It is a challenge for Christians today to live in moral purity and aspire for holiness. The world around us is increasingly confusing with nations accepting legally same sex marriages, homosexuality, easy abortion, and such as new social norms. Even the church considers it a necessary adjustment and a matter of accepting human nature and chemistry. Calling up on the universal grace of God and His love for creation has become a very good excuse to approve all that.
On the other extreme, there is spiritual and social alienation of confessing sinners within the church. If someone can cover, hide or play around with their sins and put up a good face they are easily accepted in the church where spiritual discernment is lacking in any amount. If they do the right things and are ok before others, they are considered righteous and holy. Even things are tolerated and hushed down when it becomes exposed among ‘holy’ leaders and clergy, as if they have a separate standard to be excused. Power and money also play a crucial and deciding role.
But if someone humbly and penitently accept his/her sin/s, confess and expose himself before God and His church, he/she is ridiculed, looked down up on, disciplined, ostracized, humiliated, discounted, alienated, and made a nobody before the fellow believers, family and society. This was not the intent of Galatians 6:1, when Paul wrote it and when Jesus taught in Matt 18 to tackle such problems. Instead rumors will be spread and everything done to destroy the person, his credibility and honor. Some will take it as opportunity to discredit and take revenge for whatever they have boiling with as well as enjoy the fall of a fellow ‘saint’.
In this context, it may be meaningful to look at some instances when such situations came up in the life time of Jesus.
Look at the woman caught in adultery in John 8:1-11. She was caught in the act, (though we do not know what happened to the man?) and was brought by a crowd of righteous people zealous for the implementation of the law and hence purify the society. Jesus was not that interested to get involved but when pressed upon He proclaimed, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” He allowed them to act on their law. As one by one left the scene it would have been an opportunity for the woman also to disappear and save herself but she did not. That shows she accepted the sin and was penitent and willing to be punished. Jesus asks her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” to which she answers, ‘No one Lord”. Then Jesus pronounces, (though I am the one who is eligible to throw you as a man without sin but) “Then neither do I condemn you, Go now and leave your life of sin.” What is Jesus trying say? It is clear, your penitence is accepted, you are forgiven and you are reinstated with a warning not to repeat. It would have been practically difficult for her to go back to her family and society but she must have become a part of the women who served Jesus and hence into a new society of honor and status. That is restoration.
Think about Mary Magdalene at Simon lepers house in Luke 7:36-50 . Her presence was not accepted by the host and the guests and she was declared a sinner and hence untouchable. But Jesus allows her to touch Him and express her grief and penitence through an unusual action of faith and thankfulness. Simon’s response was very natural and socially accepted but Jesus too it as an opportunity to bring out a higher truth of forgiveness and restoration. His telling the story of the debtors was to the point and indicative. He condemned Simon for his outward righteousness and show of faith while commended the penitence, grief and thankfulness of a confessing sinner. Then He went on to bring her in by pronouncing forgiveness publicly. She also was an integral part of Jesus itinerant team and later shines out as one important enough to be given a personal appearance after resurrection. She was easily restored into the community of faith instantly.
The woman at the well in John 4 is another example of a known and declared sinner confronting Jesus. She was hesitant to expose herself and argued on to keep her fallen identity. But Jesus pulls her up to her own fallen reality and challenges her and an gives opportunity to repair and get restored. She grabs the opportunity and exposes herself and accepted her sin followed on by publicly accepting it before the fellow villagers as an opportunity to introduce Jesus. She became an instant witness to the Messiah once she was at peace with her accepted relationship with Him. Jesus instantly accepted her by exposing her life and on her agreement by revealing Himself for her to believe. That led her to be restored in her village and become a witness for which she is credited by her villagers. Jesus staying there in the village must have reinforced that restoration. In contrast, the disciples could not accept all this and had to be rebuked and challenged.
Zacchaeus was a declared sinner in Luke 19. He was not willing to be exposed but had a willingness to see Jesus. Jesus sought him out on the Sycamore tree and challenged him giving an opportunity to receive Him into his sinful home. He took it gladly an went further to accept his past life publicly and renounce it once for all by leaving all the attachments. Jesus declared,” salvation has come to this home and he also is a son of Abraham” meaning he is accepted into the community of believers. Again the righteous ones beyond the gate was not willing and could not accept his confessions and re-instatement.
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