How Could Jesus be Just...and Ignore the Law?

In this regular feature Dave and Tom respond to questions from listeners and readers of The Berean Call.  Here is this week’s question: Dear Dave and T.A., I’ve been pondering of Christ forgiving the woman caught in adultery recorded in John 8.After all the law did require stoning as a penalty.How could Jesus just let her off?And he specifically said he didn’t condemn her.How can he be a just judge and ignore the law?

Dave:

Well that’s a good question Tom.Actually it’s the one that Paul raises in Romans 3, but we had it back there in John:3:17For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
See All..., after verse 16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”The next verse says, “For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.”So Jesus came to fulfill the law and he’s going to take the penalty for this woman and for all of us on the cross.Not just being nailed to the cross, that didn’t pay the penalty for our sins.That’s what we did to him that would add to our condemnation.But as he hung there, Isaiah:53:10Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
See All... says, “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin….”So Christ is extending to this woman the forgiveness that will be brought about by his paying the penalty on the cross for our sins.He is not operating under the old law.And that is very difficult for Jewish people to understand today.Paul of course, talks about it a great deal, in Romans 14 he says don’t let anyone judge you in meat or in drink, keeping a holy day and so forth.He says if somebody wants to keep a special day, let them keep the special day, or if they don’t, let them not keep the day.Whatever we do, we do to the Lord and Tom it really relates back to this news alert that we had.Fourteen girls would not have died had not the Muslim religious police—had they known that the penalty has been paid for our sins.

Tom:

Dave, we find that even in Christian, really, cults, whether their view of so-called breaking the law by having a blood transfusion, just ideas that are erroneous to the true reading of the scriptures, but they love the law for some reason, its an enigma.

Dave:

Well yes, you say for some reason, you say it’s an enigma.Tom, I’ve pondered this an awful lot.Christ offers pardon.He offers forgiveness of sins as a free gift.If you offer him anything, you are insulting him and you are refusing the gift.Why do people insist on this?I mean I have talked to many audiences and churches and I’ve tried to explain, you can’t pay the penalty yourself.You couldn’t possibly satisfy the righteous claims of God’s infinite justice.Now God himself became a man to pay the penalty for your sins.He offers pardon and eternal life as a free gift.Will you accept this?Now to accept it, I’ve got to admit I can’t earn it.To accept this as a gift, I have to admit that I deserve the penalty that he endured for me.That I am a guilty sinner, I am a rebel in God’s sight, I am unworthy of the least of his mercy.I really deserve eternal separation from God in hell, to be in agony over my sins, over my rebellion against God.That’s what I deserve, but now he paid the penalty for me.Tom, some people, it’s like this is not a good illustration I guess, but let’s say you want to take me to lunch.I’m not going to let you take me to lunch; I’m not going to let you pay for this.What do you think I am an indigent?You think I can’t pay my own way, you know?There’s a great deal of pride in the human heart.Wow, wait a minute, you mean Jesus had to die for my sins?No, no, no!I’m a good church member, I give to charity, and I mean I’m no worse than other people, as a matter of fact, I’m better than most people, I’ve never committed murder, and you know, I’ve lived an upright life.Are you going to tell me I’m a sinner and that I deserve hell?And that Christ had to die for me?That he had to pay the penalty for my sins?Never, I will not accept that!People are like that Tom.

Tom:

Dave, we talked earlier about Muslims and this idea of well when the judgment comes my good works are going to outweigh my bad works and so on.They hope.That’s not just with Islam.You in front of any church.I don’t care if it’s a Catholic Church, a Baptist church, you are going to find some people coming out that are going to say well yes, God’s going to look on me and—I’m better than that.You know you are telling me that I’m going to hell?I’m better than that.

Dave:

That is the tragedy Tom.Why doesn’t every one accept this?Well look, God couldn’t do it any other way.He had to pay the penalty for us.

Tom:

He had to be a just God.

Dave:

The penalty had to be paid so that he could forgive our sins and it has to be offered as a free gift.You can’t earn a gift, you can’t merit it, we can’t merit his forgiveness, and otherwise we would be equal to Christ.We would be able to pay the penalty for our own sins.No, we can’t go that.And getting back to this woman caught in the very act.Why doesn’t Christ have her stoned?Of course it was against the law for the Jews to stone anyone.They had lost that right.

Tom:

It was Roman law.

Dave:

Right, they would have been breaking the Roman law and the Romans would have come down on them and we already talked about that.That’s what the rabbis wanted.But he is dealing with her in light of the fact that he is going to go to the cross and he’s going to pay the penalty for her sins as well as ours.And he says, “For God sent…,” these are the words of Christ.“God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.”And this is what he offers to this dear woman on this occasion.