I'm just going to focus on a couple aspects of this chapter, there are so many different things that can be considered.
First, Jesus 'frees' a woman caught committing adultery. The Pharisees brought her as a way to test Jesus, to see how He would respond. The Pharisees thought they had Jesus in a trap, that whichever way He answered, He could be charged. Jesus was one step ahead of them, though. He turns the question on them and asks them to consider their own sins and their own wrongdoings. After looking within themselves, none of them could press charge against the woman. I think this teaches us that Jesus will be there for us, as long as we believe. If we come to Him openly, He will always offer us forgiveness and freedom.
Secondly, Jesus tells us that "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." He is not suggesting that we are held captive by a person, but rather by our own sin. In order to be freed from this slavery we must turn and confess to God.
-Jenni
It seems that in this passage Jesus is giving us - as he did the Pharisees - a MAJOR reminder about judging others. As Jenni said, how wonderful to know that Jesus does offer forgiveness once we acknowledge our sins and ask for that forgiveness. As we have been hearing over the previous months, that is just the first step, we MUST then follow His teachings: "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
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