In the last little while, I’ve heard many people use this phrase as a reason to withhold support or condemn LGBTQ people. How did this happen?
The story of the woman taken in adultery is one of my favorites. It is the very message of the atoning gift of the Savior and the grace He offers each of us.
You know the story. The scholars and the Pharisees bring a woman caught in adultery the place her in the middle of the Temple court and ask Jesus what should be done with her. It’s an obvious trick to convict the Savior. In response Jesus simply says, “Let the person among you who has never done wrong throw the first stone at her.”
So, here’s the really tricky part, the law demands that she be stoned to death. Had any one in the crowd felt they were good enough to throw stones, they might have become a killer.
Skipping to the end misses the layers of beauty in the Savior’s way of loving each of us.
First, He protects her by clearing away those who mean her harm. Only then does speak directly to her about the things she has done. When she tells him no one is left to condemn her, He says to her, “Neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more.”
Sometimes we’re the woman, sometimes we’ the crowd, but Jesus Christ is always the light and the way through our own complicated circumstances.
Using the line, “Go and sin no more” to point out where you think others are wrong, is a lot like waiting in the shadows until the Savior leaves and then picking up one of the unused stones and hucking it at her. - Allison