Grace Greater Than Sin

August 1, 2016

Grace Greater Than Sin

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: 10-11

The most ancient Greek manuscripts do not include John 7:53–8:11. Even so, the account of Jesus and the woman “caught in the act of adultery” (John 8:3) is entirely consistent with the character of Jesus revealed in all four Gospels. In this episode the religious leaders manufactured an incident in an attempt to paint Jesus into a corner. Would Jesus condone sin and thus prove he is not the Messiah, or would he side with the law and risk alienating the masses? Jesus chose neither option. Instead he demonstrated that as the Messiah, he did in fact have the wisdom of a true King. (Like that of King Solomon when he famously settled the issue between two women of who was the true mother of the child. (1Kings 3: 16-28)

When Jesus told the woman he did not condemn her, he was saying he forgave her. He was not saying her sin did not matter. He was saying his grace was greater than her sin. To receive his grace, and to live in his grace, meant that she would go forth with an ambition to sin no more.

Today’s passage reveals two truths important to our growth in Christ. First, the light calls for a response. The religious leaders recognized, if just temporarily, that because of their sin, they were not in a position to judge. The woman recognized her sin and was given the opportunity to turn away from it.

The religious leaders also revealed the nature of evil. For as much as there are people who embrace the holiness, goodness, mercy, love and grace of God’s presence with us, there are others who choose darkness over light. Chapter 8 begins with the religious leaders wanting to stone to death a woman. Jesus intervened and both the woman and the religious leaders got an opportunity to step back and examine their lives. We don’t know for sure what life changes the woman may have made, but the religious leaders made no change in the direction of their lives. Chapter 8 will end with these same religious leaders wanting to stone Jesus to death.

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.