1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 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, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
Spending the night on the Mount of Olives while the Pharisees slept soundly in their soft beds both attests to and confirms the fact of the following Truth which our Lord spoke regarding His lifestyle:
20 Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." Matt 8:20 (NIV)
How very appropriate for the “Light of the world” to return to the temple courts at dawn to usher in the day. In our verses for today, we once again see the “Son” rising to shine. We are told that not too few people gathered to hear the Word of our Master which certainly had to have been a thorn in the Pharisees flesh. They despised His growing popularity. Wanting to trap Him by His Words and striving to find a basis for accusing Him, these teachers and Pharisees devised a plan in which they wrongly assumed would place Jesus over the proverbial barrel. This was not an unusual tactic as this appears to be their constant mode of operandi – futile as it was. We find in Matthew the following:
15 Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. Matt 22:15 (NIV)
They bring before Him a woman caught in the act of adultery – making her stand before the group – mockingly desirous of Jesus’ judgment over her sin – seemingly unaware of the hypocrisy due to the blatant malice in their own hearts and actions. Never mind that Jesus already stated He came not as a judge – it is rather the rejection of Jesus’ Words which brings judgment upon mankind:
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:17 (NIV)
47 "As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. 48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. John 12:47-48 (NIV)
If Jesus had confirmed the sentence of the Law they would have accused Him of inconsistency having Himself received and forgiven tax collectors and prostitutes and yet if He had acquitted her they would have said He had not kept the Law of righteousness. Seeing through their duplicity, Jesus seems to turn a deaf ear, bends down and begins to write on the ground with His finger, teaching us by His actions to be slow to speak, particularly in difficult cases. It would behoove us all to think twice before we speak once. Jesus’ silence did not settle well with His enemies as they vehemently kept the questions coming. Standing, Jesus spoke weighty Words of wisdom referring His hearers to the verse in Deuteronomy albeit personalizing it with a slant that pricked their conscience:
7 The hands of the witnesses must be the first in putting him to death, and then the hands of all the people. You must purge the evil from among you. Deut 17:7 (NIV)
In this Jesus neither justified nor condemned the adulteress while continuing to demonstrate reverence for the Law of Moses. His aim was to not only bring the prisoner to repentance by showing her mercy but the prosecutors as well by showing them their sin. While they were hoping to ensnare Him by His Words, His goal was to convert and convince them of the Truth.
4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 1 John 3:4-5 (NIV)
“The blood of Jesus hath greater power to save, than sin, together with the law, hath to condemn; for the blood of Christ takes away and abolishes it utterly; where this blood is applied and brought home, sin itself cannot ruin that soul.” K. H. Von Bogatzky
16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Heb 4:16 (NIV)