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200. The Woman Caught In Adultery


Leviticus 20:10-24, John 7:53-8:11
Key Verse: "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."
John 8:11B

Note: in my bible, and probably in yours as well, there is this notation:
"The earliest and most reliable manuscripts do not have John 7:53-8:11." Okay? So now what do we do with that? Do we just pretend it isn’t there?  Do we cut it out of the Bible because it leads to bad theology?  What I mean by that is some of us who don't want fingers pointed at us can say, "If any of you is without sin cast the first stone." Everyone sins therefore, everyone is exempt from criticism from their fellow sinner.  But on the other hand good sermons about appropriate forgiveness have been preached and lessons have been taught. This is such a wonderful scripture for that kind of thing.  Besides, all of Scripture can be abused to produce bad theology.

In light of this, I will discuss this passage as if it were a true event that took place during our Lord's walk on this earth because it does hold valuable lessons for us. I'm sure that even if this exact event didn't not occur, there were many others like it. For example, though we don't know the actual story of Mary Magdalene, we know that Jesus released her from seven demons, so I'm sure that Jesus treated her similarly to the woman in our story.

Remember that we are still with the crowds in Jerusalem. This event then may have served as a distraction during the Feast of Tabernacles, since it is actually recorded in the middle of that narrative. She is put on display, before the people, to test Jesus and, hopefully, further prove just how flawed He is. It's interesting to me that the law actually states, "If a MAN commits adultery with another man's wife, with the wife of his neighbor, BOTH the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death." (Lev. 20:10) We already have a problem because this woman is standing alone. Where is her partner in crime? How did the leadership know of her activity? I've often wondered if the reason that they knew is because many of them were guilty of joining with her, but the "good old boys club" wasn't about to finger any one of them on that score.

"But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with His finger." (John 8:6B) What! What! What did He write? Was it the names of the men that Jesus knew were also guilty? Was it the sins of those standing around, maybe not adultery, but something else? Why doesn't God want us to know? Whatever it was, it must have been convicting enough so that when Jesus looked up and said, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." (John 8:7B) This reminds me of Jesus' teaching in the sermon on the Mount. "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." (Matt. 7:3 - 5) Jesus is not saying here that this woman is innocent, but whatever He is writing is convicting her accusers that they are not innocent either.

So, one by one, they depart, not admitting anything, not apologizing, but just leaving, probably in frustration that yet another brilliant scheme of theirs was foiled by Jesus. When they are out of the way, He turns His attention to the woman.

Some like to see this woman as a victim, as if she were raped. If this were so, however, I believe that Jesus would have consoled her. Instead, He gives her a charge, as if she has control over her destiny. "Go now and leave your life of sin." (John 8:11B) This is similar to Jesus’ charge to the healed paralytic in John 5: "See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you." (John 5:14B) God is always willing and eager to forgive, even though He knows all. It is up to us to determine how we will use that gift.

Hymn: "Jesus, What A Friend for Sinners"  
& "Jesus Friend of Sinners" by Casting Crowns 

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