29^th January

“Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, ”Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” “No Lord, “ she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. GO AND SIN NO MORE.” 

John 8:1-11 (NLT)

Have you ever heard about the idea of the judgemental pointing finger? Every time you point a finger at someone, look at your hand. There are three fingers pointing back at you. Although this has a humorous undertone, there is a truth in that picture that’s highlighted in this story.

As we talked about yesterday there was only one person without sin and only one who had the right to judge and throw a stone at the adulterous woman: Jesus Christ! Yet He didn’t. He didn’t condemn the woman; instead He showed immense grace and mercy. However He didn’t leave it there. He leaves her with the most powerful words in this story, “Go and sin no more.”

The ‘GO’ symbolises a complete pardon from the sin…. It’s almost like Jesus is saying, ‘you are forgiven, Go, you’re a free woman’. He then says, “Sin no more”. This is an even deeper statement. When Jesus forgives us He wants our lives to be radically transformed though the power of the Holy Spirit. Repentance is walking in the opposite direction to the way you were living. God does have an unlimited resource of love, mercy and grace but He also will not be mocked. He wants our lives to change. In fact when we are saved, we become a NEW CREATION. Just as he commanded this adulterous woman to change her lifestyle, so He does with us.

When we think about what work Jesus has done in our lives and how much He has saved us from, when someone else does wrong to us, instead of pointing the judgemental finger or picking up the condemning stone to throw, remember the same measure of forgiveness you have been shown, is the same measure you should show to others. GO AND SIN NO MORE!