They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” John 8:7 (NLT)
Relationships cannot flourish anywhere other people expect us to follow a bunch of rules before they show us love.
Whether it’s within a church or a family, if our acceptance is attached to rule-based performance, we will struggle with staying authentic for fear of being judged and rejected when we mess up.
Jesus never operated like that. He showed people love first.
John chapter 8 provides a perfect example of this. The Pharisees found a woman who had been caught committing sexual sin and dragged her before Jesus. While they waited for Him to bring the law down on her, Jesus did the opposite. With wisdom, He turned to them and said, “Okay, whoever is without sin can start the stoning.” All of them eventually turned and slipped away.
Have you ever considered, though, that Jesus could have thrown a rock? He was sinless—the only one qualified to throw a stone—and He refused. Instead, He showed compassion and mercy and told the woman to go and sin no more.
Isn’t it interesting that the legalistic, religious people would have enjoyed stoning that woman? How do rules become so beautiful to people that it makes them want to kill somebody for breaking one?
Thankfully, Jesus didn’t come to shun, shame or reject people. He didn’t put law ahead of love. He fulfilled the law through love, and it transformed the lives of people who experienced it.
Today, Jesus’ mercy, compassion and forgiveness remain available to us. How many ways can we show the same to others in our world?