Jesus went in the evening to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning, Jesus came again into the temple. A crowd gathered around Him. Jesus sat down and began to teach them.

The Scribes, the expositors of religious law, and the Pharisees, who attempted zealous compliance with it, brought a woman caught in adultery. They set her in the center. They said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. What do you say?”

They said this to test Him, that they might be able to accuse Him of something.

But Jesus stooped down. With his finger, Jesus wrote on the ground.

They persisted in asking Him. Jesus straightened up and said to them, “He who is without sin, throw the first stone.” Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. When they heard this, they went out one by one, beginning with the oldest ones first.

Jesus was left alone, and the woman in the middle of the crowd.

Jesus stood up. He saw no one but the woman. “Ma’am, where are your accusers? Has no one accused you?” “No one, Lord,” she replied. “Neither do I accuse you. Go and sin no more.” John 8:1-11

 

Jesus’ Posture

• Jesus sits down, the posture of a rabbi, a teacher.
• Jesus stoops down, lowering Himself, in humility. Jesus’ position on the ground is in solidarity and identification with the woman cast there, in contrast to the accusers towering over both of them. It is His kenosis, emptying Himself, described in Philippians 2. It was as if to say, if you will stone her, you must stone Me.
• Jesus stands up, a posture of her defender. Jesus speaks wisdom directly. Jesus is humble, not weak.
• Jesus stoops again, writing on the ground. He maintains His position, both physically and in his attitude in His exchange with the accusers, of strength, humility and wisdom.
• Finally, Jesus stands up to speak to the woman. Jesus stands in place of those who had been standing in authority, domination and accusation. Now they have fled. Jesus stands in authority, but not to accuse, not to dominate, not to condemn, and not to use her for an agenda. Jesus stands to take authority over the situation to refute the atmosphere of accusation, spectacle and shame. Jesus authoritatively commands grace, forgiveness and freedom. The accusers brought her as a captive. Jesus rises in authority, power and dignity to set her free.

What Does Jesus Write?

Wouldn’t we love to know. Some have speculated that Jesus was writing the sins of the accusers, and that is why they disbursed. But is this consistent with the Jesus we see revealed in the rest of Scriptures? Is it like Jesus to keep a log of sins, to throw them back in one’s face at the opportune time? Not so. Throughout scripture, God promises to remove our sins, to cover our sins, to separate us from our sins as far as the east is from the west, to remember our sins no more.

Would it not be more like Jesus to write words like:

“I understand.”

“I love you.”

“I forgive you.”

“I accept and receive you.”

“Cast your cares on Me.”

“I who know no sin will become sin on your behalf.”

“I will shed My blood for you.”

“I will die for you.”

“Come follow me.”

Jesus Sees Only the Woman.

“When Jesus had raised Himself up [He] saw no one but the woman.” John 8:10b (NKJV) (curiously, some English translations omit this phrase, which is in the Greek). The accusers leave the woman and Jesus in the middle of a crowd in a public place. Jesus lifts his eyes, but he no longer sees the crowd he was teaching that morning before the commotion of the accusers arrived. He sees only one person, she who was formerly accused.

She is likely lying on the ground, cast there by her accusers, disheveled and disoriented. Her accusers have drug her into a very public place, a religious place. She has been tagged with a scarlet letter, two, actually: an “A” for adultery, and an “S” for shame. She has been deliberately shamed, and she looks every bit of it.

Jesus sees only her. Her. Not her appearance. Not her disarray. Not what she was accused of. Not her past.

Not her shame.

Only … her.

But He also sees her pain and distress, and He speaks into it.

Jesus Dispels Accusation

“Where are your accusers,” Jesus asked the woman. “Does no one accuse you any longer?” “No, not even one.”

Jesus’ ministry is not just to liberate the condemned, it is to silence the condemnation. He does not just excuse punishment for the indictment, He cancels the indictment. Jesus does not just defend against the accusation, He stops the accusation. There is never a guilty verdict from which to be exonerated. The trial never proceeds.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Who is the one who condemns? It is Christ Jesus who died, rather was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who intercedes for us.

Where are my accusers? There are none. Not even one.

The Woman’s Response.

Her response is remarkably brief. There are no words of repentance or contrition. No admission of guilt. No request for forgiveness. No plea for mercy. No appeal for justice. No commitment to change, to turn over a new leaf, to do better. No apology. No sinner’s prayer. Or is there?

She called Him “Lord.” Master. A salutation of honor. A recognition of status and authority. An expression of respect – and submission.

The woman could have been hard, cynical or rebellious. Who were these men to shame her so? Who was this itinerant Teacher in whose presence she was cast, and what right had he to pass judgment on her or decide her fate?

With one word, her heart was revealed not to be resistant, but surrendered. “Lord.”

This was all the permission the Lord of Life needed to bring grace and healing to this broken soul.

Jesus Frees Into New Life

“Go,” Jesus pronounces. This is not banishment, but release.

This release was both from condemnation and shame, and into freedom, empowerment and life. Just as a key frees a captive from bondage, it also grants entry into an abode.

The statement coupled with it, “sin no more,” invokes the possibility, the expectation, and the power at Jesus’ word that life free from the power of sin can actually be lived. Jesus does not send the woman back to her old life. He releases her into a new life of freedom and purity, a radical reversal.

For He has delivered us from the dominion, the domination, the oppression of darkness. And he has brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have forgiveness and redemption from sin. He has delivered us out of a dominion, and into a kingdom, not another dominion. A dominion is oppressive. It is ruled by an oppressor, a despot. A kingdom has order and authority, but with a King like Jesus it is also a place of peace, freedom, vitality and life.

Jesus’ saying “go” was also saying “come.” Come in to My way of living, My Kingdom. Come to freedom. Come to life. Come to dignity. Come to freedom from shame. Come to Me.

Conclusion

Jesus stoops down to my distress. He stands with authority to deliver. He sees me, not my shame. He sees with eyes filled with grace. He cancels the indictment.

He says “go.” And He says “come.”

~~~