...neither do I condemn you

The depiction of the Adulterous Woman

The adulterous woman fascinates me
Not because I am planning to commit adultery when I am married
But because of Jesus' response to the woman.

When I got born again, every little thing made me feel condemned
I was raped/harassed; not quite sure how to qualify it.
Christians were the first to turn against me, then followed the unbelievers
I didn't quite fit anywhere again.

With the Christians I wasn't a good girl anymore
With the unbelievers, I wasn't a bad girl either, it was pretty obvious
So I was always confused, didn't know how to behave especially when all I wanted
to do was bury my head in the sand.

So I kind of identify with the adulterous woman. Mind you, they never said she was a prostitute, she was a woman who was sleeping with another man. I can imagine the elders dragging her and pulling off her clothes, gathering the stones they would use to stone her.

They were not wrong to want to stone her because according to Jewish religion, you better stone that woman before God puts the entire Israel under a curse. Where they went wrong is imagining that people would believe that the woman was sleeping with herself.

Where was the man?
Why was he let off the hook?
Why should this pretty woman be the only one stoned?
Wouldn't the guy bring a curse on Israel also?

Well I thank God they brought her to Jesus because Jesus always has the answers. He did not leave the woman to the law to deal with. Instead he offered her grace even though he hadn't been to the cross yet, he had the ability to forgive her and he did.

What amazes me is that the elder to the younger of the Pharisees by not stoning the adulterous woman admitted to their guilt but did not stay to receive forgiveness from Jesus, they were just too eager to either be right or wrong.

What am I saying writing?

Don't be so hasty to meet with Jesus that all you want to do is prove a point; receive His grace and forgiveness, it is available for you. You are qualified for the blessing because Jesus died on the cross.

Righteousness: His right standing in us qualifies us to stand before God justified. Jesus has declared me not guilty, he can do the same for you.

The Adulterous woman Luke 7:37-38

I don't know her name, the bible doesn't say

i may not have lived in her time but when I read about her I imagine a beautiful woman with long flowing hair or not but beautiful all the same, loved by men or scorned as they discover her intelligence and whatnots (She has too many qualities good ones, a woman shouldn’t have; society expects an airhead most times with all the stereotypes,  cook and take care of the kids and your job's done). many times, this kind of woman (a beautiful woman) is hated by other women (They secretly want to be ‘her’ i think) but in spite of all the perceived advantages, she laid it all down and depended on the plan, purpose and the power of the master who was the one divinely orchestrating her life. He ruled in the affairs of men then, he still does today.

(The woman of today has these same bottlenecks. Don’t get me wrong, she  is no feminist, she has too role models to be perceived as a feminist. Esther was certainly no feminist but she was not an airhead either. Deborah was a judge, she had courage, much more than the king could muster. Bathsheba must have been made of sterner stuff for her son to be crowned king at a time when the king’s cousins had all sorts of schemes that could help them steal the throne from Solomon. These women stand out as woman who had faith more than intelligence. They had the hand of God upon them, they were more than a man!)

She was a woman who walked erect with her head held up not because she was perfect but because of her understanding of the worth placed on her by the most high. The one who made the major decisions in spite of the schemes of man. I admire her courage; she withstood male criticism and disapproval but would not bow. 


I might have shook in my shoes before entering a house full of some of the most powerful men in the world. She had spent a year’s wages buying perfume to anoint Jesus and a few smirks here or even outright insults could not stop her from accomplishing purpose. She understood the meaning of purpose, it transcended emotions to what was important, it transcended her abilities, her whims or agendas to what God wanted. You bet she did more than cooking or caring for kids, God trusted her to do more, have more, be more!

Personal: From time to time, I get people who lift their noses up at me, they talk about me in a manner that cannot be described as ‘love’ and they are generally un-Christ like but it does nothing to daunt me or slow me down. I am encouraged that I am not the first and that human nature hasn’t changed much but I thank God because I have the nature of God and that I am able to do right.

Mary Magdalene: She had seven devils cast out of her and yet Jesus counted her worthy to follow Him. She followed Jesus every step of the way as he carried the cross and journeyed to Calvary. She was faithful, loyal and honorable. She would not desert him even when she already knew he was going to die at the cross, Jesus had said it so many times, it was difficult for her not to know that He spoke the truth.

She inspires me because this means I can carry my cross every day and follow Jesus in spite of what anyone is saying and how they are judging. Someone once told me that when you judge other people, all you are doing is challenging the blood of Jesus Christ and doubting if it is really able to cleanse and wash and make clean and the sad thing is that I forgot, I am glad I remember now and I don’t want to ever forget that I was saved by grace and not works.

Mary Magdalene: She was the first to see Jesus rise from the dead and she was the first to inform all the other disciples that Jesus had risen and she was a trusted follower of Jesus. 

Personal: I can follow Jesus today and know that it may not matter to anyone else because after all it is just business as usual but it matters to Jesus. I know we say we know he lives but we act as if he is dead. I know he lives and I pray I act like he lives every day. That is when I am actually conscious of His redemptive life in me.

The adulterous woman: Don’t think I will forget that she was caught in adultery! The Pharisees and teachers of the law caught her alright but it was no coincidence but something carefully crafted by the human mind. Man will never believe that depending on your own mind is a promise to fail because God and man are not the same. The Pharisees thought that would be the day they would take Jesus down. The day they would trap him into opposing a Jewish law and that they would kill two birds with one stone or rather many stones. It was not to be because Jesus had an answer, he knew what was on their minds. She was caught unawares. She could have died that day but instead she met the man Jesus and the course of her destiny was changed forever. Instead of satisfying their craving, he had the perfect answer: ‘If you are without sin, cast the first stone…’

I am glad God did not demand that she repent for the rest of her life, she was allowed to walk free and worship freely and was given 100% inheritance like every other believer, nothing missing. I was sick of hearing about the virtuous women like there were no female heroes in the bible till I stumbled on her, I am glad I did. I have learnt so much from her she was a woman imperfect who still loved God without a bowed head. It encourages me too because too many times in our world today, the schemes of men are clear to see, I mean after all, it appears corruption is a way of life but I know God still orchestrates good while men plan, he can work it out for his glory! Humans will always be humans so you have to know the truth anyways so I always respond based on the truth and not trust the arm of flesh. The flesh is the enemy, or rather the devil is the enemy and he works with the flesh of man.


The letter kills but the spirit gives life


This gives me courage...


(c)Tisha Smith