolerate the sin of the women nor condemn her. He forgives her by saying, “Then neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of Sin” (v. 11 NIV).
V.12-20 Jesus says that he is the Light and whoever follows will have this light. His statement troubles the Pharisees and they tell him that his words can’t be backed up since there is no other witness than Jesus’ word. Jesus tells them that he is the only one in this world who can testify on behalf of him since he is beyond the human understanding. He continues saying that God, the Father, can prove, but the Pharisees don’t get it.
What does this mean to me/us
“You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.” V. 19 NRSV
We believe that we live in the light of Jesus. We see God’s promise fulfilled through Jesus Christ. The more we learn and understand about Christ, the more we acknowledge the Love of God, which was projected through his Son.
During the Lent season, we are called to focus solely on Jesus Christ. As our understanding of Christ deepens, we will increase our knowledge of the call and purpose of God in our life.
Are you willing to walk this journey of growing spiritually?
What does this MEAN to you?
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