Thoughts on John 8

Lately I have been reading a book called "Why Not Women? A Fresh Look at Scripture on Women in Missions, Ministry, and Leadership."  One of the co-authors is Loren Cunningham of Youth with a Mission (YWAM).

Thus far in the book, the authors have discussed the cultural perspectives of ancient Greek, ancient Rome, and many Jewish rabbis within Judaism.  I'm in the section right now that discusses how Jesus broke down these standards.

Among other stories from the Gospels, the authors discuss the story of the woman caught in adultery--you can read it in John 8.  Here's a short summary.

The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery, and reminded Jesus of the law that says to "stone such women."  Essentially, this was a trap they set for Jesus.


The next thing that Jesus does is to write on the ground with his finger.  We are not told what he wrote.  The people kept questioning him, so he replied, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."  Little by little, the people left, the older ones first.  When it was just Jesus and the woman, Jesus asked her, "Where are they? Has anyone condemned you?...Then neither do I condemn you.  Go now and leave your life of sin." (John 8:1-11)

Have you ever noticed the teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought only the WOMAN to Jesus?  What happened to the man?  As the author of this chapter states, "Can a woman commit adultery by herself?"

Yesterday, my friend and I were talking about this passage. Verse 9 says, "At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time..."  I'd always assumed "this" referred to Jesus' statement -- but the sentence immediately preceding verse 9 is Jesus writing on the ground again!  We wondered what Jesus could have written, since it doesn't say in the text.  What would've been powerful enough to send the people away?

Here's one possibility (which others may have already thought of).  The law the teachers/Pharisees were citing can be found in Leviticus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 22:22:  "If a man commits adultery with another man's wife -- with the wife of his neighbor -- both the adulterer and adulteress must be put to death" and "If a man is found sleeping with another man's wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die.  You must purge the evil from Israel."

What if Jesus was writing these passages from the Law of Moses?  Obviously the teachers of the law and the Pharisees had indeed found people committing adultery, but they let the man go.  By holding this double standard, they were guilty themselves of not upholding the Law of Moses.  Jesus could have been showing them that they too were not following the Law of Moses, thereby sinning because they were not purging evil from their own hearts.  How many times have we pointed fingers of blame at others while failing to notice the sin in our own lives?

One other thought from this passage:  Jesus did not condemn this woman.  Rather, he offered her a second chance and a command to leave her life of sin.  When we are convicted of sin in our lives, Jesus offers a chance to turn to Him and walk in his ways instead of the ways of sin.  This is a step by step journey, as I have been learning recently--it's about choices we make each and every day.  Yes, there are times when Jesus instantly and completely changes our desires or attitudes, but often there are times when we need to practice a humble Christ-like attitude, self-control in our actions and thoughts, love toward others, or think before we speak.  We cannot make these changes on our own, but it's the power of God's Spirit at work within us.

Praise God that he takes our brokenness and makes it beautiful!