For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life

 

 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."  

 

Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."  

 

Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"  

 

Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 

 

"Do not marvel that I said you, 'You must be born again.'  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.  So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."  

 

Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?  Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.  If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?  No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  

 

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  

 

"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

 

- John 3:1–21 

 

On Saturday, we read that the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business.  When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables.  And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away!  Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!"  Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up."  So the Jews answered and said to Him, "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."  Then the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?"  But He was speaking of the temple of His body.  Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.  Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did.  But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.   

 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."   Today the Gospel gives us a faithful man of the Pharisees.  As the text tells us, this means he was a ruler of the Jews, part of the religious leadership in the temple.  My study Bible comments on these first verses that Nicodemus believed that Jesus was from God, but at this point, his faith is still weak, as he is afraid of his peers, and so therefore came to Jesus by night.  After this conversation, Nicodemus' faith will grow to the point of defending Jesus before the Sanhedrin (John 7:50-51) and finally he will make a bold public expression of faith by preparing and entombing Christ's body (John 19:39-42).  In the Orthodox Church, his memory is celebrated on the third Sunday of Pascha (Easter) together with the Myrrhbearing Women and Joseph of Arimathea (who was also a prominent member of the Council and a wealthy man).  According to some early sources, my study Bible says, Nicodemus was baptized by Peter and consequently removed from the Sanhedrin and forced to flee Jerusalem.

 

Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."  Regarding the term born again, the word translated as "again" from the Greek literally means "from above."  It clearly refers to the heavenly birth from God through faith in Christ (John 1:12-13).  This heavenly birth is baptism and our adoption by God as our Father, my study Bible says (Galatians 4:4-7).  This new birth is just the beginning of our spiritual life; the ultimate goal is entrance into the kingdom of God.  

Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"   Nicodemus misunderstands, and so asks about being physically born a second time.  These types of misunderstandings are frequent in John's Gospel (John 2:19-21; 4:10-14, 30:34; 6:27; 7:37-39; 11:11-15).  These become opportunities for Christ to elevate an idea from a superficial or earthly meaning to a heavenly and eternal meaning.  

Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."  The birth of water and the Spirit is a direct reference to Christian baptism, and the gift of the Holy Spirit which is given at chrismation.  This is a spiritual birth by grace, through faith, and in the Holy Spirit, and thus adoption as a child of God (see Titus 3:4-7). 

 

"Do not marvel that I said you, 'You must be born again.'  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.  So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."  Here there is a play on words.  In the Greek of the Gospel, the Greek word πνευμα/pneuma means both wind and Spirit.  The working of the Holy Spirit in the new birth, my study Bible comments, is as mysterious as the source and destination of the blowing wind.  Similarly, the Spirit moves where the Spirit wills, and cannot be contained by human ideas or agendas.  

Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?  Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.  If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?  No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven."  My study Bible cites St. John Chrysostom, according to whom earthly things is a reference to grace and baptism given to human beings.  These things are "earthly" in the sense that they occur on earth and are given to creatures, although they are spiritual in nature.  The heavenly things referred to here are the ungraspable mysteries of the eternal generation of the Son from the Father, and they relate to the Son's eternal existence before all time and to God's divine plan of salvation for the world.  My study Bible comments that a person must first grasp the ways in which God works among human beings before one can even begin to understand the things that pertain exclusively to God in God's identity.

 "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."  In Numbers 21:4-9, we read that Moses lifted up an image of a serpent in order to cure the Israelites from deadly bites of poisonous snakes.  This was a miracle-working image, which, as Jesus indicates here, prefigured Christ being lifted up on the Cross.  As believers behold the crucified Christ in faith, my study Bible says, the power of sin and death is overthrown in them.  Just as the image of a serpent became the weapon that destroyed the power of the serpents, so the instrument of Christ's death becomes the weapon that overthrows death itself.  

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."  My study Bible comments that to show the reason the Son must be crucified (or "lifted up" as He refers to it in the preceding passage),  Jesus here declares God's great love not only for Israel but for the world.  This single verse, cited quite often, expresses the whole of the message of John's Gospel, and, my study Bible adds, of salvation history.

"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."  My study Bible says of this passage that, while Christ came to save and not to condemn, human beings have free will.  So, this gift can be rejected; and a person effectively be condemned through one's own rejection.  

What is salvation?  One must consider all the ways in which we come to understand how salvation works.  There is first of all Holy Baptism, of which today's passage speaks.  This is baptism with both water and the Holy Spirit.  We recall that John the Baptist baptized with water, but not with the Holy Spirit, and his was a baptism of repentance in preparation for the coming of the Messiah (the Christ).  Baptism with water is a type of symbolic burial and rebirth; to be submerged is to take off the old life, and rise up out of the waters of sin, to repent and to seek another way.  But to remit sin, to "put away" sin, is the property of God in the person of Jesus Christ.  Through the grace of the Holy Spirit, we are given the capacity to become children of God, and to be transformed into those who may enter the kingdom of God.  So to be reborn in the Spirit is a process of faith, a transformation throughout our lives so that we may be saved in that sense -- to enter into this quality of eternal life.  These are indeed mysteries of God, but they are "earthly" in the sense that they have been given to us, and through the life of the Church and its saints, through the experience of countless faithful, grace has played a role that we know and can experience and see.  Again, we revisit the words of Christ, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God" (Luke 18:27).  To be baptized in Holy Baptism is therefore a tremendous gift, made possible through the life, death, and Resurrection of Christ, and the grace freely given to us all.  But we remain free to reject this salvation, and to lose it.  Let us remember, everything is given to us from God's love, which Christ lives and enacts throughout His ministry.  Let us receive His way to the life He offers to us. 

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life

 

 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."  Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."  Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"  Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.  So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."  

 

Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and do not know these things?  Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.  If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?  No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  

 

"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.  He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."

 

- John 3:1-21 

 

On Saturday, we read that the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business.  When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables.  And he said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away!  Do not make My Father's house a house of merchandise!"  Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up."  So the Jews answered and said to Him, "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?"  Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."  Then the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?"  But He was speaking of the temple of His body.  Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them, and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said.  Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did.  But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man. 

 

 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.  This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."  John's Gospel makes it clear to us that not all of the Pharisees, and not all the members of the Council (Sanhedrin), were antagonistic to Jesus.  My study Bible says that Nicodemus believed that Jesus was from God, but his faith was still weak.  As we can read, he was afraid of his peers and therefore came to Jesus by night.  As we will read in future chapters in this Gospel, Nicodemus faith following this conversation with Jesus will grow to the point of defending Christ before the Sanhedrin (John 7:50-51), and eventually he will make a bold public expression of faith in preparing and entombing the Lord's body (John 19:39-42).  In the Orthodox Church, Nicodemus is commemorated together with the Myrrhbearing Women and Joseph of Arimathea.  My study Bible notes that according to some early sources, Nicodemus was baptized by Peter and consequently removed from the Sanhedrin, and forced to flee Jerusalem.  

Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."  In terms of the phrase born again, the word "again" in the Greek (ἄνωθεν/anothen) can also be translated "from above."  My study Bible says that it clearly refers to the heavenly birth from God through faith in Christ (John 1:12-13).  This heavenly birth is baptism and our adoption by God as our Father (Galatians 4:4-7).  My study Bible comments that this new birth is just the beginning of our spiritual life, with the goal being entrance into the kingdom of God.  

Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?"   In what we will come to see as characteristic of John's Gospel, Nicodemus misunderstands, and so asks this question about a second physical birth.  Misunderstandings occur frequently in John's Gospel (see John 2:19-21; 4:10-14, 30-34; 6:27; 7:37-39; 11:11-15), and are ways to help us to grasp the concepts Jesus conveys, often needing to use metaphor.  As my study Bible puts it, these opportunities are used by Jesus to elevate an idea from a superficial or earthly meaning to a heavenly and eternal meaning. 

 

 Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' "  Here Jesus "fleshes out," so to speak, the idea of baptism, and our adoption as a child of God (see John 1:13).  My study Bible reminds us that to become a child of God is a spiritual birth by grace, through faith, and in the Holy Spirit.

"The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.  So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."  This is a play on words:  the Greek word πνεῦμα/pneuma means both wind and Spirit.  The working of the Holy Spirit in the new birth is as mysterious and unknown to us as the source and destination of the blowing wind.  Likewise, my study Bible says, the Spirit moves where He wills and cannot be contained by human ideas or agendas.  

Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?"  Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and do not know these things?  Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.  If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?"  According to St. Chrysostom, earthly things is a reference to grace and baptism which are given to human beings.  These are earthly in this sense; not that they are "unspiritual," but in the sense that they occur on earth, and they are given to creatures.  The heavenly things, my study Bible explains, involve the ungraspable mysteries of the eternal generation of the Son from the Father.  They relate to Christ's eternal existence before all time and to God's divine plan of salvation for the world.  It says that a person must first grasp the ways in which God works among human beings, before one can even begin to understand things that pertain exclusively to God.

"No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life."  Moses lifted up an image of a serpent in order to cure the Israelites from the deadly bites of poisonous snakes (Numbers 21:4-9).  This miracle-working image, my study Bible tells us, prefigured Christ being lifted up on the Cross.  As believers behold the crucified Christ in faith, the power of sin and death is overthrown in them.  Just as the image of a serpent was the weapon that destroyed the power of the serpents, so the instrument of Christ's death, it says, becomes the weapon that overthrows death itself.  

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."  To show the reason why the Son must be crucified ("lifted up" -- see above), Jesus declares the great love of God not only for Israel, but for the world.  This single verse, my study Bible says, expresses the whole of the message of John's Gospel, and even of all salvation history.  

"He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.  But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God."  My study Bible explains that while Christ came to save and not to condemn, human beings have free will.  Therefore we are free to reject the gift of God -- but one is effectively self-condemned by one's own rejection of this light, a preference for spiritual darkness (John 1:4-5).  The word "condemn" here in Greek also means to "judge."

Today's reading is incredibly packed with spiritual concepts to begin to understand.  How does baptism work?  How are we born of both water and the Spirit?  Why must it be this way?  How do we become born again into a spiritual life of adoption as children of God?  Jesus uses the image of being "born again" -- with its context of a word meaning both "again" and "from above," so that we begin to grasp concepts that are truly mysterious in the ways that we can.  He moves forward to explain to Nicodemus, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."  And moreover, this birth and the workings of the Spirit are as unknown to we human beings and as mysterious as the origin and destination of the wind that blows.  And Jesus moves from this expression of the work of the Spirit among us (that is God the Holy Spirit) to His own identity as Son:  Jesus Christ, the unique Son of Man, is from heaven and has come down from heaven, but to be "lifted up" upon the Cross.  That is, He, heavenly being, Second Person of the Trinity, will be lifted up to an earthly death -- so that as Moses with the image of the serpent defeated the sting of the serpents, Christ will defeat the sting of death (1 Corinthians 15:55).  There is an interesting ancient component to this wisdom, in that the Greek word for "poison" also means "medicine."  In our understanding of the Son of Man who comes from heaven to be lifted up on the Cross, to transfigure and transform human earthly life, so He "remits" the poison and venom of the sting of death through His heavenly power to heal.  That word is φάρμᾰκον/pharmakon, from which is derived a similar word that contains the meaning of scapegoat, once thought as a means of purging society of its ills.  In the raising of Christ on the Cross, all three of these meanings are present in some sense -- but with the additional understanding of the Son of Man who comes from heaven, and has the ultimate power to save and to heal everything.  Even as falsely accused and sentenced -- the One who was sinless -- Christ's more potent power, as the "stronger man" (see Luke 11:20-23), works to reconcile and heal all to itself, turning an instrument of cruelty into one of salvation for the whole world.  And this love of God is so all-encompassing and powerful, so absolute over all, that it saves not just the world as we know it, but the entire κόσμος/cosmos (which is the word translated as "world").  That is, the whole universe, the entire created order.  The fullness of this mystery is, once again, beyond what we from an earthly perspective can understand and belongs to God, but God's love we can understand, and we can return in faith, in trust -- in the love we return to God.  If we want to understand, in broad strokes, the character of God and of the light, it is to love (1 John 4:8); while the darkness is cruel and malicious (as seen in demonic behavior in the Gospels).  This is the fullness of the light we're asked to embrace and invited to participate in, by grace in turn illuminating us and filling us with that light.

 

 

He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first

 

 And everyone went to his own house.

But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.  Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.  Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery.  And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.  Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned.  But what do You say?"  This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him.  But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.  So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."  And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.  Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last.  And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.  When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours?  Has no one condemned you?"  She said, "No one, Lord."  And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."

 

- John 7:53-8:11 

 

 In our current readings, Jesus is attending the eight-day Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem.  It is the now the final year of His earthly life and ministry.  Yesterday we read that on the last day, that great day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.   Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."  Others said, "This is the Christ."  But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?  Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"  So there was a division among the people because of Him.  Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.    Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?"  The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."  Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."

 

 And everyone went to his own house.  But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.  Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.  Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery.  And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.  . . ."  My study Bible tells us that this story of the woman caught in adultery is not found in several ancient manuscripts.  Neither is it covered in the commentaries of st. John Chrysostom and certain other patristic teachers.  But nevertheless, it says, it is still sealed by the Church as inspired, authentic, canonical Scripture, and it bears the same authority as all other Scripture.  In the Orthodox Church, it is read on one of the two days when St. Mary of Egypt, a reformed prostitute, is commemorated.

". . . Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned.  But what do You say?"  This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him.  But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.  My study Bible says that the law dictated the death penalty for adulterers (Leviticus 20:10).   But at the time of Jesus, this ordinance was not observed to the letter.  This particular woman was brought to Jesus by the Pharisees simply because it was an opportunity to test Him.  If Christ objected to the punishment, then He could be accused of opposing the Law.  If He upheld the punishment, then He could be accused of showing no mercy ot sinners.  My study Bible further comments that this is the single place in the New Testament where Christ wrote something.  There are several theories which exist as to what it was He wrote.  Some suggest that He wrote out the Ten Commandments, which all the accusers had violated at least once.  Others say He wrote the names of the accusers who had themselves committed adultery.

So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."  And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.  Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last.  And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.  When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours?  Has no one condemned you?"  She said, "No one, Lord."  And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."   Christ's answer is confounding to the Pharisees, in that He upholds a great principal of the Law here -- that the wages of sin is death (Genesis 2:17, Romans 6:23) -- but without neglecting its greater aspect of mercy (Deuteronomy 13:17, Psalms 117:2-118:4, Hosea 6:6).  My study Bible emphasizes that this mercy is offered freely to all repentant sinners.  In order for us to receive this gift, we must in turn flee from sin, as Jesus tells the woman, just as He has previously said to the paralytic He healed.

 

 It's interesting to me that the Gospel tells us that Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.  As the scribes and Pharisees continue to ask Him for His response, He tells them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."  And then again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.  There is nowhere else in any of the Gospels (or, as my study Bible points out, any of the New Testament) where it's indicated that Jesus ever wrote anything.  Clearly, if He's writing with His finger on the ground, this will also not be any sort of written statement left for posterity.  (Can one imagine if He did leave such a thing for us?)  No, clearly, this writing is only meant for a certain person or persons, and we have no idea what He did write.  But if we link up this noteworthy moment where we're told Jesus writes twice with other things we read in the Gospel, we are given a picture of Jesus that shakes us from the image of the itinerant preacher and the people who are His disciples.  First of all, He's clearly literate.  In Luke's Gospel, He reads the Scripture in the synagogue in His hometown of Nazareth.  When He stands to read on the Sabbath, He's handed the scroll of Isaiah.  He finds the specific place where He can read the following, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."  And He makes this announcement to His hometown:  "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  (See Luke 4:16-30.)  It's not clear where or how His learning came or if He received training in a religious school, but we do know He is not simply an average member of the "people of the land" such as the fishermen who are His disciples, or so many others who  become believers.  In stooping down to write, Jesus, poetically enough, shows us that He is, in fact, on the level of the educated ones, the Pharisees and scribes of Jerusalem in the temple.  He has their skills and education, and moreover, we could say in the tones of American slang, He also "has their number."   He knows "where they are at," He knows what they are up to, and He knows them and their lives.  He is every bit up to the skill of debating and verbal skirmishing they can bring to Him, and He gives the perfect response that stops the trap they've set for Him:  "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."   We don't know what it is He stooped to write on the ground, both before and after this statement, but whatever it was, He was quite effective.  One by one, from first the oldest and down to the last, they are convicted by their conscience, and go out one by one until only Christ is left with the woman.  In the law as it was written, both the man and woman caught in adultery are supposed to be punished.  Perhaps we should assume that what Christ wrote had something to do with that missing man, and the circumstances in which the woman was brought to Him.  We don't know.  But what we do understand is that Christ is on everyone's level, and that they are no match for Him -- not in human skills and learning, and certainly not in terms of His insight and divine knowledge.  Neither are they a match for His mercy and His justice.  At this present time, we can look around ourselves and see a lot of figurative stone throwing.  Vilification and cancel culture, character assassination and insinuation are made the norms of the day, with more censorship to come of "wrong" opinion and statements.  It seems that, for many, pointing a finger at someone else really does seem to exclude or erase one's own sins, or perhaps to hide them.  Most of this is done today on social media, and it seems doubtful that -- without Jesus around face-to-face -- anyone pauses long enough to be convicted by their conscience regarding their own fallibility or past errors and sins.  We who are among the older crowds of the population should probably be the first to consider our own behavior, if the Gospel -- and real experience -- is anything to go by.  And again, we have to ask ourselves, who is setting this example today?  There is a lot of scolding of others to go around, but it hardly seems that the humility (and wisdom)  to reflect first is very popularly practiced.  Perhaps we should all be convicted by our consciences if we realize that we might be more hard-hearted than even the Pharisees and scribes we read about in today's reading.  On the other hand, it is a reminder that we need to hear Christ's words now more than ever, especially if we are tempted to join in the condemnation.

 

 

 

 

Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more

 And everyone went to his own house.  But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.  Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery.  And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.  Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned.  But what do You say?"  This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him.  But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.  So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."  And again He stopped down and wrote on the ground.  Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last.  And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.  When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours?  Has no one condemned you?"  She said, "No one, Lord."  And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more." 

- John 7:53-8:11

Yesterday we read that, on the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.  Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."  Others said, "This is the Christ."  But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?  Has not Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"  So there was a division among the people because of Him.  Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.  Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?"  The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."  Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."

 And everyone went to his own house.  But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.  After the tumultuous events in the temple, all depart for the evening, and Jesus spends the night with the pilgrims, on the Mount of Olives.

Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.  Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery.  And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act."   Today's entire reading, from 7:53 (above) to the story of the woman caught in adultery, is not found in several ancient manuscripts.  Neither is it covered in the commentaries of St. John Chrysostom and certain other Patristic writers.  But, my study bible says, it is still sealed by the Church as inspired, authentic, canonical Scripture, and therefore bears the same authority as all other Scripture.  This story is found in over 900 manuscripts.

"Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned.  But what do You say?"  This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him.  But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.  My study bible tells us that the law dictated the death penalty for adulterers (Leviticus 20:10).  If we read the law carefully, we note it stipulates the death penalty for both parties, not just the woman.   My study bible adds that this ordinance was not observed to the letter at the time of Jesus.  The Pharisees bring this woman to Him simply because it was an opportunity to test Him.  If Jesus objects to the punishment, He can be accused of opposing the Law.  If He upholds the punishment, He can be accused of showing no mercy to sinners.  Interestingly, this is the single place in the New Testament in which we're told that Jesus wrote something.  There are several theories regarding what He wrote.  Some say that He wrote the Ten Commandments, which each of the accusers have violated at least once.  Others say that He wrote the names of the accusers who had committed adultery themselves.

So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."  And again He stopped down and wrote on the ground.  Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last.  And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.  When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours?  Has no one condemned you?"  She said, "No one, Lord."  And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."  My study bible says that Jesus' answer confounds the Pharisees, as He upholds a great principle of the Law -- that the wages of sin is death (Genesis 2:17, Romans 6:23) -- but without neglecting its greater aspect of mercy (Deuteronomy 13:17, Psalms 116:2-117:4, Hosea 6:6).  This mercy, my study bible tells us, is offered freely to all repentant sinners.  But in order to receive that gift, we must make the effort to flee from sin, as Christ commands in the final verse.

It's interesting to observe that Jesus is, in some sense, the God of second chances.  He is our Lord of mercy, but He does not cease to preach "go and sin no more."  He does not say that what she did is fine, He simply refuses to condemn, and teaches her that she must change her conduct.  These things form a delicate balance, which some people frequently find difficult to grasp.  "Mercy" is construed as something the opposite of "justice."  But this simply isn't the case.  One doesn't leave the other out.  Rather, they are part and parcel of one another.  What Christ does here is illustrate our lives as a continuum, in which we are called to learn and to grow, in which we are constantly called back to God, to the place where we need to be, the road we need to be on.  These are our "second chances," and they don't neglect the weighty matters of spiritual law.  Instead, they give us a kind of roadmap, a place to find our way, the GPS of God, if you will.  Our Lord always calls us back, but neither does He make excuses -- instead He holds us accountable for the things of which we are capable, for the "better behavior" that He knows we must accept to live and to make a part of our lives in this world.  Over the course of the past three readings, we have observed how John's Gospel concerns itself with matters of justice, of good judgment, of righteous judgment.  Here, Jesus shows righteous judgment not only by not condemning this woman and giving her a second chance, but through some mysterious factor sending those away who are also not without sin.  Modern ears such as ours may view this law which gives a death penalty for adultery as extreme and bad on its face.  But let us not forget that my study bible tells us that even in Christ's time it wasn't enforced.  And certainly it included the same penalty for both parties engaged in adultery -- and where is the man with whom this woman is accused of committing the crime?  Noticeably absent, and perhaps one of the men in the crowd at that.  Quite possibly the entire episode is one which is deliberately "set up" in order to trap Jesus in the first place.  As Jesus does not pronounce the woman entirely innocent of committing adultery, we might presume she was someone rather notorious or known for such -- and in such a case, Jesus' giving her a second chance adds an even deeper meaning to His notion of justice.  For if this woman indeed is an adulterer (which Jesus certainly seems to acknowledge as true), He is giving to her a road out of the habitual pattern of her life.  He's offering to her a way to set her own life straight and out of the grip of sin.  Thus, His refusal to condemn is also a refusal to pigeon-hole, to set her in a place where she has a permanent label of adulteress.  He gives her new life, exactly as He has promised in His sermons that He has come to bestow on all, if we but grasp it and take hold of His way.  And that is the real story here about righteous judgment, that we each have a way out of our habitual patterns, the labels we put upon ourselves or which others put upon us.  Our Lord is the God of second chances, the One who does not turn away, who offers us a way out, if we will but grasp the mission, the effort, the life and commands He places before us.  Let us note, in keeping with modern phrases regarding justice and judgment, that this is not a "Get Out of Jail Free" card.  Jesus doesn't give easy excuses or free passes.  Instead, He gives new life, a second chance, a new way to go forward.  He offers us a map for salvation, a plan, because we are not capable of designing such roads and maps ourselves.  He gives us what we need most, a "way," as in "I am the way, the truth, and the life" (14:6), in which way is translated from the Greek word which also means road or path.  Christ's justice does not bypass the law nor sin, but neither does it neglect mercy.  It offers us second chances, and His call or command to "Follow Me" must be understood as always calling us back to His way, which He has described as straight and narrow (Matthew 7:14).  This is the path we seek and follow, calling us back to Him -- the One who is both the path and the door (10:7).  Let us find and seek His way to righteous judgment, and the life He offers which is always new (Revelation 21:5), and through which we are always called forward.

Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

 But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke:

"Lord, who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?"

Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again:

"He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts,
Lest they should see with their eyes,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them."

These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.

Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. 

Then Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me.  And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.  I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.  And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.  He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him -- the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.  For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.  And I know that His command is everlasting life.  Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak."

- John 12:37-50

In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught as He spoke in the temple:  "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say?  'Father, save Me from this hour'?  But for this purpose I came to this hour.  Father, glorify Your name."  Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again."  Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered.  Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him."  Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.  Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.  And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."  This He said, signifying by what death He would die.  The people answered Him, "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'?  Who is this Son of Man?"  Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you.  Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.  While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light."  These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.

 But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke:  "Lord, who has believed our report?  And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?"  Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again:  "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them."  These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.  My study bible cites St. John Chrysostom here, who says that Isaiah's prophecy doesn't mean that God causes spiritual blindness in people who would otherwise have been faithful.  It notes that this is a figure of speech which is common to Scripture, revealing that God gives people up to their own devices (as in Romans 1:24-26).  It adds that what is meant by He has blinded is that God has permitted their self-chosen blindness (compare Exodus 8:15, 32 with Exodus 10:20, 27).  They did not become blind because God spoke through Isaiah, but it is rather that Isaiah spoke because he foresaw their blindness.  Isaiah . . . saw His [Christ's] glory in about 700 BC (Isaiah 6:1) and spoke of Him in many places throughout his lengthy prophecy.

Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.   These rulers, according to St. Chrysostom, are truly the worst of slaves, because they are enslaved by the opinions of men, rather than honoring the truth they know, which is of God.  It keeps them from leading as God would have them lead.

Then Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me.  And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.  I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.  And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.  He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him -- the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.  For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.  And I know that His command is everlasting life.  Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak."  My study bible notes that Christ does not judge with favoritism or partiality.   It adds that He has spoken the words of life, words of love, forgiveness, repentance, virtue, and mercy.   These words of His will be the standard by which all are judged on the last day.

Let us note carefully Christ's connection with the Father.  It is an unconditional connection of power, authority, and truth.  Jesus doesn't even speak about His own authority, except to condition it upon the authority conveyed by the Father -- and most particularly by the words given to Christ from the Father to reveal to human beings.  This is not simply a truth that one would read about in a book, a principle, something learned in a science class.  This truth exists in a spiritual level, and remains true for us on all levels.  Its source is absolute, from the One who is Creator of all things and origin of all things.  It appeals to us, therefore, from levels so deep within each of us that we can't name where they are or why the words appeal to us, or do not.  This is spiritual reality, a depth of reality that goes beyond the "opinions of men."   Jesus taught the disciples earlier, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life" (6:63).  The words of life have their value, impact, and meaning precisely because they are spirit and they therefore are life.  They come from a place beyond what we know, rooted in our very existence and creation -- before all things were made (Colossians 1:16-17).  Let us consider, then, what judgment means, which is what Christ refers to here.  Judgment comes from our rejection of what is so deep within us that we can't understand nor know its source.  When we choose mammon (materialism) over God, then we reject the words of life and we choose instead only the surface of life.  We ignore our deepest connection to the love that gives us life and plants love in our hearts.  We have this very real choice, this capacity for cutting ourselves off from what is good and true -- that which makes life worth living, gives grace and beauty and love.  Each of us has this capacity.  But it is our choices that render the judgment Christ is speaking about here; it is our rejection of life that terminates our relationship to His words of life.  We can cast these things of great depth and value away for the simplest of reasons:  personal greed, the gratification of following the "opinions of men," or any other sort of worldly vanity or materialist perspective.  But consider what we are throwing away.  This is what Christ tells us, and if we are in such a place then we are surely blind and walking the wrong way.  Let us consider His words and what makes life most precious, without which we lose even what we have.

Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more

 And everyone went to his own house.  But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.  Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.  Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery.  And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.  Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned.  But what do You say?"  This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him.  But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.  So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."  And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.  Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last.  And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.  When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours?  Has no one condemned you?"  She said, "No one, Lord."  And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."

- John 7:53-8:11

 Yesterday we read that on the last day, that great day of the Feast of Tabernacles (which Jesus is attending in Jerusalem), He stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.   Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."  Others said, "This is the Christ."  But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?  Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"  So there was a division among the people because of them.  Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.  Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?"  The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."  Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, "Does our law judge a man  before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."

 And everyone went to his own house.  But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.  Jesus remains in Jerusalem as a pilgrim, staying with other pilgrims to the Festival on the Mount of Olives.  It is a poetic complement to the Feast of Tabernacles (or tents), which commemorates the time that Israel wandered in the wilderness of Sinai without permanent structures, that Jesus has no house to go to.  It reminds us that God dwelt in the tabernacle that went with the people and led them wherever they were going, by day and by night (Exodus 40:38).

Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery.  Today's reading is not found in several ancient manuscripts.  It also is not covered in the commentaries of St. John Chrysostom (c. 349-407) and certain other Church Fathers.  But it is still "sealed by the Church" (as my study bible says) as authentic, inspired, and canonical Scripture.  Therefore it bears the same authority as all other Scripture.  In the Eastern Church, it is read on one of the two days when St. Mary of Egypt, a reformed prostitute, is commemorated. 

And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.  Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned.  But what do You say?"  This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him.  But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.   My study bible tells us that the law dictated the death penalty for adulterers (Leviticus 20:10; let us note that the statute explicitly applies particularly to a man committing adultery with another man's wife, but both to the man and the woman).  In the days of Jesus, my study bible says, this ordinance was not observed to the letter.  The Pharisees have brought this particular woman because it was an opportunity to test Jesus.  If He objected to the punishment, He could be accused of opposing the Law.  If He upheld the punishment, then it would be possible to accuse Him of showing no mercy to sinners.  This is the single occasion in all of the New Testament in which Jesus wrote something.  There are many theories about what specifically He wrote.  Some have commented that He wrote the Ten Commandments, which each accuser had violated at least one time.  Others suggest that He wrote the names of the accusers who had themselves committed adultery.   Even if we look specifically at the statute itself, above, then we can see the flaws in the accusation (e.g. why is the man with whom she is caught committing adultery -- in the very act, we're told -- not brought to Him also?).

So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."  And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.  Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last.  And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.  When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours?  Has no one condemned you?"  She said, "No one, Lord."  And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."  Jesus upholds a great principle of the Law here:  that the wages of sin is death (Genesis 2:17, Romans 6:23).  However, He confounds the Pharisees, because He does not neglect the greater aspect of the Law:  mercy (Deuteronomy 13:17, Psalm 117:2-118:4; Hosea 6:6).  This mercy, my study bible says, is offered freely to all repentant sinners.  In order for us to receive this gift, we must in turn flee from sin.  Jesus' admonition to the woman, sin no more, is the same given to the paralytic He healed on the Sabbath at the previous festival in Jerusalem (5:14), for which He now faces the wrath of the religious leaders.

Mercy and the Law seemingly conflict, in our own limited perception of God's grace in giving both the Law and the concepts of mercy and love (Psalm 136).  Often translated as "steadfast love," this understanding of mercy also includes faithfulness and loyalty, even that which is unbreakable.  It is an integral part of the covenant with God.  As my study bible points out here, even in Jesus' time, the statute used to accuse the woman was not upheld to the letter of the Law.  It's also important that another possible accusation they could have made against Jesus, had He judged in favor of stoning the woman, would be that He was unmerciful.  (While one suspects that it was to the advantage of men that the letter of the Law was not upheld, there is still the element of mercy present in its relaxation -- that is what is missing from the accusation against the woman alone.)  Clearly, throughout the Old Testament and in Jesus' culture of the time, mercy was an essential and understood quality of God the Lord.  In that sense, Jesus also fulfills the "type" of the Lord of the Old Testament.  While mercy is not a new concept to introduce here, its use in practice of good judgment seems constantly to arise in Jesus' response to the dilemmas presented to Him by the leadership in order to trip Him up, in order to trap Him in an answer for which they may bring an accusation against Him.  The central charge currently made against Him, that He healed the paralytic in violation of the Sabbath (see this reading), remains an issue of mercy for which Jesus is aggrieved with these religious leaders for their hardness of heart.  It is not that He does not uphold the Law.  He has said that He is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17-20).  But as Lord, the author of the Law, He points to the purposes of the Law.  They must express God's steadfast love and mercy.  In teaching us not to sin, in encouraging us to grow closer to God in communion -- even in participation which is offered through the Eucharist -- Jesus simply expresses more fully the love of God than was possible before the Incarnation.  All of this instruction is for our good.  That is, for ourselves, for our communities, for our world.  Even today, we can take the single element which is the most slender of all in today's reading, and easily missed, that of Jesus' participation in this Feast of Tabernacles as pilgrim, and we can apply it to our world and its present problems.  To be a pilgrim is to be a voyager, a traveler, one who lives light upon the land.  It is not to be an owner.  If we had more a sense of ourselves as pilgrims in this world, perhaps then such an understanding would teach us better how to be stewards as opposed to owners or exploiters of the world around us and all that is in it, including our fellow creatures.  There is nothing in the Gospels -- especially and including Jesus' admonition to sin no more -- which does not speak to God's love and mercy for human beings.  Sin takes us away from God; it is not merely a violation of a law or statute.  That sort of legalistic thinking is precisely what will enable the crucifixion of Jesus.  But if we understand sin as that which separates us further from God, that whatever instruction we are given is through God's love and steadfast, even infinite mercy, then we may be on the road to true healing and better communion ourselves.  Pure rationality and legalism may not get us to the place where we understand that mercy and the law come from the same place, the same Source.  It will not teach us how to see these two things as anything but dilemma and contradiction.  But love will.  It is the one way to see Christ and to understand God's work in us and among us.  To sin no more is not the advocacy of legalism, but of love.  Let us try to understand our Lord and the communion He wants with us.