Jesus
was all about change. The status quo
was persona non grata. From calling
his disciples to leave their lives behind; to his new way of looking at the
law; to the Sermon on the Mount where he introduced a radical new worldview, Jesus changed the world. The woman caught in adultery – a pawn in the
Pharisees’ attempt to trick Jesus – was told to leave her life of sin.
The
world is not just quick to condemn Christians for being judgmental, they seem
to take joy in finding us being intolerant. Well, good for them. I am
intolerant of sin because Jesus is. Judgmental? It’s an overused,
misused, and abused word. The woman was caught
in the act of adultery (assuming her accusers aren’t being caught in the
act of lying) – what’s to judge? Maybe you think there’s nothing wrong with
adultery. Isn’t that a judgment?
Read
the whole passage concerning this poor woman’s mock trial, in verses 3-11.
Listen to what Jesus did and didn’t say.
· He didn’t say that what she did was not sin.
· He didn’t say what an awful person she was.
· He did say, in the absence of accusers, that he didn’t condemn her either.
· He did say to leave her life of sin.
If
we regard sinners the way Jesus does, the world will still criticize and
accuse. But when Jesus says, “I don’t condemn you; leave your life of sin,”
he’s talking to me, too. And I’m okay with that. Go ahead and call me
judgmental.
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