Adultery, Laws, and Forgiveness

John 7:53-8:11

^7:53[[They went each to his own house, ^8:1but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. ²Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. ³The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst ⁴they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. ⁵Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” ⁶This 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. ⁷And 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.” ⁸And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. ⁹But 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. ¹⁰Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” ¹¹She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”]]

You’ve all studied this text before, I’m sure. But we want to give it a detailed look this morning and see if God has anything new for us. The story is a collision of the Old and New Testament. Jesus is minding His own business when the Pharisees accost Him (yet again) with a “test”. This was just another one of the many scenarios they placed before Him in order to make Him look foolish or like a fraud. Of course, He never failed to turn the tables on them and this incident was no different.

Spurious nature of the text: I want to briefly discuss a problem with the text.

• Not included in the original manuscript.
• Possibly added as late as the 12th Century.
• Most scholars believe the incident to be completely true, just not a part of the original book of John

Jesus always speaks to His children with words of grace and forgiveness. A shining example of this grace is found in the story of the woman caught in adultery. Before we look at the story in John, let’s look at exactly what the Old Testament has to say about adultery.

Leviticus 20:10

If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.

Deuteronomy 22:22–27

²²“If a man is found lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman. So you shall purge the evil from Israel.

²³“If there is a betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her,

²⁴then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbor’s wife. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

²⁵“But if in the open country a man meets a young woman who is betrothed, and the man seizes her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die.

²⁶But you shall do nothing to the young woman; she has committed no offense punishable by death. For this case is like that of a man attacking and murdering his neighbor,

²⁷because he met her in the open country, and though the betrothed young woman cried for help there was no one to rescue her.

Just some context for the events recorded here:

• The only occasion on record that refers to Jesus writing
• Jesus’ response puts the dilemma back on his questioners
• Clearly they were present to witness the offense, thus making them a part of the crime and so too worthy of the penalty – their setting of a trap is exposed
• When capital punishment was imposed, the witnesses had to begin the stoning

The Levitical laws were clear. If adultery is committed, both the man and woman die. If the woman is raped with no hope of help, only the man dies. And the only time stoning was mentioned as the penalty for this sin was in the case of unmarried sex with a virgin. These are the laws to which the Pharisees refer as they throw this poor woman at the feet of Jesus. Clearly, they are playing fast and loose with their own rules.

Jesus’ only answer to the Pharisees and the crowd is the often quoted words, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” So much power in such a brief statement. The brevity of the statement is part of the beauty of the story. Sometimes, especially when it comes to words, less is more. What do you think Jesus was writing in the dirt? It’s all speculation from even the greatest of scholars, so let your sanctified imagination run wild. I am fascinated by Jeremiah 17:10-14 when examining this story from John.

Jeremiah 17:10-14

¹⁰“I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

¹¹Like the partridge that gathers a brood that she did not hatch, so is he who gets riches but not by justice; in the midst of his days they will leave him, and at his end he will be a fool.

¹²A glorious throne set on high from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary.

¹³O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be put to shame; those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water.

¹⁴Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise.

This Jeremiah passage is spectacular for so many reasons. It is possible Jesus was simply writing the names of those who were holding onto stones for throwing. Their names were “written in the earth”. Finally, we read Romans 8:1-2. Here we find the exact sentiment Jesus expresses to the woman at His feet. What does this passage say you about your own life? What do others have the right to say about you?

Romans 8:1-2

¹There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

²For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

Jesus says very little to the Pharisee and saves His best words for the woman while they are in private. It is a beautiful picture of who Jesus is to us and of His perfect love for even the worst of sinners – like me. He comes to make atonement for our sin, thus bringing us into His eternal Kingdom. Paul talks of our standing before the throne of God in stunning and unrelenting terms. Because we stand before God covered in the blood of Jesus he sees only holiness and purity. No one can make any claim against us that will stick. This unfortunate woman find grace, mercy, and peace in the presence of Jesus and it is quite likely we will stand next to her in eternity.