Jesus came to exchange the condition of man for the free gift of God. The gift of God would have to be free as mankind had no currency to exchange for it. All they had was themselves, and themselves was part of the condition that Jesus had come to restore.
Let me be clear. I am in no way saying that Jesus did not ask people to change. I am afraid people have been very confused between Jesus message and His character. People whose lives were disintegrating loved Jesus, not because He was tolerant of their condition. They loved Him because He helped them get out of their condition. They loved Him because He was not put off by their need, He stepped right into it, and demonstrated the Kingdoms rule over their need.
Jesus was nice but He was not tolerant of unrighteousness. True love would never leave somebody trapped in bad behavior. Jesus was not put off by lepers or afraid to hang out with prostitutes, but He did not leave them in that condition. That would not have been loving.
No prostitute or sinner ever felt judged by Him, because He was kind and gentle, and non-religious. I am quite sure though that none of them thought He wanted them to stay in the life where He found them. He understood what held them in bondage, took dominion over it, and then told them to go and sin no more.
The religious leaders, the keepers of the Knowledge of good and evil, regularly tried to trap Jesus. One day they dragged a woman out into the square and threw her at Jesus feet. She had been caught in the act of adultery and the Law, interpreted by the Knowledge of good and evil, said she should be stoned to death. These religious leaders wanted to see what Jesus would do. Jesus had a way of seeing, that He transferred into that situation and changed everything.
In this famous story, the religious leaders are seeking Jesus’ permission to stone this woman, which is to throw rocks at her till the blunt force trauma killed her. Jesus sized up the situation and allowed a long silence to pass. The Bible says He stooped and wrote on the ground, no one really knows what He wrote. He looked at the woman, and He looked at the accusing crowd.
He finally speaks to the crowd and says, “Whichever one of you is without sin, throw the first stone.”
One by one the crowd drops their instruments of death and walks away, hanging their heads. Now Jesus has imposed His way of seeing on the crowd. Their self-righteous accusation is not a true reflection of who they were created to be and does not reflect the way God sees this woman. Now Jesus turns to impose His way of seeing on the woman.
“Where are your accusers?” he asks her.
“They are gone, “ she responds. When you have been locked in a cycle of choices and actions based on a perception which has been anchored in you by accusing voices, it is a great relief when they are gone. Jesus has begun to impose His way of seeing and the rule of His kingdom in her heart. He is replacing the rule of the kingdom of darkness as he lifts the blinders placed over her by the accusations of the crowd.
Now He says, “Neither do I accuse you.”
Dude. A righteous God just looked at her unrighteousness and lifted the sentence. Jesus is now changing her perception of God, and as He does, her perception of herself. He did not crush her, He did not expect her to clean up her act in order for Him to forgive, He exchanged her condition for His free gift. The Kingdom power of love makes possible the kingdom gift of righteousness.
He’s not done. He looks her in the eyes again and says, “Go and sin no more.” He was not tolerant of her self-destruction, but He was loving and generous. He changed the cycle of perception, desire, choice, behavior, and impact by changing her key perceptions of Herself and God. This allowed her to see herself in a new way…the way He had seen her when she first entered the square. The kingdom of darkness lost another subject, the King of heaven restored another daughter.
