Have you ever been filled with so much guilt and shame over your sin that you wondered how God could ever forgive you?
I know I have.
Several years ago, I went through a season filled with severe shame over the temptations and sins I was struggling with. I was drowning in guilt and the depression that came with it. I was consumed by my failures and shortcomings, and I would rehearse them over and over in my head, day in and day out until I began to question God’s mercy, God’s love, and God’s forgiveness. How could a righteous, all-powerful God show me mercy? How could a holy, all-knowing God love me? How could a just, sovereign God forgive me, especially when I continued to sin daily?
I’m sure you’ve had one of these seasons. All Christians do at some point during their journey of faith. How can we overcome this shame that threatens to suffocate us, this guilt over past (or present) sin? We can discover this answer in John 8, where Jesus encounters a guilty, shame-filled woman.
In John 8, we find that Jesus is sitting in the temple early in the morning, teaching those who had gathered around him (v. 2). All of a sudden, chaos ensues as the Jewish religious leaders, who are often described in Scripture as the scribes and the Pharisees, drag a woman into the temple who had committed a serious crime.
“The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, ‘Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” John 8:3-5, ESV
In today’s day and age, committing adultery and being unfaithful to one’s spouse is not uncommon, let alone illegal. But to the ancient Jews, adultery was a serious crime that required a serious punishment. Their Mosaic Law prescribed that adulterers ought to be given the death penalty, which in some cases, meant stoning (Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22, 24). Now, stoning wasn’t just a couple of school bullies throwing some pebbles at you. It was a crowd of people hurling heavy rocks at someone until they were essentially crushed to death.
The scribes and Pharisees were not actually interested in punishing the guilty woman. Scripture tells us that they brought this woman to Jesus in order to test Him (v. 6). You see, if He said, “Yes, this woman ought to be stoned for her disobedience to the Law,” He Himself would be guilty of breaking Roman law, which says that only the Romans can execute someone within Roman-occupied land (Israel was occupied by Rome during Jesus’s life and ministry). However, if Jesus said, “No, we should not stone this woman for her crimes,” He would be perceived to be breaking the Law of Moses and condoning adultery. This isn’t the only time Jesus’s opponents attempted to trap him and make him guilty of sin and blasphemy. But Jesus, who knew the thoughts and intentions of their hearts, always had the perfect response.
“And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, ‘Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” John 8:7
We all know that everybody—even the holiest of saints—sins. The Jews knew this, too (that’s why they had to make sacrifices all the time). But the very act of them dragging this poor woman into the temple was a deliberate act of sin. How so? As I said earlier, God is a just and righteous God. He does not condone someone being executed based on rumors and suspicion. In the Law, God instituted a legal procedure that required at least two or three witnesses to testify to a person’s sin or wrongdoing (Deuteronomy 19:15). This is not what happened in the temple that day. No witnesses came forward. No evidence was presented. It was essentially a mistrial that was fueled by sin.
One by one, the woman’s accusers were convicted of their grave sin and left the temple until the only two people left were Jesus and the woman.
“Jesus stood up and said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” John 8:10-11
Although Jesus is omniscient and knew every single sin, both big and small, that this woman had ever committed, He did not condemn her. After all, because there were no witnesses, there was no legal basis for her to receive punishment for her alleged crimes. And perhaps Jesus looked into her heart of hearts and saw that the woman was desperate for redemption, longing for freedom, ready for a new life. Instead of scolding or belittling her, he gave her a gracious exhortation: “Go and sin no more.”
Jesus acts the same way towards us. Sinning is an inevitability for us in this lifetime. Paul knew this well. In Romans 7, he greatly expresses his frustrations with his sin nature and lack of obedience (vv. 18-20). Our sins and our apparent lack of self-control in avoiding them can leave us feeling frustrated and ashamed. But Jesus does not shame us for our sin. He doesn’t scold or belittle us. He doesn’t shun us. Jesus graciously draws near to us. There is no condemnation for those who are in Him (Romans 8:1).
Now, we should not observe Jesus’s acts of grace towards this woman and towards us and think, “Oh, it doesn’t matter what I do; Jesus will still love and accept me.” Many people will read of the time Jesus spent with prostitutes, tax collectors, and a variety of other kinds of sinners during His earthly ministry and think that somehow Jesus didn’t really care about what they did. But Jesus did not just sit with these people and accept them for who they were. No, He always called them to leave their sin and to live in righteousness. He called them to, “Go and sin no more.” Jesus gives us the same call. We are not to continue sinning so that grace may abound (Romans 6:1-2). We are to go and sin no more, and if we continue to deliberately be in sin, we must question if we have truly submitted to Christ as the Lord of our lives. The late theologian J. I. Packer once wrote,
“It is not possible to be in Christ and at the same time to embrace sin as a way of life.”[1]
While this story of Jesus’s encounter with this sinful woman is incredibly encouraging, it’s also incredibly humbling. It serves as a reminder that everyone—every single one of us—is a sinner. It reminds us that we can’t be quick to cast stones upon another because their sins are no greater than ours. All sins deserve judgment, but praise God that He sent His Son to pay for our sins, to die in our place, and to take on the judgment we clearly deserve. Jesus drew near. And He continues to draw nearer and nearer to us throughout our faith journey until we one day walk beside Him in eternity.
Perhaps you are in a season of struggling with shame. Perhaps you are plagued with guilt over your sins. Perhaps you have never turned away from your transgressions and submitted yourself to Christ. If this is you, turn to Christ today. You never know when your day of judgment will be. Jesus loves you, He cares about you, and He draws near to you. Repent of your sin, believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and let His grace, mercy, and forgiveness wash over you.
Go and sin no more.
[1] J. I. Packer, Concise Theology (Wheaton: Crossway, 2020), 193.
