God has never wanted to condemn. That has never been his purpose. His Old Testament Laws were meant to distinguish the Israelites as his people and preserve them from spiritual and physical harm. When people rebel, rather than looking forward to punishing them for their sin, God grieves over the rebellious child. He yearns to bring restoration. When Jesus comes as Immanuel, he teaches and shows that God seriously cares about reaching and redeeming rebellious sinners. Incredibly, both Jesus and John the Baptist have more success with those who are in outright rebellion than with those who have been inoculated by their legalistic religious debates. Jesus came to the lost, the broken and the least, to save, mend, and make first.