John8:11

Translation

Then she said, “No one, sir.”

Go to footnote number

Then Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you as guilty. Go, and from now on, don’t sin anymore.”

Paraphrase

Then she said, “ None, sir.” So Jesus said to her, “Neither will I play the role of judge and condemn you as guilty of the death penalty. Go your way, and from now on, no longer commit the type of sin which the law punishes with death.”

Footnotes

1

This word usually means “Lord,” but it was used similar to, but with a little more weight, than the way we use the word “Sir.”

NEITHER DO I CONDEMN YOU AS GUILTY

They had wanted to use the mercy and grace which Jesus showed to most people as evidence that He did not properly apply the Law of Moses. Instead Jesus showed that they had not lived according to the Law of Moses and, like everyone else, had to throw themselves on the mercies of God to not be punished with death. He agreed that she was probably guilty, yet He chose to offer her mercy and forgiveness instead of choosing to punish her. Maybe He saw that she was repentant, or maybe He was communicating that the time for judging all mankind had not yet arrived. Most of all He was making the point that we cannot set aside God’s grace in order to emphasize God’s holiness.

SHOWING MERCY IS A STRENGTH, NOT A WEAKNESS

The religious leaders were confident Jesus would do what He always did and show mercy;

He proved them right.

They were convinced that mercy was a weakness; He proved them wrong.

They looked at one sin committed by this woman and determined she deserved the punishment of death;

God sees all the sins of all mankind and knows that we all deserve the death penalty.

If given the opportunity, these religious leaders were eager to deliver the death penalty;

God has the opportunity and the power, but He is eager to offer forgiveness (He will punish one day because He must, but His desire is to forgive).

These unrighteous people wanted to make themselves look righteous on the outside;

our righteous God is focused on making us righteous on the inside.