“Neither Do I Condemn You”
— Posted by John (March 27, 2007 at 12:52 pm)
For those of us who are Catholic, this past Sunday at Mass we heard the story of the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11).
For many reasons, this is one of my favorite Gospel stories. One thing I find amazing about it is that it almost didn’t make it into the Bible. In fact, before the Bible was assembled the way it is today, some versions of John’s Gospel didn’t include this story.
In one of his writings, St. Augustine says that many early Christians were afraid of keeping this story in John’s Gospel since it showed Jesus as being so merciful that they thought it might lead people to think that the reality of sin wasn’t as big of a deal as the Church made it out to be.
Apparently, the Holy Spirit wasn’t concerned about this, since He made sure the story was kept in there.
The story of the woman caught in adultery was the inspiration behind a post-abortion healing brochure we designed a few years ago. On the front is an image of Jesus and the woman, and the words “Neither do I condemn you.” On the back is information on where to find help dealing with post-abortion aftermath, and the message, “Please give this card to someone who needs it.”
Our sidewalk counselors give these cards to women as they leave the abortion clinic, and we also pass them out during our Face the Truth demonstrations. They’ve become so popular that we now get orders for them (both the English version and the newly designed Spanish version) from sidewalk counselors, pro-life groups, and post-abortion ministries all across the country.
It’s no coincidence that as more and more women continue to receive post-abortion healing and speak out publicly about their experiences, this is contributing to less and less support for abortion among the general population.
And even though pro-abortion groups continue to deny the reality of post-abortion aftermath, people are beginning to see what pro-aborts refuse to see.
The more we learn about the horrible pain and suffering experienced by women following an abortion (and by men, too, who are involved with abortion), and the relief they feel after receiving God’s forgiveness, the greater the need for us who are pro-life to offer them a helping hand.
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Quinn says:
I really really wish this story didn’t make it into the bible because it is so widely abused and sometimes even used as an argument that Jesus de-criminalized the crime of adultery. Nothing could be further from the truth.
God Forgave Adulterers Before
Gomer was an adulteress yet God forgave her (Hos. 3:1). Still, He demanded that His people obey His law (Hos. 4:6).
King David committed adultery and murder (2 Sam. 11). Yet God forgave him (Psalm 32:1-5).
It was a conscious decision on God’s part to not execute David. As Nathan said to David:
As Nathan said to David:
* “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. However… by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme…” 2 Sam. 12:13
Still, God’s law remained in effect (Ps. 1:2; 19:7; 78:1, 5-8; 89:30-32; 119).
God forgave the New Testament adulterer just as He forgave Old Testament adulterers, in neither instance revoking His law. God has all authority to forgive the criminal and disregard temporal punishment. Contrariwise, Men must obey God and cannot ignore punishment.
The Pharisees Wanted to Trap Christ
The Pharisees wanted to accuse Jesus of rebelling against the Roman Empire:
* This [the Pharisees] said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. John 8:6
Rome had revoked the Jews’ authority to put a criminal to death (John 18:31). A straight-forward answer to the Pharisees would have brought Jesus into premature conflict with Rome before His “hour had come.” Jesus solved this problem stating, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first” (John 8:7). Christ often frustrated the Pharisees giving clever answers that thwarted their wicked intentions (Mat. 22:15-22; 21:21-27; Mark 12:13-17; Luke 20:20-26).
So, it does not stand from this specific story, that God wants adultery to go unpunished. The 4-H Club – Hillary, Hollywood, the Humanists and the Homos – want adultery to be de-criminalized, but God doesn’t want injustice to occur. We need to teach the Body of Christ that adultery is a crime and needs to be re-criminalized or enforced where it is still on the books.
Comment posted March 30th, 2007 at 12:54 am
Rosie says:
IT’S A GIRL!!!!!!!
Hannah Ruth was born on March 24th at 8:30PM. She was 7 lbs. 15 oz. and 19 3/4 inches long and a full head of black hair! So far she has blue eyes, but they are dark.
We tried for a home birth, but we ended up with C-section. I would not reccommend a C-section. It is quite painful.
Comment posted April 1st, 2007 at 7:24 pm
John says:
Rosie,
Congratulations! May God grant Hannah Ruth many years!
Comment posted April 2nd, 2007 at 8:05 am
Rosie says:
Thanks!!!
Comment posted April 2nd, 2007 at 11:25 am
mary kay says:
Oh Rosie,
I am SOOOOOOO Happy for you. I told you everything would be okay!!!
Hannah Ruth. Absolutely beautiful. I hope you post pictures.
Sorry about the C-section. You’re husband must be so proud.
Get some sleep.
God Bless the both of you.
Love,
Mary Kay
Comment posted April 9th, 2007 at 6:32 am