Neither Do I Condemn: Mercy Over Judgment

Devotional

Day 1: When Jesus Writes in the Dirt

The religious leaders demand condemnation, but Jesus bends low to trace words in the soil. His silence speaks louder than their accusations. This act disrupts the courtroom drama, turning judgment inward. Faith isn’t a weapon to bludgeon others but a mirror to examine our own hearts. Jesus’ defiance of religious performativity invites us to drop our stones and face our shadows. [44:08]

“Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7, ESV)

Reflection: What “stone” have you been clutching to condemn others? How might Jesus’ posture of writing in the dirt challenge you to release it?

Day 2: Hot Cocoa Without Strings

A student group offers warmth on freezing days, refusing tracts or sermons. Their kindness disarms suspicion, proving love needs no agenda. Radical hospitality isn’t transactional but rooted in seeing others’ humanity. When faith sheds performative piety, it becomes a quiet revolution of cocoa cups and open hands. [35:38]

“Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16, ESV)

Reflection: When have you expected something in return for kindness? How might you practice “no strings attached” generosity this week?

Day 3: Banners That Betray the Name

A church’s hateful protest undoes years of relationship-building. Shared labels like “Baptist” become burdens when actions contradict grace. Jesus confronts religious hypocrisy not with debate but by exposing the gap between our words and our witness. Faithfulness means living so our banners reflect Christ’s mercy, not our judgments. [38:27]

“Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself.” (Romans 2:1, ESV)

Reflection: What contradictions exist between your faith’s name and its actions? How might you bridge that gap today?

Day 4: “I Am” the Problem

Chesterton’s blunt admission—“I am”—names the real work of faith. Condemnation thrives when we project blame outward, but redemption begins when we own our brokenness. Jesus’ mirror strips away pretense, asking not “Who’s guilty?” but “Who’s humble enough to walk away?” [47:16]

“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” (Luke 6:42, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you blamed others to avoid confronting your own flaws? What would it mean to say, “I am the problem” in that situation?

Day 5: The Kleenex Box Confession

A dying man’s scribbled “I was wrong” becomes his final sermon. Pride dies when faced with undeserved flowers from the church he scorned. Grace disarms resentment, turning critics into confessors. Jesus’ “neither do I condemn” isn’t permission but an invitation to trade stones for repentance. [53:25]

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8, ESV)

Reflection: What grudges or judgments might God be asking you to release with the words, “I was wrong”? How could humility reshape your relationships?

Sermon Summary

The story of the woman caught in adultery still sits deep in the Christian imagination, even with all the questions around where it belongs in John’s Gospel. The image matters because this scene is not easy to turn into a church photo without accidentally calling somebody an adulterer or calling the whole church a bunch of self-righteous stone throwers. The Baptist name carries some baggage here, because the world has seen plenty of people wearing that name while shouting condemnation in the name of God.

The memory of a Baptist student group giving away hot cocoa with no strings attached shows one kind of witness. The memory of Westboro Baptist Church screaming at students and holding “God hates” banners shows another. The shared name Baptist makes the question sharp: what would Jesus say to them, and what does Jesus have to say to a church that wants people to know, “you matter here”?

The text opens with all the people gathered around Jesus, eager to hear what he has to say about God, life, and maybe even politics. Into that crowd, the scribes and Pharisees drag a woman caught in adultery. The missing man exposes the game right away, because “it takes two to tango.” The law required more than their stunt provided, but the woman was not really on trial. Jesus was.

The trap is clever. If Jesus rejects Moses, he can be called a heretic. If Jesus approves the stoning, he violates Roman law. But Jesus is no dumb dumb. Jesus stoops down and writes in the dirt, and nobody knows exactly what he wrote. Maybe he listed their sins. Maybe he fulfilled Jeremiah. Maybe he was so dadgum furious that he needed a minute to count to ten.

The word of Jesus cuts through the trap: “Let anyone among you who is without sin cast the first stone.” Faith, in Jesus’ hands, is not enrollment in the purity police. Faith holds up a mirror so a person can get right with God instead of measuring whether somebody else deserves God’s love. The stones fall one by one, beginning with the elders, until only Jesus and the used, shamed woman remain.

“Neither do I condemn you” becomes one of the most hope-filled sentences in Scripture. That sentence may sound like forgiveness, belovedness, belonging, or “you matter here.” The choice before the Baptist name is plain: quick to pick up stones, or quick to show mercy because people matter to God.

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Key Takeaways

1. The Baptist name carries witness [38:57] The name on a church sign never stays private. The world hears the loudest examples and often assumes every church with that name must sound the same. A faithful witness has to be more than not being Westboro; it has to become a lived answer to what Jesus would say and do. [38:57]
2. Faith holds up a mirror [47:42] Jesus does not let religion become a weapon for inspecting everybody else’s sin. His word turns the accusers back toward their own hearts, where judgmental certainty starts to fall apart. True faith becomes honest self-examination before God, not a badge that gives permission to police another person’s worth. [47:42]
3. Jesus refuses religious traps [43:47] The accusers use the woman as a pawn, but Jesus sees the whole setup. His silence in the dirt is not weakness; it is holy refusal to play their game on their terms. The wisdom of Christ does not have to choose between truth and mercy, because Christ himself exposes false justice and protects the vulnerable. [43:47]
4. Mercy speaks the better verdict [49:08] “Neither do I condemn you” does not pretend sin is harmless, but it refuses to let shame have the final word. Jesus speaks to the woman after everyone else has walked away, which means grace is not a performance for the crowd. The voice of God gives life by naming a person as more than the worst thing brought into public view. [49:08]
5. Stones are always within reach [55:02] The final choice is not abstract, because condemnation is easy and business will never run out. The world is full of sinners, which means stone throwing can always find another target. The way of Jesus asks whether a church wants to be known for quick hands full of rocks or open hands that tell people they matter to God.

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Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[30:43] - Neither Do I Condemn You
[32:02] - A Story Christians Still Cherish
[33:31] - Quick To Pick Up Stones
[34:24] - Baptists And Judgmental Stereotypes
[36:32] - Westboro On Campus
[38:57] - What Would Jesus Say?
[39:49] - All The People Listen
[40:33] - The Woman Dragged Before Jesus
[42:41] - The Trap Set For Jesus
[43:47] - Writing In The Dirt
[45:49] - Let The Sinless Cast First
[48:46] - Has No One Condemned You?
[50:32] - Fred Craddock’s Father
[53:53] - What Kind Of Baptist?

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

John 8:1-11
“The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, ‘Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?’ This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, ‘Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.’ And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.’” [30:43]

Micah 6:8
“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

Jeremiah 17:13
“O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be put to shame; those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water.”

Observation questions

In John 8, what details show that the woman is being used as part of a setup rather than being given a fair hearing? [42:41]
What do the accusers ask Jesus to decide, and what makes their question a trap? [42:47]
What does Jesus do before he speaks, and what happens in the crowd after he says, “Let anyone among you who is without sin cast the first stone”? [45:49]
After everyone leaves, what exact question does Jesus ask the woman, and how does he answer her? [48:50]

Interpretation questions

If the missing man shows that the accusers were not interested in real justice, what does that reveal about the difference between using religion as a weapon and pursuing justice with humility? [41:19]
Jesus’ words force the accusers to face their own hearts before judging someone else. How does that reshape the purpose of faith in a person’s life? [47:42]
“Neither do I condemn you” is followed by “go, and from now on sin no more.” How do mercy and truth stay together in that moment without cancelling each other out? [49:08]
Micah 6:8 calls God’s people to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God. How do those three fit this scene in John 8 better than the crowd’s stone-throwing spirit? [54:34]

Application questions

Stones are always within reach. Where is the temptation strongest right now to pick one up with words, attitudes, gossip, or social media rather than with mercy? [55:02]
Faith holds up a mirror before it points a finger. What is one area where it would be easier to talk about somebody else’s sin than to let God deal honestly with something in one’s own heart? [46:35]
“You matter here” rings true only when people can feel it. What are some simple, concrete ways this group or church can show that kind of no-strings-attached kindness to people who may expect judgment first? [35:17]
Some people hear the word “church” and assume condemnation, suspicion, or shame. When has that been part of someone’s experience, and what helps rebuild trust? [34:24]
Jesus speaks to the woman as more than the worst thing done or said about her. Who in everyday life is often reduced to a label, a failure, or a rumor, and what would it look like to treat that person as someone who matters to God? [49:41]
Walking humbly with God means not playing the purity police. What practices help a person stay tender, honest, and humble instead of self-righteous? [46:06]
A church can be known for quick hands full of rocks or open hands full of mercy. What kind of witness does this group most want to embody, and what would need to change for that to become more visible? [53:53]

Sermon Clips

56s

#FaithNotPurityPolice

“It turns out that what Jesus hates even more than our sin is when religious people use religion to condemn somebody else. Our faith was never intended to enroll us in the purity police. Too often, we have tried to take up that mantle and use it to determine whether someone else is worthy of God's love or not, which is not ours to determine. Besides, you know what they say about pointing a judgmental finger at somebody. It means you always have three more pointing back at you. And that is actually the purpose of faith, not to judge others, but to hold a mirror up and get your own life right with God and with others.”

91s

#ChooseMercy

“We have a choice, church family. We can be the kind of Baptist that points a condemning finger at all those harlots and those cheats and those liars, those sinners. The world is full of them. We'll never go out of business. we can be the kind of Baptist who choose to follow the ways of Jesus, to do justice, to love kindness, to walk humbly with God. Who will we choose to be? The kind of people who are quick to pick up stones? Or the kind who want everyone to know that they matter here, not because we want another name and another pledge, but for the simple reason that they matter to God.”

78s

#MercyOverMob

“One by one, they left until all that remained was Jesus and this woman who had been used as a pawn in their ploy. And he straightens up again, and he says to her, where'd everybody go? Has no one condemned you? No one, sir. And he replies with five of the best words in all of scripture. He says, neither do I condemn you. Can you think of a more hope filled sentence in all of scripture than that? I hope that in your lifetime, you have heard these very words issue from the mouth of God. Maybe they didn't sound exactly like that. Maybe the words were a little different. Maybe but maybe the meaning was the same. Maybe they sounded like, you have already been forgiven of all of that.”

39s

#CastNoStones

“That is the attitude of someone who has grasped the purpose of faith, not to point fingers at others, not to police the morality of others, but to look at and assess one's own life and to measure it against God's desires for you. When Jesus said, let anyone who is without sin cast the first stone, he put a mirror up to them so that they could see their own hearts. And he reestablished the true purpose of faith for them to get their own lives right with God.”

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First Baptist Church of Colorado Springs This sermon · AI assistant

What does neither do I condemn you mean?

Why did Jesus write in the dirt?

How should believers confront religious hypocrisy today?