Readings: Isaiah 43:16-21; Psalm 126; Philippians 3:8-14; John 8:1-11
Grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus be with you.
Last week we had the beautiful story of the prodigal son, who was given another chance. I guess this week we have the story of the prodigal daughter, who was also given another chance.
Early in the morning, Jesus was teaching in the temple after spending the night in prayer. Meanwhile, the Pharisees went to catch a woman in the act of adultery. They had spent the night working on a conspiracy. This is how some people spend their time – they plot evil and think wicked thoughts.
They dragged this woman to Jesus – only the woman and not the man, suggesting that it might be a set-up after all – and they subjected her to public shame. Their target was Jesus and they were simply using this woman as bait. How often do we use people as our tools, as a means to an end?
Then the scribes and the Pharisees asked Jesus whether they should follow the law of Moses and stone the woman (Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22) or should they set her free and break the law?
What a carefully orchestrated plot. If Jesus said they should stone her according to the law, He would be accused of not being a true friend of sinners as He claimed. He would also be violating Roman law, which didn’t permit the Jews to carry out capital punishment without their permission. If Jesus told them to spare her, then they would accuse Him of out rightly violating the law.
Jesus didn’t answer them, instead, He was writing on the ground. Sadly, we don’t know what He was writing. My Sunday school teacher once said that He was writing their names and their sins, something like:
Rabbi Jacob – murder x8, adultery x96, lies x600.
Rabbi Benjamin- Blasphemy x198, idolatry (perpetual), greed (habitual), adultery x135.
While He was writing, He was giving them time to examine their lives but they kept on pestering Him. Jesus looked up and told them, “If there is one of you who has not sinned,” (the Greek word is _anamartetos_), “any of you who has not missed the way, any of you who has not done worse than this woman, any of you who is worthy and not deserving of the punishment you are about to inflict on her, let him be the first to throw a stone.”
Guess what happened next? Well, you heard the story – the accusers began to disappear, beginning with those with the longest years of sin, those with the greatest perception. They knew this man was about to open up something they didn’t want anyone else to see or hear. He was about to display their sins on their foreheads, and so they left. On that day, the only true judge judged the unjust judges.
I like to even appreciate their honesty and wisdom here. Some people today would keep on pretending and forming untrue righteousness before God.
The gradual departure of the accusers signifies their acknowledgment of personal guilt. This act of leaving one by one suggests a moment of introspection and realisation of their own unworthiness to judge. It reflects the broader biblical theme of self-examination before judging others (Matthew 7:1-5).
The Bible says Jesus was left alone with the woman.
This phrase emphasises Jesus’ unique sinlessness and authority. As the only one without sin, He alone is qualified to judge. This moment foreshadows His role as the ultimate judge of humanity (John 5:22-27) and highlights His divine nature.
Jesus now looked at the woman, not with disgust, fury or condemnation but with compassion and love. There was no longer any accuser to condemn her, the jury was dismissed. Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you, go away, and do not sin anymore.”
Take note, Jesus didn’t condemn the woman but nor did He excuse her sins. Our world today excuses sin. Jesus didn’t dismiss adultery; it is a very terrible sin, but God condemns sins and not the sinner. He corrects, forgives and restores sinners.
Even though she was caught in the very act of adultery, she was not condemned – why? Because Jesus took her condemnation upon Himself. She was not punished because Jesus took her/our punishment upon Himself (Isaiah 53:4).
Jesus saw that there was more to her than her sin (some people can’t see past the weaknesses and failures of others). Jesus saw her contrition, He saw the repentance that had taken place in her heart, He saw beyond her past and He gave her a chance for a new life.
This is where the words of St. Paul in the Second Reading fit. He says:
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Jesus sees us beyond our past, so we should also move beyond it, to the new life and future of grace that Jesus promises us.
This is what God did to Israel in the First Reading of today:
‘Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I am doing a new thing;
Jesus took away this woman’s past and gave her a new identity. Like today’s Psalm, what happened to her was like a dream – she was potentially dead but brought back to life by grace. This again is what God wants to do for someone today.
By telling her to go and sin no more, Jesus didn’t give her a task that she couldn’t fulfill. He gives us the grace to do whatever He asks us to do. He gave her the chance to become a new person, while at the same time supplying the needed grace.
What a powerful story.
Here are some of the messages for today.
I. Jesus’ handling of the situation emphasizes mercy over legalism. As followers of Christ, we are encouraged to extend grace and mercy to others, recognising our own need for the same.
II. This is not just a story of something that happened about 2,000 years ago; this is the story of what God is still doing and wants to do right now.
Dear friends, no matter our sins, if we truly repent, God will forgive us and give us a new chance, a new life, just as the father gave to the prodigal son and Jesus gave to this hitherto condemned woman.
III. When we are forgiven, we are given a mandate not to go back into a life of sin but to become a different person.
The question is- What are we doing with God’s mercy and the grace to become new?
How do we show that we are grateful for being forgiven and that we do not take God’s mercy for granted?
IV. This parable also warns those of us who love to judge and condemn others to ask, how worthy are we to be casting stones at others?
Why should we pick stones to throw at others when Jesus throws forgiveness and grace at us?
We are all imperfect (Second Reading), and the farthest we can go is to charitably correct weak and imperfect people like us, not to disgrace or cast a stone at them (Ephesians 4:2, Galatians 6:1).
Lord Jesus, thank you for not condemning me, for giving me the chance to become new, to live a better life, for forgiving my past. Give me the grace not to go back into sin again but to grow in a new life of grace and to face the future with a new spirit. Having been forgiven and saved from condemnation, may I spread your message of merciful love and not go about judging and condemning others, Amen.
Sermon preached by Fr Emmanuel Baraka-Gukena Okami on April 6, 2025.