andyc
New member
This incident happened on Old Testament ground just as much as if it had taken place under Moses.
Had Christ condemned her, He would have been guilty of breaking the Law by condemning only the woman and not the absent man -- an angle the Pharisees, hypocrites that they were, would have been sure to play up to denounce Him. Therefore, He did not condemn her. HE COULDN'T.
Had Christ forgiven her (assuming she'd even wanted to be forgiven, which does not seem to be the case), He would likewise have broken the Law for pronouncing her forgiven for something which under the Law could not be forgiven but required death. Therefore He did not forgive her. HE COULDN'T.
So basically, the woman had committed a sin worthy of death. You say that because the trial was a sham, she was unable to be put to death, and so she escaped instant judgement because the accusers messed up with the legal process?
As I've said before, this was irrelevant because the entrapment was theological. The accusers were only trying to get Jesus to contradict Moses in order to expose him as a fraud.
However, even if you were right, Jesus told the woman to "go and sin no more". What difference would it be to go and sin no more?
What would motivate this woman to stop sinning, while knowing she had violated a law that demanded death. She would be an outcast among the Jews, because everyone knew what she was, and even she could not deny it.
So she would still be under condemnation, just not dead. Jesus said, "neither do I condemn you".
What did Jesus mean?
There wasn't legal ground to kill her?
He offering her the chance to repent and live a new life, in which he would take the condemnation for her adultery?
1 Timothy 1:15 This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
Matthew 9:13 "But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."