John 8
Ears
To Hear
Judging vs. Condemning
In John 8, Jesus distinguishes between judging and condemning. Judging means to evaluate, discern, or objectively assess a behavior, action, or situation. Condemning, on the other hand, is to reduce a person’s value based on that evaluation.
The Pharisees wanted to condemn the woman who was caught in the act of adultery according to the law; however, it was designed to condemn both the law abider and breaker. For example, the Pharisees wanted to uphold the law by stoning the woman to death. Yet, in doing so, they would also condemn themselves. At the same time, the woman's violation of the law made her subject to condemnation under its requirements. Thus, both the Pharisees and the woman illustrated how the law brings condemnation, whether one seeks to enforce it or stands guilty of breaking it.
Only God Can Judge
Judgment, however, is without condemnation for either the law-abiding citizen or the lawbreaker. According to Jesus in this chapter, judgment belongs to God. Jesus explains that He does not judge and that even if He does, it is not He who is doing the judging; the Father who resides in Him is the Judge.
Consider this example: I am standing in line at a theme park, waiting my turn to ride an attraction, when a group of people attempts to move ahead of me without waiting their turn. Because I abide in Christ—and leaving judgment to God the Father—I address their actions and prevent them from cutting in line. However, I have not condemned them because I abide in Christ, in whom the Father was the one who did the judging.
You Too Will Be Judged
The group, in turn, feels ashamed because I truthfully identified and addressed their behavior as one who has authority to judge because the truth is in me. The important distinction, anchored in my judgement, is that it was made without condemnation because there is no condemnation in those who reside in Christ.
One of the more significant lessons in John 8 teaches that Jesus did not initiate His involvement. The Pharisees persisted in pressing Him for an answer. His response demonstrates the importance of withholding judgment. It also brings to mind the principle, “Judge, and you too will be judged.” Jesus was pressed to address the situation, and though the Pharisees might have felt ashamed, His response did not condemn them either.
A Testimony of Christ
If I judge, I do so only when I deem it necessary, when it affects me personally or requires my direct involvement—and only under the authority that comes from abiding in Christ. Otherwise, operating outside of His authority will render a judgment entirely unjustified.
Jesus declares, “I am the light that shines through the cosmos; if you walk with Me, you will thrive in the nourishing light that gives life and will not know darkness.”
In other words, my attention is not consumed by the world’s wickedness because I abide in Christ, who is without sin and walks blamelessly before the Father. To abide in Christ is to know the Father who judges in accordance with His Word, which is free from condemnation.
In Christ, my testimony concerns what I have seen and heard, and I testify to who the Father is, as revealed through Christ; and who Christ is, as affirmed by the Father; and who I am, as revealed through the Word of God. My testimony does not judge this world, because the One who dwells in me is not of this world. Instead, I bear witness to what the Father has revealed concerning the world rather than condemning it.
Ultimately, my testimony points people toward the One who alone is our God and our judge, not toward the evil One who is of the world.
The Word of God
Verse 34 teaches that sin involves a life separated from God's Word. Conversely, a life committed to His Word is a life that is free from the power of sin, which results in death, destruction, and eternal condemnation. The law, outside of Christ, cannot by itself save humanity from condemnation, because those who attempt to uphold it and those who break it only know what is evil.
Finally, verse 54 reaffirms that my authority to judge does not come from the approval of others. Instead, it comes from Christ because I remain committed to the Word of God that glorifies the Father and speaks of Jesus, who walks blamelessly before Him.
Today, abide in Christ as Christ abides in me so that His light may grow in you and, in due season, testify of a life that does not condemn and leaves judgment... to God alone.
