Day 52 | Go and Sin No More
May 21, 2015 - WEEK EIGHT
James Tissot, The Adulterous Woman Alone with Jesus, Brooklyn Museum, Purchased by public subscription.
DAILY READING
CONSIDER AS YOU READ
- When, if ever, is guilt a good thing?
- Christ, Messiah, and Light of the World are some of Jesus’ titles. How many others can you think of?
- Jesus had fulfilled all the prophecies. The Jewish leaders surely knew it—why didn’t they believe in Him? If we could offer absolute proof of Christ’s divinity today, how many would still reject Him?
SUPPLEMENTAL READING
There are many lessons to be learned from the story of the Woman Taken in Sin, but one of the most powerful is often overlooked. It used to bother me that Christ gave the woman a free pass: “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” She was obviously guilty. Why no condemnation?
This woman, at the most miserable, shameful, moment of her life, would certainly have willed the earth to open and take her if she could. Yet as the Pharisees left one by one—she stayed. Her tormentors had fled, but she remained. Why? There is a clue in the following verses: “I am the light of the world,” Jesus proclaimed. And another five chapters earlier, “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world” (John 3:16). I believe Jesus did not condemn the woman, because His role is not to condemn but to save the world. His light shines into the darkness, and those who love light gravitate toward it. I believe the woman stayed because in the darkest moment of her life, she saw Light and she chose it. And because she chose the light, her sins could be forgiven; she would carry no condemnation.
So often when we sin, we carry a tremendous load of guilt. But how eagerly does Jesus forgive! How slow He is to condemn! He knows that we will sin, has given us weaknesses that fairly guarantee it. But when we have turned away from our errors and turned toward the light, we are not under condemnation. Why then do we insist on bringing souvenir darkness with us by hanging onto the guilt? (Toni Thomas, Come unto Christ, 2013).
ADDITIONAL MEDIA
FOR YOUNGER DISCIPLES
Please click on stars to view several stories
QUESTIONS FOR YOUNGER DISCIPLES
- Isn’t it amazing how different God’s children are?
- Even though each is “one in a million” what do they all have that is the same?