Irvin Wasswa- Tylertown Campus Pastor LHBC
John 8:1-11
1 but 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 taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
Imagine for just a second you were in the crowd at the temple in the first century when this took place. You see a woman, embarrassed and ashamed, brought to the feet of Jesus. The religious teachers had caught her in the act of sin and their only intention was to bring judgment against her. According to the law (Leviticus 20:10) she deserved punishment for what she did. The religious teachers wanted Jesus to confirm them wanting to condemn her, but instead He put those teachers in check, stepped in and changed the life of the woman! WOW!
Friend, Jesus is still in the business of changing hearts and lives. The story of the adulterous woman is one of many examples in the life of Jesus’ ministry where He stepped into the life of someone who was broken and beat down, and He radically changed her life! The woman in John 8 came to Jesus as an adulterer and left forgiven, free, and loved.
We see Jesus change the woman’s destiny. The religious teachers thought they had every right to stone this woman. She had sinned and deserved death, but Jesus provided grace. HELLO! Aren’t you thankful for the grace of God today? The Bible says that spiritually we had the same plight. Because we too have sinned and fallen short of God’s standard, we deserve hell…. BUT GOD so loved the world that He made a way through Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, that whoever believes in Him will have their destiny changed as well. In Christ we too have been forgiven. In Christ our sins have been washed away. In Christ, our destiny is now dwelling in an eternal relationship with the King of kings and Lord of lords. Hallelujah!
We also see Jesus deliver the woman to walk in freedom. He forgave her transgression, but then called her to walk in the freedom she was given in His statement in vs 11: “from now on sin no more.” In His statement Jesus was not calling the woman to walk in perfection, but rather He was calling her to walk in a new direction. Galatians 5:1 tells us that for FREEDOM Christ set us free. Jesus delivered us from the dominion of sin to walk in freedom and victory. We are not slaves to sin anymore, but free to follow Jesus and live lives which glorify His name. Hallelujah!
Jesus changes EVERYTHING! In light of that truth, may we choose to be people who walk in the new life we have, and choose to be a witness for Jesus because He has the power to change the lives of our friends as well.
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for the freedom that comes from surrendering to You. Help me to walk in this new life, following You and being a witness for you. In Jesus name, Amen!
MEMORY VERSE OF THE WEEK:
Psalm 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.