Pharisees said she’d never be anything. They said she had too many scars and that she was too broken. God said something different though.
In John 8:1-11, we read about the woman who was caught in the act of adultery and was set to be stoned by the Pharisees. Before the stoning was carried out however, she experienced first-hand, the grace and undying love of God through Jesus Christ.
(John 7:53; 8:1-11 NKJV)
“53. And everyone went to his own house. 1. But Jesus went to the Mount of Olive. 2. No early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him and He sat down and taught them. 3. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, 4. They said to Him, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. 5. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?’ 6. This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.
“7. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, ‘He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.’ 8. And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, ‘Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?
“11. She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.’”
Following the account with Jesus, that woman had an unfortunate past to live with, much like a few of us today. But, for those who are struggling with a past that constantly plays on repeat in their mind, I want to let them know that no matter what they are dealing with, whatever the horrible, haunting nightmare may be, when the world sees them as worthless, God sees them as priceless.
Priceless. What does that word mean exactly?
In Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV), it tells us that we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. What this means to me, is that no matter what the past is that we deal with, God has a bigger and brighter plan for each of us. He seen us as something so precious that its value could not be determined even before we were a twinkle in the eye of our mommas.
What makes us priceless though? The answer can be found in 1 Corinthians 7:20.
“For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (1 Corinthians 7:20 NKJV)
The price in which the verse mentions is the blood of Jesus. When He died on the cross, the innocent Jesus took every bit of sin with Him, including the past that we tend to hang onto and let get the best of us at times.
Another thing that makes us priceless in God’s eyes can also be seen in Jesus’s death as well, which is God’s undying love.
“4. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5. even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6. and raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus…” (Ephesians 2:4-6 NKJV)
Because of His love, God never looked at us as worthless, too far gone or defeated. He loved us so much that He sent His one and only Son to die the most gruesome of deaths, just to set us free from sin. When we see ourselves as defeated, He sees us as a champion and likewise, when we see ourselves stuck in our past, and engulfed with the pain from it, He sees us as just one step away from never-ending freedom.
It’s through only His blood and our belief in His love and grace that we are able to step away from the past that we hang onto and truly see ourselves as priceless, much like the adulterer did.
She was told she’d never be anything by the Pharisees. Told that she had too many scars and that she was too broken. But through Jesus, God said something different. He said she would be taken with her scars and with all of her broken pieces and be brought back to life through grace, blood and love. She would no longer be called dirty or worthless, but instead be called pure and priceless.
