John 8:1-11

I almost hesitate to study this text as devotions since even evangelicals agree that this text was not originally a part of John. This story is unverifiable. But it offers some lessons that are verified in other parts of Scripture, so I'll go ahead.

 

Whoever inserted this story makes it seem as though this takes place on the day following the events John had just written about. The people, the temple guards, and even the religious leaders are divided in their response to Jesus and uncertain whether to accept Him or reject Him. Jesus comes back into town, and the religious leaders think that they have figured out a way to settle the issue once and for all. They bring out a woman who has been caught in the act of adultery, they publicly remind Jesus what Moses said should be done to such a woman, and then they ask Jesus whether He agrees with Moses or not. This situation is certainly possible, and the story is plausible. It could have happened. But we don't know.

 

The text they seem to be referring to that commands people to stone a woman caught in adultery is probably somewhere in Deuteronomy 22:13-27. Several situations are described there. In the first situation, a man marries a woman but then does not believe that she was a virgin. The woman and her family are supposed to bring evidence that she was a virgin; if she is found to have been promiscuous before marriage, she must be stoned. In the next situation, a man is found sleeping with another man's wife; both of them must die. In the next situation, a man and a virgin who is pledged to be married are caught sleeping together in a town; both must be stoned (incidentally, if this same thing happens in the country, the girl is presumed to be innocent and man is assumed to have raped her).

 

It doesn't seem that this is the first scenario; we don't read anything about an accusing husband or the girl's family. But whether this is the second or third scenario, something is missing; in both of these, the men are also supposed to be stoned. Where is the guilty man?

 

I don't know what Jesus was writing, or whether this story is completely false and Jesus didn't even know how to write. But if this story is true, I would not be surprised if Jesus had been writing out the very laws these men were citing, demonstrating that He knew very well what the Law of Moses said, and also demonstrating that these teachers of the law and Pharisees were not following it as it was written. When they kept pressing Him, Jesus stopped writing for a moment. He told them that whoever was without sin could feel free to throw the first stone. And then He began writing again.

 

Who knows? Maybe He was writing the laws they were citing. Maybe He was writing out the Ten Commandments. Maybe He wasn't writing any laws at all. But none of these men were living up to the Law, and they began to drift away one by one, starting with the oldest.

 

In Matthew 7:1-2 (cf. Luke 6:37) Jesus commands men not to judge one another because the time will come when they will be judged by the same standard. In Romans 2:1 Paul writes, "You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things." These men had come to Jesus saying that this woman broke the Law. In public, Jesus challenged these men to judge only if they themselves had not broken the Law. Not one of them could do it; they went away disgraced.

 

In the end, Jesus Himself does not condemn the woman (though He could have... again, if this story is true). John 3:17 tells us that God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. One day Jesus will return to judge the world. But this story reminds us that Jesus has come first with mercy. All men are on equal footing before Him; all are sinners and deserve condemnation. Condemning each other by the Law makes no sense, for we all stand condemned as sinners before Jesus; we can't pretend to be righteous. Instead, we must remind each other that we are all sinners and that we all deserve Jesus' wrath – without condemning each other. And then we must turn to Jesus. He extends grace to sinners and tells them to "Go now and leave your life of sin" (John 8:11). By faith in Him, sinners may live and not die.

 

Father, may those of us who have trusted in Jesus be able to communicate to those who have not that we do not condemn them. On our own, we deserve judgment just as much as anyone. But may we also be able to communicate our hope to them. May they hear and understand that Jesus is the Savior of the world! That faith in Him gives life! And may they not reject Him, whether from fear, pride, resignation, or a desire to live life in their own ways. May those who do not trust in Christ joyfully receive the hope that Jesus offers, gladly setting aside their sinful ways to follow Him!