“3The Torah scholars and Pharisees bring in a woman who had been caught in adultery. After putting her in the middle, 4 they say to Yeshua, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of committing adultery. 5 In the Torah, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do You say?”” (John 8)
What a dramatic encounter! In this incident, Jesus was challenged with a point of Torah involving a woman who became a scapegoat, a pawn entrapped within a conspiracy. Jesus was confronted with a carefully conceived ruse that appeared foolproof. Had He sanctioned death by stoning according to Torah, He would have been in breach of the civil (Roman) law since only a sovereign state held the authority to exercise capital punishment. However, by supporting the civil law, He would have then transgressed Torah.
Jesus completely outmanoeuvred His opponents. He responded to their question by writing in the dust, maybe from Leviticus 5:1:
“If someone is privy to a ‘crime’ yet does not speak out against all concerned (thereby diluting the evidence) he must confess his guilt and bring an offering to the Temple as compensation.”
Jesus’ answer made immediate sense to those who questioned Him:
‘He who is without sin should cast the first stone.’
It simply addressed the issue, exposing the hypocrisy of the woman’s accusers that recalled the law in Leviticus for adultery, requiring death by stoning for both the adulterer and the adulteress. Only one guilty party had been brought to Jesus. The
adulterer was conspicuously absent, and this, therefore, tainted their witness. According to Torah, by condemning the woman they would be simultaneously accusing themselves. When confronted with this, their true motives were exposed and the
accusers became the accused through their own words and actions.
Jesus’ conversation with the adulteress revealed His heart. Her accusers (witnesses) had disappeared, and since in Torah two or more witnesses were needed to uphold an accusation, He could not have legally condemned her even had He chosen to do so.
But, neither could He overlook the gravity of her sin, because love not only forgives but holds usaccountable. He set her free, yet also warned her to ‘sin’ no more. There is a subtle but profound difference
between being judgmental and judging correctly. Today, we are surrounded by more than a few believers who promote unbiblical lifestyles and behaviour, claiming that God’s grace ‘covers all.’ They conclude that to challenge ungodly behaviour however one may do so is being ‘judgmental’ and use this line of thought to avoid dealing with issues that grieve the Holy Spirit of God.
Immediately after the incident in the story, Jesus refers to Himself as, ‘The Light of the World’ where all darkness is exposed through Him. There is a parable from the Jewish sages of a person who is standing in darkness. When he starts out to walk, he meets with a stone and stumbles over it; he meets with a drain and falls into it, striking his face against the ground. Why does he do this? Because he has no lamp in his hand. They, on the other hand, who live in close relationship with God may be standing in darkness but have a lamp in their hands. When they see a stone they do not stumble over it, or a drain they will not fall into it.
As believers, all of us without exception are completely dependant upon Jesus, who is ‘a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.’ (Psalm 119:105) This not only keeps us humble and fully dependant upon Him in all things pertaining to life but ensures that we are travelling in the right direction and keeps us from falling over stumbling blocks. So, should we ever take our eyes off Him (who has not?) and find ourselves examining our bruises, allow Him to rekindle our lamps – that is a good choice – and we will see that Jesus is kneeling close by writing in the dust.
