John 8:3-11 tells of the adulteress that was brought to Jesus by the Jewish leaders and Pharisees, to see what His reaction would be. Would he obey the Law of Moses and have her stoned to death, or could they trap Him into saying something they could use against Him.
At the time of Jesus, stoning was not popular as in the time of Moses. At the time of Jesus people were sort of looking the other way, and not bothering prostitutes, much like it is today. But in this incident the crowd made a point to let Jesus know this woman was caught in the act of adultery. Why? The whole thing was a set up by the community leaders who opposed Jesus, to trap Jesus. I do not believe the crowd could have cared less about her sin; they were just interested in what Jesus would say or do, as far as Jewish law.
In verse 5 the crowd lets Jesus know "Moses' law says to kill her. What sayest thou?" At this point Jesus stooped down and started writing in the sand. When the crowd kept demanding an answer, He stood up and made the statement "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." He then stooped down a second time and continued writing in the sand. At that time the Jewish leaders began slipping away, beginning with the eldest, and as the custom, when the younger ones saw their elders leave, they followed out of respect.
Why would Jesus take the time to write something in the sand at such a crucial time? An interesting tradition states, that He was writing the names of the people standing in front of Him, the woman’s accusers. When they saw their names being written in the dust by a Man unfamiliar with them, (and the fact they were all sinners), it was time to lay down their stones and leave.
Jesus then asked the woman, where her accusers were? She said "no man, Lord." And Jesus replied "Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more." (John 8:11).
John 3:16 just about sums up the entire Bible "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." The next verse (John 3:17) states "For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved." And this verse (verse 17) is why Jesus did not condemn the adulteress. He did not come into the world to condemn people, but to save people.
This particular incident in the Bible is probably one of the best examples of why Christ came into this world. If only the sinless ones could cast the stones, there would not be anybody qualified in those days, or today, other than Jesus, to throw the stones. He alone is the only sinless person to walk the earth. But instead, He forgives the woman, with the stipulation that she sins no more, fulfilling John 3:17.
By George Konig
June 27, 2004
www.georgekonig.org
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