The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 6 March 2024 – Neither Do I Condemn Thee
TOPIC: Neither Do I Condemn Thee
READ: John 8: 1-11 (NKJV)
- But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
- Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.
- Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst,
- they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.
- “Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?”
- This they said, testing Him, that they might have [something] of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with [His] finger, as though He did not hear.
- So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”
- And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.
- Then those who heard [it,] being convicted by [their] conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest [even] to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
- When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”
- She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
The MESSAGE:
It is a popular saying that ‘to err is human, to forgive is divine.’ This was true of a woman who was caught in the act of adultery and brought to Jesus. The question that would come to mind was ‘why was the man she engaged in the act with not brought to Jesus too?’ The Scribes and Pharisees only brought the woman to tempt Jesus: Either to contradict Moses (Lev.20:10) and be condemned as a false prophet or to condemn the woman to death and be accused of usurping Roman authority. Jesus answered them that the one among them who was sinless should first cast a stone at the woman. Some think that Jesus was not condemning adultery but the idea was that since none of her accusers stayed to condemn her, He was not going to pass a sentence on the woman.
Jesus came to save men and not to destroy them. So, forgiving the woman and any other person who repents and turns from sin, was part of Jesus’ obligation. However, this is not a license for us to continue to sin against God. Anyone who sins shall surely die. As Christians, we should not take the patience of God for granted; we must remember the command that all men everywhere should repent (Acts 17: 30).
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, give me the grace to live above sin all the days of my life, Amen.
