A Story Of Sin And Stones

What does Jesus do with the guilty?

She was guilty, and no one — not even she — denied it. In this study of John 8:1-11, Dr. Toby Holt frames the scene around what he calls the "divine dilemma": God is good, but you are not; God is just, but you are guilty — so how can a holy Judge forgive sinners without ceasing to be just? The scribes and Pharisees drag a woman caught in adultery before Jesus as a trap, demanding a verdict. But Jesus turns the trap: "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." One by one, convicted in conscience, they leave — the oldest first — until only Jesus and the woman remain.

For anyone weighed down by guilt and the weight of what they've done, this is the heart of the gospel. Jesus says, "Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more." Dr. Holt is careful that grace does not sweep sin under the rug: justice was still rendered — not on the guilty, but on the sinless Christ. "I do not condemn you," Jesus says in effect, "but I will be condemned for you." The verdict every addict fears is answered not with stones, but with a Savior who bore the sentence — and then sends His forgiven one out free: go, and sin no more.

Questions this study answers:

1. What is the "divine dilemma"? That God is holy and just and must deal with sin, yet we are all guilty. The dilemma is how a just Judge can forgive sinners without abandoning justice — "he who justifies the wicked" is otherwise an abomination (Proverbs 17:15).

2. How did Jesus escape the Pharisees' trap? He neither denied the law of Moses nor enforced it their way. "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone" exposed that the accusers were unfit to condemn — and their consciences drove them away.

3. How can God forgive the guilty and remain just? Because justice was poured out — on Christ, not on the sinner. "Neither do I condemn you" is possible because Jesus was condemned in our place, and the forgiven are sent out to "sin no more."

"Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more." — John 8:11 (NKJV)

Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, a Reformed seminary in Colorado Springs. He is known for clear, down-to-earth Bible teaching, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio.

Listen and go deeper: This study is part of New Geneva Theological Seminary's teaching on addiction, temptation, and freedom in Christ. Find more verse-by-verse teaching across the Bible at newgeneva.org. To support this teaching ministry, visit newgeneva.org/give.