In John 8, we see an incident where the Pharisees and scribes tried to undermine Jesus by bringing to Him a woman who had been caught in adultery.
The Pharisees hated Jesus because He was upsetting their power structure. Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom (which John the Baptist had been preaching); this was a new message from that of the Law. He preached that mankind was not saved by their works but by God’s grace and that God loved them. That’s a message that set people free from having to go to the Pharisees for salvation (through animal sacrifices, etc.).
So, the Pharisees tried to find a way to trick Jesus so they could condemn Him according to the Law. They found a lady caught in adultery and threw her down before Jesus, telling Him what she had done. If Jesus admitted she broke the Law, then the Law determined she was to be stoned to death. All of Jesus’ preaching about grace and the love of God would get discredited if that happened.
But Jesus didn’t fall into this trap; He raised the conversation to a whole new level by lighting up (giving revelation) concerning the Old Covenant. He really revealed the heart of God.
A New Revelation of Grace
“For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” – ROMANS 6:14
What was written later in Romans, Jesus already knew. He had that revelation and was introducing people to the law of Grace. The law of Grace was going to supersede and transform any other law. It was going to set a new standard in which to operate under.
Jesus was teaching the crowds about this. He was just about to reveal the Light when the Pharisees came on the scene and demanded that Jesus look at the adulterous woman’s sin (action).
Note: Grace demands that you look at the sacrifice made to pay the price for that sin. It’s the goodness of God (Romans 2:4) that leads people to repentance; it’s not the judgment or bitterness or anger of God. Goodness turns people’s hearts to Him. It gives them that radical mind shift to stop seeing themselves as sinners and instead see themselves as saints.
Jesus took a moment, reflecting on what the Pharisees said, but then responded to them and the crowd, “He who is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone at her.” He basically said, “If you want to judge someone’s sin, then judge your own.” Nobody there could have said they were sinless.
Ultimately, the crowd and Pharisees faded away. Let’s look at the scripture at this point.
“When Jesus stood up again, there was no one there except the woman. So, Jesus asked her, ‘Where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ She answered, ‘No one, Lord!’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Neither am I condemning you; go and sin no more – never again believe a lie about yourself!’ And Jesus continued to say, ‘I am the Light of the world. Whoever journeys with Me shall not walk in darkness but will radiate the light of life!’” – JOHN 8:10-12 (MIRROR)
In Jesus’ eyes, her actions didn’t define her; her actions could not condemn her.
In the past when I’ve read Jesus words “go and sin no more” (as an action), I saw that as something impossible. Even though Jesus told her to sin no more, she was probably going to sin again. But the last part of that sentence is the critical identifier of what Jesus was talking about. See, sin isn’t just what one does or what one doesn’t do…sin is believing a lie about yourself.
“Sin isn’t just what one does or what one doesn’t do…sin is believing a lie about yourself.”
Sin is not believing what God says about you to be true. That issue goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. When God told Adam and Eve not to eat of the fruit from the tree, God wasn’t keeping something from them; they were already so much like Him they didn’t need anything else. Sin came when they believed Satan’s lie about themselves that they weren’t like God.
Satan came in and said (Genesis 3:4), “the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God…”
This is the root of all sin: To believe a lie about yourself. The actions are a byproduct of it.
When Jesus told the woman “go and sin no more”, it was entirely possible to do so if she chose to never again believe a lie about herself. That applies to us as well.
“So, Pastor John, are you saying you’re never going to do anything wrong?” No, I most likely will. But when I do, I will say, “No, God, that’s not who I am. I choose to believe what you say about me over what that says about me. So, I thank You You’ve set me free from that; I don’t have to do these things. I can follow You.”
It’s removing the sin consciousness.
We see that same mindset with Simon Peter (Luke 5) when Jesus blessed him with a miraculous huge catch of fish. Simon Peter said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” He couldn’t receive it because he wasn’t worthy of such a bountiful catch. He was okay not receiving something that he’d worked and labored and toiled hours for, but it was harder for him to accept a free gift…a blessing that would set him free from his mindset of “what you earn, you get.”
Simon was accepting his fate under the Law, both blessing and curse. But Jesus came to say, “I’ve taken on all the curse, which leaves only blessing for you.” If Jesus took on all the curse, guess how much of the curse I have to take on? Zero.
Jesus was setting an example here that it wasn’t up to Simon Peter; it was up to Jesus.
Ultimately, Jesus looked beyond Simon Peter’s actions and invited him to follow Him. Simon Peter had a choice. He could continue to look at his actions or trust Jesus, believing what God said about him. He forsook the lie and followed Jesus.
To listen to the message from which this post was based (September 20, 2020), click here.
