[[They went each to his own house, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” John 7:53-8:11]]
There are a few things I wonder about today’s verses. First is of minor importance, I wonder what Jesus was writing in the dirt. It is something we will never know but just maybe it was Leviticus 20:10. Of course, they did not have chapters and verses back then that is a more modern way of presenting God’s word. But it might make sense and would tie into my second question, where was the man? We can be assured that the woman did not commit adultery by herself. So, where was the man?
The scribes and Pharisees were quick to bring the woman before Jesus and tell Him that the Law of Moses required that a woman caught in adultery should be stoned. What they failed to mention was that Moses wrote in Leviticus 20:10 that both the man and woman who committed adultery should be put to death. I wonder if Jesus thought the same thing, where was the man? Here is the woman but where is the man?
Still, Jesus was not interested in stoning either the man or the woman. Jesus saw this moment as a teaching moment. Rather than let the woman go free and invalidate the Law, Jesus asked the crowd a simple question. Who among them was sinless? Or as Jesus put is, let him who is without sin cast the first stone. Jesus spoke with such authority that it caused each man in the crowd to stop and think and examine their own lives. One by one they were each convicted by their own sins and quietly left, from the oldest to the youngest. As I have gotten older this order makes sense. The older you are the more sins you have accumulated and they way heavy on your mind. It is easier to justify sine when you are young but as you age the weight of all the sins in your life can drag you down.
So they left one by one and after a while there was only Jesus and the woman. Rather than condemn her Jesus forgives her and tells her to go and sin no more. Did she stop sinning? Of course not. Hopefully she stopped committing adultery, but she was still in her sinful nature. Jesus however was getting ready to solve her and our problem of sin. Try as we may we will still sin even when we have accepted Jesus’ gift. But, Jesus is not here to judge us He is here to forgive us and make a way for each person who received Him to have eternal life. He forgave the woman and He forgives you and He forgives me.
Have a blessed day,
David
