Forgiveness
Dear Reader, we find the carpenter in a trap set by his adversaries.This is recorded in John chapter 8. It is known as the account of the woman caught in adultery.
Her accusers are breaking their own law, bringing only one guilty party for justice instead of both people involved in this affair.
Jesus is not fooled, nor is he caught by their attempts.
He goes on to speak to the woman, once he has dealt with her accusers.
"When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 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 8:9-11
While we can see Jesus final statement as a warning to avoid the issues that brought her to his feet, I think there is more at stake.
If we understand the gospel, we come to realise we were created perfect but fell from this position.
Trapped in sin, and without God's Spirit, humanity exists in a place of slavery, unable to make choices, we have no freedom to "not sin."
So used to this position, we often become accustomed to it and fail to recognise it's presence, we do not notice our own fallen state.
Encounters with the carpenter reverse this. A follower of the Carpenter realises that Holy Spirit is returned to them and that now they have the choice, to sin or not!
In this encounter, Jesus foreshadows his work on the cross, his aim for all humanity played out in the very public trial of this woman.
Her guilt, like ours, is not in question, she has sinned.Jesus response is to offer a statement of freedom to her. He offers to her what he now offers to those who follow him, the choice "to not sin."
Dear Reader, wherever you find yourself today, if you are out of God's will repent and turn towards him, and then you too will "go and sin no more"
Her accusers are breaking their own law, bringing only one guilty party for justice instead of both people involved in this affair.
Jesus is not fooled, nor is he caught by their attempts.
He goes on to speak to the woman, once he has dealt with her accusers.
"When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 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 8:9-11
While we can see Jesus final statement as a warning to avoid the issues that brought her to his feet, I think there is more at stake.
If we understand the gospel, we come to realise we were created perfect but fell from this position.
Trapped in sin, and without God's Spirit, humanity exists in a place of slavery, unable to make choices, we have no freedom to "not sin."
So used to this position, we often become accustomed to it and fail to recognise it's presence, we do not notice our own fallen state.
Encounters with the carpenter reverse this. A follower of the Carpenter realises that Holy Spirit is returned to them and that now they have the choice, to sin or not!
In this encounter, Jesus foreshadows his work on the cross, his aim for all humanity played out in the very public trial of this woman.
Her guilt, like ours, is not in question, she has sinned.Jesus response is to offer a statement of freedom to her. He offers to her what he now offers to those who follow him, the choice "to not sin."
Dear Reader, wherever you find yourself today, if you are out of God's will repent and turn towards him, and then you too will "go and sin no more"
Comments