Devotion - Tuesday, February 7

John 7:53-8:11 contains the story of the woman caught in adultery. The ending of this story is rather well known to us, and often quoted.

Perhaps you have heard, "Let the one without sin be the first to throw a stone at her"?

The crowd is ready to stone her; they turn to Jesus for his consent. So as not to have to look them in the eye (Jesus is not interested in staring anyone down,) Jesus bends over and is doodling in the sand with his finger. He rises, asks his question, and returns to his doodling.

One by one, beginning with the eldest (presumably the ones with sufficient life experiences to understand what Jesus means) they drop their stones and go on their way.

When Jesus looks up and they are all gone, he asks the woman, "Where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go,and do not sin again."

Is there a relationship between the lack of a human accuser and Jesus' actions? If there had been someone willing to condemn her, would Jesus have just as readily jumped on that band-wagon?

I am not trying to suggest that God's actions are determined by our actions. Rather I see in this story another reminder that we are often more ready to condemn than is wise. We are inclined to notice the speck in our neighbor's eye while ignoring the beam in our own.

We find ourselves in a time when the name of Jesus is all too often used to condemn. Are we, in such instances, accurately upholding what our Lord has instructed us to do? Or, are we using Jesus to justify our own prejudices and bigotry?

Jesus seems unwilling to jump on those ever-popular band-wagons. Why are we so eager to jump on them?

Jesus came into the world to save,not to condemn. Why do we use his name to condemn?