September/October 2001

Is Jesus Soft on Sin?

by Mitali Perkins´

I was trapped in what seemed like a no-win situation. My cousin was about to get married. Unfortunately, the man she had fallen in love with was leaving behind a faithful wife and three small children.

"I know you think I'm doing the wrong thing," my cousin told me. "But I came to your wedding. Won't you come to mine?"

At first, I didn't know what to do. It was tough to say no. I didn't want to hurt my cousin and come across as a condemning, judgmental Christian. But it was equally tough to accept. I was determined not to condone the sinful choices the two of them were making.

Christians in today's sexually permissive society often face the challenge of a condemnation trap like this one. An unmarried friend asks if she and her lover can share your sofa-bed for the weekend. A co-worker confesses his involvement with a married man. A single friend you've been praying for wants someone to talk to about the intimate details of her active love life. It's tough not to feel trapped. It feels as though you'll end up either being too hard on sinners or too soft on sin.

The good news is that Jesus is no stranger to this trap. In John 8:1-11, we find him face to face with a woman caught in the sin of adultery. The Pharisees have dragged her to Jesus, hoping that this time he'll reveal his weakness for sinful women.

The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?"

They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.

When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."

Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

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" (John 8:11).

True to form, this friend of sinners commands another law-breaker to leave the temple courts without any punishment at all. Without a closer look at the situation, we might draw the conclusion that Jesus was soft on sin.

Instead, let's consider the roles of the people involved in the scene. What is Jesus' role in changing a sinner's behavior? What is the sinner's responsibility? And last but not least, what exactly are we called to do with people caught in sin?

Jesus' Role

He alleviates shame.

Jesus' encounter with this woman is full of courtroom drama. Take a look at Lorenzo Lotto's sixteenth-century painting. The onlookers are leering at her, trying to catch a glimpse of her face. Her expression is hopeless, as if she's resigned herself to her fate. But in the middle of the canvas, Lotto has painted a man entering the scene with one hand upraised. Even a biblically illiterate viewer of this magnificent painting, which hangs in the Louvre Museum in Paris, can tell that things are about to change dramatically.

The biblical narrative is full of descriptions about changes in Jesus' posture. At first we find him seated to teach in the rabbinical tradition. But when the Pharisees bring the criminal into the court, he bends down to write in the dirt. He uses body language to claim his rightful place as a judge who listens to the case before making a decision.

But accepting his rightful role as judge is not the only thing he accomplishes with this change of posture. In the second painting by Valentin De Boulogne (painted in the 1620s, about forty years later than Lotto's, and hanging in the Getty Museum in Los Angeles,

California), the eyes in the crowd have shifted from the woman to Jesus. What is he writing there in the dirt, anyway? The painter even perched a pair of spectacles on one Pharisee's nose, even though eyeglasses didn't exist during Jesus' time. Boulogne underlined how Jesus immediately turned the crowd's eyes away from the woman's shame.

Like the men who stared at her two thousand years ago, we 21st-century North Americans delight in leering at somebody caught in sin. An ongoing series of real-life courtroom dramas about sexual scandals have captivated the American public during the last decade. We tune in to an array of tell-all, shocking talk shows and greedily consume every gruesome tidbit.

Why are we so enthralled with other people's shame and humiliation? The answer is simple -- to feel better about ourselves. We can feel good about who we are because those creeps on Jerry Springer are so awful. It's a great way to feel instantly righteous; to relieve the pressure of our own guilt. The only problem is that we have to keep gawking at bad people to stay feeling good.

But Jesus is not like us. He knows that his righteousness does not depend on somebody else's shame. His change of posture draws all eyes to himself, away from the woman caught in sin.

He acts as an advocate who acknowledges sin.

The next thing Jesus does is to straighten up. He establishes himself as the woman's advocate; the defense attorney who is standing beside the prisoner. In those days, any witnesses or advocates stood beside the accused. In Acts 4:14, for example, when Peter and John were on trial before the priests, the man they had healed stood with them and their accusers could do nothing.

In the case of this woman, what does her advocate plead? "Stone her," Jesus says. She's guilty. Adultery is a terrible offense, a betrayal, a tragedy. A sin that deserves punishment. He makes no excuses, nor is he soft on the sin.

But then he goes on to discuss the terms of the sentence. Only somebody who has never sinned can carry out her punishment.

The crowd looks around. Suddenly, they are caught in the very trap they have set for Jesus. If Jesus had forgiven this woman, they would have accused him of blasphemy. Now, if they stoop to pick up a stone, they are claiming that they are as sin-free as God. They will

be guilty of blatant blasphemy. One by one, they leave, unable to find a way out of the condemnation trap that has suddenly turned on them.

He asserts his judicial right to condemn.

Jesus resumes writing in the dirt. Again, this change in body language draws every eye to him. Now this woman's accusers are on trial. Jesus doesn't lock eyes with each one before the last zealot turns in defeat. Everybody is free from scrutiny as they examine their lives. Nobody is shamed.

Finally, he is alone with the accused. He stands again and faces her, ready to issue his judgment. He is the only one who has the right to stay and hurl the first stone. Sinless and pure, he has every right to condemn her as well as to carry out the death sentence.

The Sinner's Role

The woman chooses to remain with Jesus. As her accusers release their hold on her, she doesn't seize the chance to escape. She knows that this man has saved her; his words have stemmed the anger and self-righteousness of a crowd ready to kill.

Jesus addresses her directly. "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"

"No one, sir," she says. There is nobody left to bring her case to court. There are no witnesses remaining to verify her crime.

The judge announces his decision. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declares. He throws the case out of court for lack of a charge. This is the verdict, and here is her sentence: "Go now and leave your life of sin."

She can go. She is free. But he reminds her to sin no more, once again taking a strong stand against the wrongdoing that brought her to the brink of death.

One question remains. Will there be no punishment for this crime? Even Jesus has acknowledged that it is a sin worthy of death. Somebody must pay. The woman's accusers will be even angrier now. They were caught and bested in a battle of the wits. A sinful woman went free without any penalty. Soon, they will try to execute the man who stood up for her. They will have him arrested and arrange to kill him. On the cross, he will take the punishment for all the sinners he forgave, defended and championed. Including his own executioners.

Our Role

The first lesson about our role comes from the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. For once, they actually do the right thing. They drag this woman to the only one who can save her life: Jesus Christ, the friend of sinners. We, too, bring a person struggling with sexual immorality into his presence through prayers of intercession.

But as followers of Jesus, we go a step further than the Pharisees. We try to imitate him by preventing the humiliation of a person caught in sin. We refuse to gawk or

indulge in gossip. We battle an all-too-human tendency to shame and condemn, and put down the stones we are clutching in our fists.

Our task is even more complicated than praying from a distance and deflecting humiliation, however. We are called to stay in loving relationships with broken people. His presence is revealed in us, because we are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19).

God promises that his Spirit will convict them of sin (John 16:8). This is Jesus' role; it's not ours, and we lack faith if we try to act on his behalf. As we stay in their lives, he promises that he will judge the sexually immoral (Hebrews 13:4). We are to restore them gently

(Galatians 6:1). When the Spirit brings a person to conviction, we make no easy, quick excuses to relieve guilt. The penalty of sin is death. A person must realize the destruction before we begin the work of restoration.

It's interesting that in this Bible story, the older onlookers leave the scene first. Children tend to see the world in black or white. They judge behavior as right or wrong, and want to know whether people are good guys or bad guys. As we age, we see the world as gray, understand that right behavior can have wrong motives, and realize that all people, including ourselves, are a definite mix of good and evil. It's easier to know when to be quiet and let a sinner listen to the judge.

Waiting for Repentance

How did this passage help me escape the condemnation trap I was facing about attending my cousin's wedding?

First, it motivated me to pray for everybody involved, bringing them into the presence of Jesus through intercession.

Next, I wanted to speak boldly to her, but our relationship had drifted apart. Honest conversation bears the most fruit in the context of a committed, loving relationship. My sister, who is also a Christian, had maintained a closer friendship with my cousin. As they talked, my sister entreated her to leave this man and to trust God for a better, more wholesome relationship.

My cousin responded by setting the date for their wedding.

After studying this passage, I've decided to go. I'll try to do my part -- to deflect shame and humiliation, to drag her into the presence of God by praying and to keep her near Jesus by staying involved in her life.

Maybe one day she'll want to reflect on her decision and its consequences. I hope that when she does, I'll be able to offer the grace paid for on the cross. And I'm not alone as I wait. Jesus is also waiting -- for my cousin, for us and for all other accused, guilty persons who end up in his courtroom. 

Return to Plain Truth Ministries Home Page