No Condemnation
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If you have your bibles this morning please turn with me to the end of John chapter 7, and John chapter 8 this morning. I have titled this message “No Condemnation”
This text is a unique text for us today. and We have to answer the elephant in the room to address. Depending on what translation you have you may have a bracket around this particular text, or it may just be a footnote in your bible, and there is reason for that.
I want you to listen to myself and a few theologians to help us understand why this is the case.
One man said this… In biblical scholarship, we distinguish between two types of criticism directed toward the Bible. The first is called “higher criticism,” which focuses on the content of the Bible itself. In addition, there is “lower criticism” or “textual criticism,” which is a very exact science by which efforts are made to reconstruct the original text of Scripture as accurately as possible.
So what happens is we have over 10000 manuscripts that date back long ago, some close to time of the New Testament authors, and what scholars will do they will compare these manuscripts to see if there is any errors discrepancies, stuff like that, and by God’s grace mostly all of them are right on with what you see in your bible today, and that is comforting. The errors you do find in many of these texts are often spelling issues. different wording for the same meaning, or sometimes you see a scribe try to make sense of something, explain it a little better, but most of these errors are so small that it impacts nothing the text says…
Another theologian talks about the copies don’t always agree at every detail. With respect to the main substance of Scripture, more than ninety-nine percent is in agreement in all of the families of the copies; it is in less than one percent of the texts in the Bible that variant readings are found. No major doctrine of the Christian church is affected by those variant readings.
This text while it does not have any doctrine issues and the teaching is biblical and provides us a solid lesson is not found in a lot of manuscripts.
If you listen to other scholars they will say that these verses are not found in those early Greek Manuscripts. And no early church fathers spoke of these verse. They pass all the way until verse 12. No one at least written about this until the forth century. And it does not appear regularly in manuscripts until the 10 century.
Where its placed in modern texts is not always where its been. Some put this story in a Luke at the end of Chapter 21. Others put it after John 7:44, or John 7:36, or John 21:25 the end of the book.
Other scholars say that because of the placement in multiple places in John, John is most likely not the author of this story. Never the less, there is little reason to believe this event did not happen, and it teaches us a biblical lesson that there is no condemnation if Jesus frees you from sin! With that being said let us pray, then we will dive into our text this morning.
John 7:53–8:11 (ESV)
53 They went each to his own house, 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.”
For those following along in your bulletin or taking notes this morning, the main point I have for you today is this…
In order to have no condemnation for your sin you must be forgiven of your sin.
Verse 53 seems to be a little bit of an outlier but the mount of Olives is a place where Jesus often visited. Especially before he came to Jerusalem And the temple.
But the text has him going to the temple to teach. During the morning. And he is teaching most likely on the outer court. This is where other scribes would teach their students. And as he was teaching. The scribes and the Pharisees bring this women to Jesus. Who had been caught in adultery. And say to them this women has been caught in Adultery.
For those taking notes, the first point I have for you this morning is this..
The Punishment for sin is death.
The Punishment for sin is death.
Lets look at verse 5-6..
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.
We must understand what the scriptures say about this. What the accusation means.
Lets look together at a few scriptures.
1st..
10 “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
Notice both… But keep that in the back your mind.
22 “If a man is found lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman. So you shall purge the evil from Israel.
Again both, again the punishment of death.
One more Dt 22:23-24
23 “If there is a betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her, 24 then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbor’s wife. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.
and in this case verses 23 and 24 fit what is going on. They said in the law of Moses that they had to stone her for her offences. She deserved death. But so did someone else. And yet we don’t know about this other person.
They said this because they wanted to trap Jesus. The text says to test Jesus.
Jesus either agrees with the law or doesn’t, and the options leave him condemning the girl to death or saying she is innocent.
If he disagreed with the word his credibility would be harmed. Remember Jesus did everything the law said, though he often got accused not doing that very thing, and if he said something wrong he could be accused himself.
But also if he went along with them he could get himself in trouble because technically during the time Jesus was doing ministry on earth. the Romans were the only ones who had the authority to put someone to death even though the law said they could exercise the right to execute justice. But because of their sin though someone else had authority over them.
So Jesus is put in a tough spot. But the reality in this text and for us is Sin is what separates us from God, And the punishment for sin is death, and I hope you seen in this text that Jesus never denies that reality. Because he agrees with it.
Romans 6:23 the first part says… For the wages of Sin is death. This women commited a sin that deserved death. We commit sins that deserve death. Everyone may have not commited this sin of the women but we have all sinned against God, which brings me to my next point…
Sin exposes our need for Christ.
Sin exposes our need for Christ.
Rather than Jesus answering the question first he bends down and he rights in the ground. This is the only place in scripture recorded that Jesus rights down something, and ill get to that in a moment. But like the typical Jews during the ministry of Jesus they press him..
and he stood up and he told them, Let him who is without sin among you, he be the first to throw a stone at her.
Jesus is quoting a few scriptures.
One Dt 13:9
9 But you shall kill him. Your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people.
Second
7 The hand of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.
One scholar said that Jesus’ saying does not mean that the authorities must be paragons of sinless perfection before the death sentence can properly be meted out, nor does it mean that one must be free even from lust before one can legitimately condemn adultery (even though lust and adultery belong to the same genus, Mt. 5:28). It means, rather, that they must not be guilty of this particular sin. As in many societies around the world, so here: when it comes to sexual sins, the woman was much more likely to be in legal and social jeopardy than her paramour. The man could lead a ‘respectable’ life while masking the same sexual sins with a knowing wink. Jesus’ simple condition, without calling into question the Mosaic code, cuts through the double standard and drives hard to reach the conscience.
So he begins to write again on the ground… Jeremiah 17:13 has long been associated with this text.. It says…
13 O Lord, the hope of Israel,
all who forsake you shall be put to shame;
those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth,
for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water.
Often in the Roman courts the judge would write down the verdict before he would announce it. and
I tend to agree with many people that Jesus was writing down the sins of others. Before he read them out loud, And its a possible that he one by one wrote down the deepest darkness sin of these men who were bringing this women to her death.
And these men become convicted so much so that they one by one they left. They knew Jesus was right, knew that they had sinned against God, and man.
They were looking to expose this women in her sin, and they were the ones who ended up being exposed. Let me say that again..
We ourselves must see our need for him, when the world continues to get darker and we see its need for Christ, we ourselves must still see our own need for him, and his grace. Despite others sins.
Which brings me to my third point this morning and its this..
Grace is the cure for sin.
Grace is the cure for sin.
After the scene had cleared, Jesus was left alone with the women before him. And Jesus says this..
10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
Jesus speaks to her not in a rude way, but questions her where are they? Where are all these people who brought you to me? The ones who wanted you dead for your sin.. Has not one of them remained?
Then comes some of my favorite words in scripture comes…
11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
This week I went on a trip to Louisville Kentucky and as I was flying there. Something happened, maybe historically in this country, the mask mandate ended on airplanes and many took there masks off and were relieved to not wear them anymore. It was like a burden lifted. As silly as it seems over the last few years it has for many become sort of a burden. Now on airplanes, in airports you could talk to people see them face to face, breath a little better, not get as hot. It was freedom! It was a small burden removed.
But imagine this women who has a huge burden because of her sin against God and man. Her sentence was a death sentence, There was no way out for her, no chance for life, no chance for grace or forgiveness, and Jesus in the text does not say she is not guiltily of her crimes, of her sin, doesn’t condone the actions. BUT
but he gives her the best news when she asks the women who is there to condemn you? She says no one Lord. And he says the greatest words he can say to someone neither do I!
Jesus Christ offers this grace that literally takes the weight off your shoulders. He takes a death sentence, he takes all this condemnation away from people.and how does he do that you might ask?
Well he took it at the Cross. It isn't like Jesus just said your free to go I don't condemn you, I will just go my merry way no, he died because of her sin if she was truly in him. But even more so, if you are in Christ He died for you! He died for our sin, he died so he can say the same words to you! You are not condemned. I am going to take that punishment that you deserve, I am going to show you this grace that only I can give you. I never like to read into texts.
But there is two guilty parties in this text, the women who was brought before Jesus, and the man who was not present. No one knows who this man was, but in effect Jesus spared him as well. You and I are like the man guilty of sin, guilty before God, and yet he can forgive us as well. so what are you going to do with it???
Believers hear me when I say this.... forgiven people live as though they have been forgiven so when you the person who has been forgiven talk to people about Jesus that are so burdened, so hopeless, so lost you can tell them because of the work of Jesus on a cross. He can lift your burden’s much more so than a mask mandate, but lift the weight of sin off your shoulders. He can give you hope. My wife and I gave a verse to my daughter when she was born. He middle name is hope, and it says in Romans 15:13
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
This is what Christ does! He also saves the lost. Luke 19:10
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
The women lost, and he gave grace. Many in this room were once lost, but he came and found you, and If you believe in Christ you are not condemned. Despite the severity of your sin, despite the fact that you missed the mark! You are not condemned if you are in Christ.
Jesus died for her and for us who are guilty of sinning against God.
If you would turn back with me in your bibles in the gospel of John
chapter. Let's go to verses John 3:16-21
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”
I love this, if you want you want to hear a sermon just about it you can find it on our facebook its titled, “Gods Act of Love” But the main idea of that Sermon was God’s love for the world allows believers to have eternal life…
But in that Text we saw that if you don’t believe in him you are already condemned.. but he came so you may not condemned.
You must answer the question today. Do you believe? Or are you condemned already?
The most important question you will ever answer in your life is that question.
Let me give you a statement when it comes to applying such a text. Its not in your notes, but I would encourage to write it down.. Don't be walking around with the loaded gun of law when you don't have a bomb of grace.. Let me say that again… Don't be walking around with the loaded gun of law when you don't have a bomb of grace..
Let me unpack that idea incorporating what we have learned this morning. The scribes and pharisees brought this women who had sinned again God, and man, ready to stone her, we so often go to others, ready to heave the law and their own un-rightousness against someone, without offering this bomb of grace. A loaded gun can cause a lot of damage, but a bomb can bring healing.
Don’t burden someone with the law without offering something better, the law isn’t bad but it condemns, but grace brings freedom, just like removing a mask, or better yet being forgiven of your sin.
In order to have no condemnation you must be forgiven of your sin, and through Jesus can be.
Not only can you be forgiven you can live a life of sin no more. Jesus told her go, and from now on sin no more.
Romans 6:1 (ESV)
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?
2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
Grace is the cure for sin, and it enables us to live in the newness of life. This is what that means and you have heard me say this before..
17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.
If you are free live for freedom, dont be a slave to the sin that condemns, from your changed heart as we saw last week will flow rivers of living water, and you will become slaves to Christ. and remember..
1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
In order to have no condemnation for your sin you must be forgiven of your sin. That only comes from a realationship with Christ!
Let us pray…