The Woman with the Bad Before

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After the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. At daybreak he appeared in the Temple and as all the people came to him, he sat down and began to teach them.

The scribes and Pharisees brought a woman along who had been caught committing adultery; and making her stand there in full view of everybody, they said to Jesus, 'Master, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery, and Moses has ordered us in the Law to condemn women like this to death by stoning. What have you to say?'

They asked him this as a test, looking for something to use against him. But Jesus bent down and started writing on the ground with his finger.

As they persisted with their question, he looked up and said, 'If there is one of you who has not sinned, let him be the first to throw a stone at her'.

Then he bent down and wrote on the ground again.

When they heard this they went away one by one, beginning with the eldest, until Jesus was left alone with the woman, who remained standing there.

He looked up and said, 'Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?'

'No one, sir' she replied. 'Neither do I condemn you,' said Jesus 'go away, and don't sin anymore.'

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Before

I was captivated by a truth from the little book, The Chosen, 40 Days with Jesus which I have adapted. That truth is this – for many of us, our past life was often filled with sin, even grave sin, mortal sin. And often for many years. We are not so different from the woman caught in adultery. Yet Jesus enters our life before we deserve His goodness. He enters our life when we are at our worst. Right when we need Him the most and he is there, ready with His merciful love, if we will take it.

Jesus and Mary came into my life “before” I was a good person. In fact, they came into my life I when I was a very bad person. And my life has never been the same since that moment.

Every follower of Jesus has a not-so-great “before”: Peter, a rash, brash fisherman. Matthew, a thieving tax collector. Mary Magdalene, a demon-possessed woman. And this woman caught in the very act of adultery. And yet God calls people in the “before”—when they aren’t even aware they’re simply broken versions of themselves. God calls people before He begins His transformative work of redemption because He sees past the “before” to what He planned. He sees past the “before” and calls us into an amazing future!

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Take Israel, for example.

Through the prophet Isaiah God chose Israel way before they were a good and faithful nation saying, “I have called you by name, you are mine.” When Isaiah spoke those words, Israel was rebelling against all God had done for them and all He wanted to do. But God didn’t turn away—He showed mercy. He spoke His love over His chosen people, claiming them as His own before they agreed to be. He entered into the “before.”

Our past choices can’t stop God’s future plans for us. What we see when we look in the mirror doesn’t determine what He sees or who we’ll be by His hand, and so our brokenness doesn’t alter His plans. Nor do circumstances, other people, or our own choices determine our value; our value is assigned by the one to whom we belong. So we have nothing to fear.

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Fear not, you’re not who you’re going to be.

Fear not, God can redeem your choices and use them for good. Fear not, God can heal your heart, your body, your relationships. Fear not, you were made for more than what you’ve experienced so far. Fear not, this is only the beginning.

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Every follower of Jesus has a not-so-great “before.”

And every follower of Jesus also has an amazing “after.”

Peter, the fisherman who betrayed Jesus for fear of losing his life became the first Pope and, in the end, gave up his life for Christ.   

Matthew, the thieving taxman traitor became an Apostle, the author of the first Gospel and he too shed his blood for Jesus.

Mary Magdalene, the woman whose past was so bad she became possessed by seven demons was the first person Jesus appeared to on the Day of His Resurrection. Later she brought Catholicism to France.

Jesus doesn’t care about the before in our lives. His only concern is the now. Where is your heart now? Do you want to be all that God has planned?