John Calvin Commentary John 8:11

"And she said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said, Neither do I condemn thee: go thy way; from henceforth sin no more." — John 8:11 (ASV)

Neither do I condemn thee. We are not told that Christ absolutely acquitted the woman, but that he allowed her to go at liberty. Nor is this surprising, for he did not wish to undertake anything that did not belong to his office. He had been sent by the Father to gather the lost sheep (Matthew 10:6), and, therefore, mindful of his calling, he exhorts the woman to repentance, and comforts her by a promise of grace.

Those who infer from this that adultery should not be punished with death, must, for the same reason, admit that inheritances should not be divided, because Christ refused to arbitrate in that matter between two brothers (Luke 12:13). Indeed, there will be no crime whatever that will not be exempted from the penalties of the law, if adultery is not punished; for then the door will be thrown open for any kind of treachery, and for poisoning, and murder, and robbery.

Besides, the adulteress, when she bears an unlawful child, not only robs the name of the family, but violently takes away the right of inheritance from the lawful offspring, and conveys it to strangers. But what is worst of all, the wife not only dishonors the husband to whom she had been united, but prostitutes herself to shameful wickedness, and likewise violates the sacred covenant of God, without which no holiness can continue to exist in the world.

Yet the Popish theology is that in this passage Christ has brought to us the Law of grace, by which adulterers are freed from punishment. And though they endeavor, by every method, to erase from people's minds the grace of God—such grace as is everywhere declared to us by the doctrine of the Gospel—yet in this passage alone they preach aloud the Law of grace.

Why is this, if not that they may pollute, with unbridled lust, almost every marriage-bed, and may escape unpunished? Truly, this is the fine fruit that we have reaped from the diabolical system of celibacy: that those who are not permitted to marry a lawful wife can commit fornication without restraint.

But let us remember that, while Christ forgives the sins of people, he does not overturn political order or reverse the sentences and punishments appointed by the laws.

Go, and sin no more. From this we infer what the purpose of Christ's grace is. It is that the sinner, being reconciled to God, may honor the Author of his salvation by a good and holy life. In short, by the same word of God, when forgiveness is offered to us, we are likewise called to repentance. Besides, though this exhortation looks to the future, it still humbles sinners by bringing their past life to remembrance.