This is the account of the adulterous woman who was brought to Jesus. Of course, if you have an adulterous woman caught in adultery (“the very act”) you must have another party. We read that early one morning Jesus came into the temple and the people were sitting around Him as He was teaching them. “The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery and having set her in the center of the court, they said to Him, ’Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act.’” If she was caught in the very act she was not alone but it seems that these men were only concerned to grab her. Perhaps the fellow was too burly, too big or too scary for them to also lay hold of him. The Law of Moses decreed that such should be put to death for their actions and they bring the woman to Jesus. But we read in verse six they were saying this not because they were desperately concerned about the Law of Moses. They were, as at other times, seeking to discredit Jesus. They were seeking to embarrass Him, seeking to get Him in a corner and put forward an impossible situation where they could accuse Him. Should He go the one way or the other? They were thinking that there were only two options for Him to choose. They were saying these things, “testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him.” But Jesus did not answer them. He stoops down and begins to write on the ground. They press forward and demand an answer of Jesus. He straightens up and says, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” And the account goes that there was a pause. And starting with the oldest and then right down to the youngest of those accusers they started filtering out quietly one by one – and Jesus is left by Himself with the woman. And He says, “Did no one condemn you?” She replies, “No one, Lord.” Jesus declared, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.” Some think that Jesus said, “Go and do whatever you like.” That was not what He said. He says, neither do I condemn you. Go, “sin no more.” The truth is that these individuals were seeking to trap Jesus. Perhaps the whole thing was a setup. Perhaps the leaders knew the guy and had set this up so they would have someone to bring to Jesus. Maybe they said to the fellow, “look, you escape and we’ll turn a blind eye.” That would seem to be exactly what is taking place here and why the man was not dragged in before Jesus as well. The man was every bit as culpable, likely much more so, than the woman.
TBHTA Mar. 17, 2024
