Judge Not, Lest You Be Judged

ENCOURAGEMENTS: April 14, 2022

This section in the book of John shows the true compassion Jesus has on those He came to save. It's also a beautiful illustration of the phrase, "Judge not, lest ye be judged":

John 8:2-11

At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again, he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.

Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

"No one, sir,” she said.

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

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Sometimes, it can be so easy to look at the sin of others and point out everything they're doing wrong. But why do that when we're just as sinful? There's no caliber or ranking of sin in God's eyes. Whether you tell a lie or kill someone, it's all equal in His eyes. Jesus gave the Pharisees a simple challenge: "If you are sinless, go ahead and throw a stone." They realized that they, too, had sin in their lives and weren't in any position to stone a woman who had a more outward sin.

In addition, Jesus' compassion on this unnamed woman is so incredible. She acknowledges she has sinned, and He shows her His love and mercy by offering her the free gift of salvation: to go and leave her sin behind. He sets the example of how we Christians ought to love the sinner, but hate the sin.

Remember, no matter what you have done in your life, we have a loving Father who will forgive our sin if we ask for it. Hope you have an amazing Easter weekend!