When was forgiveness granted? The big problem with this text is that Jesus exonerated her before she confessed anything, and before she gave any indication of repentance. She was forgiven before she said she was sorry, and before she asked for mercy. This is deeply troubling for most people, because we only want to consider offering forgiveness if it's being asked for - or in some cases begged for. We treat forgiveness like a precious commodity - because it is - and therefore we don't give it away freely. So, we are careful who we entrust with forgiveness. Often, the person we consider forgiving has to prove themselves worthy of the gift. They have to look, sound, and act really sorry - then we'll forgive. Maybe they should do something extra nice for us before we extend grace - wash my car, perhaps...
Our high value of forgiveness causes us to quickly think about justice - who deserves to be forgiven, and when. How much time should a person serve before we let them off the hook? Depends on the level of pain they caused us, perhaps. If my wife laughs at my dream of one day singing on stage with Bono, I'll grant forgiveness pretty quickly. But if she eats my last fry at lunch - could be weeks...
Jesus messes up entirely by forgiving before it was requested or could even be assumed to be desired. Maybe the crowd was throwing him off that day? Probably not. The reality is that the woman was forgiven - no longer condemned - before she asked, before she knew she needed to ask, before she was caught, before the act happened (when it was just an idea). Forgiveness is simply there. Eternal. Abundant. Limitless. Can't be trumped. That's why it didn't matter if she asked for it ahead of time. Her penitence - or lack thereof - did not affect God's grace toward her. Connect the dots: God's forgiveness of your stuff is not affected by your confession or failure to confess. It simply is.
Motivation. Could it be that there is a deeper implication here? To be forgiven ahead of time changed the very motivation of everything that would come next in her life. If forgiveness simply is, then she no longer could be motivated by fear of retribution from the hands of an angry God. Additionally, when Jesus instructed her to leave her life of sin, the motive to follow had to have shifted. Where once she may have been motivated to live ethically out of fear of reprisal if she didn't, now she knows better. Why should she stop her adulterous lifestyle if she will be forgiven yet again? What's the new motivation if not fear of condemnation?
Writing in the dirt. Lots of debate has gone on about what Jesus was writing in the dirt that day. There have been many suggestions. Whatever he was doing caused the crowd to leave their stones behind and walk away. I don't know the exact words he wrote, but I think he communicated one simple idea: love.
Love forgives a mob wanting to take justice into their own hands, calms them down and sends them home. Love overwhelms the angry jealousy of religious leaders who use people to make a point. Love causes people to see themselves - and others - differently. Love seeks to restore - not rip apart. Love motivates love. Love begets love. Love leads to more love.
When love was communicated, hate dissolved. Swords were turned into plowshares. Humility replaced pridefulness. Instead of death being celebrated, life was lifted up for everyone.
New Direction. The woman that day had her life turned around by love. She discovered a God that loved her simply because God loves. She was forgiven simply because God is a forgiver. In the fullness of such an experience of love and the life it brings, it is extremely unlikely that she went right back to a life of destruction. She was motivated by something much more powerful than fear. Her new motivation would call her to the highest ethic, the deepest humility, and the biggest heart.
Forgiveness, confession and repentance. To confess means to agree with whatever is being said about you. When we confess our "junk" with God, we are agreeing with God about the fact that we have junked up our lives - stuff God already knows about. To repent means to turn around. When we repent before God, we are saying to God that we want to change our direction toward God. At least for me, I do not really experience the loving forgiveness of God prior to my confession. And I don't experience God's support of my new behavior until I turn it around and start moving in God's direction. In other words, even though the love and grace are there, they have no power in my life until I embrace them. God is all about restoring us. God has given us all the grace and power and love we need - and it won't ever be retracted. The question is, will we embrace that which God has given, motivated by love and for love, and then live more fully restored?
Think...
- Why might some people be bothered by the idea that the woman was forgiven before she repented?
- Why might some people be bothered by the idea that God forgives people of their sin before they ask for it?
- Why wouldn't people simply keep on engaging in all sorts of sinful behavior if they knew they were forgiven?
- Why would anybody need to accept Jesus if forgiveness was already granted?
- Why bother with faith at all if God grants grace ahead of time, independent of our desire, actions, or inclinations?
- What is the purpose of faith?
- What is the reason for forgiveness?
- What is the value of confession?
- What is the result of repentance?
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