Today's Scripture
John 7:52-8:11 A Second Chance
52 They replied, “Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.”
[[53 Then each of them went home, 8 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.”]]
RJ's Devotion
What the passage says
V. 1-6 There is much skepticism about Christ’s authority. Now the Scribes and Pharisees bring a woman, who committed adultery to test Jesus. They wanted to bring charges to Jesus
V. 7-9 Jesus does not say a word about the situation, instead, he invites others to look at their own limitations.
V. 10-11 Then Jesus extends the grace to the women with an important clause. “Go your way, and from now on do not sin” (v. 11 NRSV).
What does the passage mean to me/us?
Whenever I read this passage, I wonder what Jesus might have written on the ground. Even though it is not the focus of this passage, it just makes me curious. Some people say that Jesus was writing down all the sins of the people, who brought this woman to Jesus. This depicts how great God’s love is. Even though God knows all our sins, God is forgiving. God invites us to come to God, so we can be forgiven.
It brings us to the point of this story.
We are not to judge others, nor point out the sins of others. Adultery was a serious violation of the law. It is not that the law was to be demolished, but instead, Jesus shows the real reason of the law. It is to point us to righteousness, so we can repent and not live in the sinful ways. Repent has a meaning to turn our action away from sin, which also has a meaning of ‘missing the mark’; failing to live according to God’s will.
The purpose of our life is to live according to God’s purpose. Do we see our shortcomings, instead of others, so we can turn away from our failures to fulfill God’s will and get back on track?
Prayer
Lord, help us to see our shortcomings, instead of others. When we focus on our sins, may we also see your everlasting grace.
Help us to be people who lead others to forgiveness, instead of condemnation.
In Christ Name, we pray, AMEN
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