JOHN SHIRK – From John 8, verses 10 and 11.

Jesus asked a woman caught in adultery, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

“No one, sir”, she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you. Go, now and leave your life of sin.”

This woman must have thought her life was coming to an end as her hidden sin of adultery was exposed in public. The religious leaders used this opportunity to try to trap Jesus. Their main goal was not to find fault with the woman, but Jesus. They said to Jesus, “The Law of Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”

Jesus responds by writing on the ground, and then saying, “If any of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”

No one threw a stone at her. The woman was spared the death penalty. Jesus was offering her a pardon from her past, and freedom for her future. In a world of sin, Jesus teaches us to abstain from finger-pointing blame and to confront sin with grace. The evidence of our sin gives us no platform to condemn another person. Just like with the woman caught in adultery, the forgiveness Jesus offers is an opportunity to turn from our sin and follow Him with a pure heart.  Isaiah 30:15 says, “In repentance and rest is your salvation.”

Repentance is a vital sign of a changed life in the Year of Transformation.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com