Dear friends of the word! What a moments must that had been?! Catched at commiting adultery and draged to Jesus. She knows: at that time she is expecting a death sentence. To be stoned! Her life will be over only in a few hours! What a need! And then these many people! They are watching so curious and so self-righteous. “How can you do something like that?” they might have thought. “Something like that must been punished very hard...otherwise everything gets weaking!” others will be added. So she is standing there, guilty – extradited – fearly shaking – naked from the views and words of the others.

August 2009

And those who draged her to Jesus, want to let Jesus walk into the trap. Does He rely to the law – and then He must confirm that the woman has to be stoned – or does He stand – with an amazing grace – to the woman and therefore against the law? Then it is done with Jesus. An entangled, faitful, tragical situation.

Jesus sees the guilt of the woman. But He also sees the spitefulness of some of the Pharisee and scribes. With a big intelligence He shows them a mirrow and says: “The one who is without any guilt should throw the first stone!” So is gives back everybodys own responsibility for his own life. Jesus knows everything about anybodys heart. Noone throws any stone because everybody knows: even my life is full with guilt and sin. Even my life is dark with a secret of love! And then the woman finds herself back with all of her guilt beyond the view of Jesus. Alone because the others went away. He asks her: “Has nobody condemned you?” And then she is allowd to go away, without being condemned. But she hears the commission: “Don’t do it anymore!”

Dear friends of the word, how often do we condemn others! With our thoughts and words – if it is right or wrong! With Jesus we learn not to condemn anybody – without darken the truth. He doesn’t condemn! But there where the guilt and sin are getting big His love even gets bigger. This love gives more space to breath, this love gives us courage to turn around – not the verdict.
Don’t matter how big the guilt is that hurts us, the love of Jesus is even bigger to change it into a new beginning. Jesus doesn’t condemn, but He loves infront of the guilt even more. Don’t let us condemn, but let us give this one love that makes breaches into the wall of guilt and encourages our hearts to a new beginning.

For the OnWordTeam
Meinolf Wacker