John 7:53-8:11 (ESV)

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

This is an unusual passage because the oldest surviving manuscripts of John’s Gospel don’t contain the account. Although it is debatable whether this was part of John’s original Gospel, little else falls into the “maybe” category when it comes to passages of the Bible. There are many surviving New Testament documents, and scholars have a tremendous number of texts from which to work. The majority of scholars believe this account actually occurred, although it wasn’t part of John’s biography. Either way, including or omitting it doesn’t alter Christian theology. According to the story, while Jesus was teaching, the religious leaders drug a woman before him who had been caught in the act of adultery. They reminded him that Moses commanded stoning for this offense and asked Jesus what he thought should happen to her. They weren’t really interested in Jesus’ opinion, but they thought this would be a great way to entrap him. The scribes and Pharisees wanted to execute her, but because they were under Roman rule, they didn’t have the authority to do so. If Jesus said she should be stoned, he would be “in trouble” with the Romans. If he said she shouldn’t be stoned, then he would be “in trouble” with Moses. He didn’t speak at all, but instead wrote something in the dirt. He told those who were without sin to stone the woman. One by one, they walked away.

Many women throughout the world, in the past and even now, have been executed because of a manipulative mob. In today’s text, the mob claimed that this woman was caught in the act of adultery. If that were true, then what happened to the man? Why was he released while she was condemned? The religious leaders used this woman to entrap Jesus. But Jesus saw through their deceit. He defended the woman without condoning her sin. He reminded the angry mob that they were just as guilty of sin as she. People often wonder what Jesus wrote in the dirt. Many suggest he listed the sins of those present, maybe even writing the names of those with whom they were committing adultery. This would make perfect sense given his charge to the woman to “Go and sin no more.” Jesus defended the woman against unjust treatment, and he spoke to her sin, saying, “Neither do I condemn you.” We all deserve death and hell, but because we are in Christ there is no condemnation for us either. The mercy of Jesus should bring us to our knees in gratitude today.