We serve a Savior who is eager to forgive.

Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her. John 8:7

As a group of religious leaders herded an adulterous woman toward Jesus, they couldn’t know they were carrying her within a stone’s throw of grace. Their hope was to discredit Him. If He told them to let the woman go, they could claim He was breaking Mosaic law. But if He condemned her to death, the crowds following Him would have dismissed His words of mercy and grace.

But Jesus turned the tables on the accusers. Scripture says that rather than answering them directly, He started writing on the ground. When the leaders continued to question Him, He invited any of them who had never sinned to throw the first stone, and then He started writing on the ground again. The next time He looked up, all the accusers were gone.

Now the only person who could have thrown a stone—the only sinless one—looked at the woman and gave her mercy. “ ‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin’ ” (John 8:11).

Whether today finds you needing forgiveness for judging others or desiring assurance that no sin is beyond His grace, be encouraged by this: No one is throwing stones today; go and be changed by God’s mercy.

Father, cleanse me of my judging nature and free me from the bonds of sin. Let me taste Your mercy and then help me to live a changed life.

Tell us your story of how the Lord has shown grace to you at odb.org/story.

我们服事的是乐意赦免的救主。

你们中间谁是没有罪的，谁就可以先拿石头打她。-约翰福音8章7节

一群宗教领袖带着行淫的妇女来到耶稣面前，原本是想藉此将这名妇女定罪，却反让她得蒙恩惠。这群人企图要败坏耶稣的名声，因为祂若吩咐让这名妇女离开，他们就能指责耶稣违背了摩西的律法。但若耶稣判了妇女死罪，跟随耶稣的人就会质疑祂怜悯与恩典的教导。

但耶稣的回应却让这一群控诉者无地自容，圣经上说耶稣没有直接回应他们，反用指头在地上画字。他们还是不停地问耶稣，耶稣就告诉他们，当中谁是没有罪的，就可以先拿石头打她。接着，耶稣又继续在地上画字，等到祂再抬头看的时候，那群控告这位妇女的人全都散去了。

当时唯一无罪，也是最有资格拿石头打这位妇女的耶稣，却宽容这名妇人，对她说：“我也不定你的罪，去吧！从此不要再犯罪了。”（约翰福音8章11节）

不管你今天是因为论断别人而需要上帝的赦免，或是想确知祂的恩典胜过罪恶，你都可以感到振奋，因为今天没有任何人能将你定罪。让上帝的恩典给你崭新的开始，使你得着改变吧！

天父，求祢让我改掉随意论断他人的天性，
使我不再受到罪的辖制。
让我饱尝祢的慈爱怜悯，
帮助我活出不一样的生命。

John 7:53-8:11New International Version (NIV)

[The earliest manuscripts and many other ancient witnesses do not have John 7:53—8:11. A few manuscripts include these verses, wholly or in part, after John 7:36, John 21:25, Luke 21:38 or Luke 24:53.]53 Then they all went home,

 8   1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”11 “No one, sir,” she said.“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

整理：于姊妹