John 8:9-11 (NIV)

At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Jesus had foiled the trap of the Pharisees and teachers of the law. They had insisted that He publicly take a stand in the issue: was the woman they had brought before Him, having been caught in the very act of adultery, to be stoned to death in accordance with the law of Moses (and in defiance of Roman law), or was she to be released out of mercy in defiance of God’s law? The way they saw it, Jesus lost no matter what He decided.

But Jesus surprised and dismayed them. After he had doodled in the dirt, praying and listening the whole time, He finally straightened up and gave His answer: the law said clearly that the woman should be stoned. But the leader who had never sinned himself should be the one to throw the first stone at her. Then He had stooped down and continued His doodling in the dirt while they figured it out.

And figure it out they did. Grudgingly, slowly, one by one, the older leaders first. Each one knew immediately the they had no standing to throw the first stone. They had surely sinned themselves, not just once, but many times. So, each just walked away, wondering how Jesus had done that, until finally there were none left.

That was when Jesus straightened up and, still seated, finally addressed the woman, who was herself shocked at this turn of events. His question was not one of mercy, but of legality. At least two witnesses had to be present to condemn someone of a capital crime, and there didn’t seem to be even one present, a statement with which the woman agreed.

Then Jesus gave His own judgment in the case. Since there were no witnesses, Jesus would not condemn the woman either. But He did not declare her innocent. In fact, both he and the woman knew that she was indeed guilty of that for which she had been arrested. Instead, Jesus, in withholding legal condemnation, was providing a window of opportunity for repentance, not merely being sorry for what she had done, but a real change in direction in her life. So, He warned her seriously, “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

If the woman took Jesus seriously, and out of sincere gratitude changed her ways and stopped sinning, then the mercy she was receiving would lead her to a place of life. But if she ignored His warning, if she simply continued in her accustomed lifestyle, then the reprieve she received would only be temporary. Either she would be caught in sin again and condemned, or she would end up being condemned when she stood before God’s throne at the judgment. Life and death were both being held out to her as options, and now it was up to her to choose.

Father, many see in this event Jesus being soft on sin, or being merciful and saying that her sin didn’t matter, or even forgiving the woman out of hand simply because she seemed sorry for what she had done. But none of that was going on here. Instead, Jesus gave the woman a very serious warning, closely akin to that which He gave to the man he had recently healed at the pool of Bethesda: “Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.” (John 5:14) Thank You, Lord, for mercy and grace, and help us all to heed Your warning, and never take that grace for granted. Amen.