Tried and Tested
Opening Prayer
Lord, open my heart to Your healing.
Read John 8:2–11
2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11 “No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise” (Psa. 111:10).
Whether or not this episode was originally included at this point in John’s narrative (the earliest manuscripts omit 7:53–8:11), it fits very well here with the overall theme of the ongoing trial of Jesus by the Jewish authorities. By bringing the woman caught in adultery before Jesus publicly (3), they create a “courtroom scene” in which it is actually he rather than she who is placed in the dock.
Their question regarding the appropriate course of action to be taken against the woman (4,5) has, therefore, nothing to do with a legitimate concern for God’s justice. Rather, it is a calculated move to lure Jesus into pronouncing forgiveness of sins and so—in the eyes of his accusers—to condemn himself as one who disregards the Law of Moses. How ironic it is, then, that their actions elicit a response from Jesus (7) that does nothing to undermine the Law of Moses but forces his accusers to identify themselves publicly as condemned sinners, no less deserving of punishment than the woman they so mercilessly dragged before him (9)! It is a simply stunning riposte, reminiscent of Solomon’s wisdom (1 Kings 3:16–28). In other words, for those with ears to hear, it expresses exactly the kind of kingly wisdom and divine impartiality expected of Israel’s Messiah. Jesus has acquitted himself convincingly of the charge of making false claims about himself.
For those with eyes to see, perhaps the unexpected suffering of Israel’s Messiah is also anticipated here. Left alone with the woman, Jesus forgoes his right to throw the first stone, throwing her instead the lifeline of forgiveness (10,11). He can do this not because her sin does not matter but because he knows he will soon take onto himself the death which will ultimately redeem her.
Apply
Having yourself experienced God’s gracious forgiveness in Christ,
to whom do you now need to extend that same forgiveness? Pray for the grace to do so.
Closing prayer
Lord, we all find ourselves as this woman, helplessly guilty before
God. Thank You for dealing with me as compassionately as You dealt with her.
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