Jesus and the Shamed Woman

“Neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” John 8:11
​
Just like yesterday, we have a story of a woman filled with shame being met with the compassion of Emmanuel. The teachers of the law drag a woman caught in the very act of adultery out before Jesus in order to trick him. They trap him between their laws and the Roman law. If he declares her worthy of stoning, he’ll have to answer to the Romans. If he doesn’t tell them to stone her, he’ll have to answer to the Jews for breaking the law. Instead, he bends down and writes in the dirt and says that those without sin should throw the first stone. When he looks up again, the mob is gone and the woman is left standing alone. He evaded their trap and could have gone on his way, but he chooses to interact with her. I imagine her standing in like a bedsheet or with a dress halfway hanging off her. Vulnerable, alone, scoffed at, used by the teachers to trick Jesus, utterly exposed. He looks up at her and talks with her. I imagine his eyes communicating a gleaming love and worth and value that she’s never experienced before. Compassion embodied. His response is grace and truth. He doesn’t comdemn her or condone her actions. He loves on her, showers grace, and shows her the way to proceed…leave the life of sin. How do you imagine her life changed after this horrible and grace-filled experience.

Jesus, thank you for loving us with your grace and not leaving us alone to deal with our messes. Thank you for defending us, for coming along side us. Help us to leave the life of sin that tries to pull at us. We pray for freedom from sin, grace in our condemning thoughts, and compassion in our brokenness. Thank you that with you is mighty power and that you are WITH us!