WALDROP: Exercising good judgment without being judgmental

The Rev. Russell G. Waldrop, D. Min., LPC
Published: August 7, 2008

Well, they think that they finally have him this time. You remember the scene where the religious authorities interrupt Jesus’ seminar in the Temple by bringing in a woman they have entrapped in the act of adultery (John 7:53-8:11). They stand her up in front of the class and put Jesus in the position of either judging her or forgiving her. Either response could jeopardize his reputation. If he joins in stoning her, no sinner will feel comfortable around him again. If he forgives her, the religious community will accuse him of rejecting the Law of Moses (Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:22-24).
We can be torn today about whether to offer judgment or forgiveness. Whether it is politics, religion or personal behavior, we want ourselves and our children to exercise “good judgment,” yet without becoming “judgmental people.”
So how does Jesus get out of this dilemma? Surprisingly, he doesn’t; more surprisingly, he doesn’t even try to get out of it. At first, he ignores the situation (v.6b KJV) by leaning down and writing something on the ground. Why? He wants to heighten everyone’s anxiety to the level where his solution will be the most effective.
Do you remember that Friday afternoon years ago when your teacher started writing your week-end homework assignment on the blackboard and someone asked her a question—hoping she would become distracted and forget about the assignment? In all probability, she didn’t, and kept on writing, right?
Well, Jesus continued to write their spiritual homework. When they persist in distracting him, he announces, “Let the one who is without sin cast the first stone,” then leans down again and adds even more to their homework assignment. Their response is understandable. The older “judges” leave first, “convicted by their own conscience” (v.9); that is, remembering their own checkered history; some of them, possibly, with this very woman.
Since no class member risks embarrassment by claiming to be sinless, they leave her in the care of the only person qualified to stone her. And Jesus makes two statements so unrelated to the intensity of the occasion that she must feel relieved (v.11): “Where did everybody go?” and “Has no one accused you after all?” When she replies, “No one, Lord,” he gives his classic solution to the dilemma of “judgment or forgiveness.”
“Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more” (v.11).
Is that it? Yes, that’s it. But in those ten words Jesus combines forgiveness with judgment rather than choosing either one over the other. First, he is a forgiving person toward her. This makes him different from her other judges. After all, she already knows her condition before God better than anyone.
Secondly, with God’s forgiveness settled for her, Jesus acknowledges that she has not been living her life well; but that she can live differently from now own. He does not give her a “cheap grace” that allows her to dart off without accountability. His judgment is from the larger context of forgiveness which enables her to live responsibly, even if she needs to be forgiven repeatedly in the future (and who doesn’t?).
Is everyone pleased with how Jesus solves the problem of judgment and forgiveness? No. Some people (legalists) will always carry judgment pebbles in their pockets while others (libertines) will never have appropriate judgment or conditions toward anyone or any thing at all. But I believe that we know two people who are very happy to accept Jesus’ solution. One of these people is me; and the other one, hopefully, is you.
The Rev. Russell G. Waldrop, D. Min., LPC, is a pastoral counselor and is chaplain of Western State Hospital. Contact him at 540-332-8004 or email him at .