Jesus seemed to have made an exception that day in the temple. Committing adultery is an offense against one of God’s Ten Commandments. It is such a grave fallacy that in the Old Testament, the adulterer and the adulteress were both condemned to death (Lev 20:10). But Jesus asked the woman, "Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more" (Jn 8:10-11).
How many times have we done something inexcusable in the eyes of God? Are our deeds so black that the wall between God and us has become unbreakable? The woman stood before the Pharisees and scribes ready to end her ragged life. No one was willing to offer her a second chance. On the contrary, everyone was more than eager to cast her away from their midst. No one saw any hope for her. She felt hopeless herself.
At times the feeling of utter hopelessness can choke the very being out of us and we seem only to wait for our fated end. At this moment of the adulteress's life, there seemed to be nothing more she could lose. But it was also at this critical moment that the Lord Jesus embraced her wrung-out life saying, I will not condemn you, go and sin no more. Relief slowly eased the knots in the woman's heart. Finally, she thought, my life is in order. God is in control. There is hope.
The Lord will also make this exception for us today on the grounds that we regret our past with a contrite heart and resolve to sin no more. As God once again graces our lives we can celebrate the comfort in spirit and exclaim, "O Lord, I will praise You; though You were angry with me, your anger is turned away, and You comfort me. Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; for YAH, the LORD, is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation" (Isa 12:1-2).
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