Scripture

World English Bible (WEB)

 
8:1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Now very early in the morning, he came again into the temple, and all the people came to him. He sat down, and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman taken in adultery. Having set her in the middle, 4 they told him, "Teacher, we found this woman in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now in our law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. What then do you say about her?" 6 They said this testing him, that they might have something to accuse him of.
 
But Jesus stooped down, and wrote on the ground with his finger. 7 But when they continued asking him, he looked up and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw the first stone at her." 8 Again he stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground.
 
9  They, when they heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning from the oldest, even to the last. Jesus was left alone with the woman where she was, in the middle. 10 Jesus, standing up, saw her and said, "Woman, where are your accusers? Did no one condemn you?"
 
11  She said, "No one, Lord."
 
Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go your way. From now on, sin no more."

Meditation
"Neither Do I Condemn You" - John D. Painter
I'm going to share a secret with you. Two actually. The first one is that I know a really humorous story about this passage that I don't think is appropriate to share in a Lenten devotional. However, if you ask me in person, I'll be happy to tell it to you.
 
The second secret is not so much a secret as it is a "factoid" about this passage from John. And that is, that this passage is not included in the earliest manuscripts of the Gospel of John. It is a later addition. In fact, the New Revised Standard Version, arguably the most reliable and scholarly translation we have available to us, has a footnote at 8:11 that reads: "The most ancient authorities lack 7:53-8:11; other authorities add the passage here or after 7.36 or after 21.25 or after Luke 21.38, with variations of text; some mark the passage as doubtful."
 
Doubtful . That's pretty heavy. It means when you come across this fascinating tale and ask, "Did this really occur?", the answer is, "doubtful." Maybe...maybe not. But fear not, it's these kind of "doubtful" passages of Scripture that fuel the engines of biblical scholarship. For centuries, wise and wizened Bible teachers have produced volumes of books and articles either supporting or denying its authenticity. And after all of that, here we are without any real conclusion...except that it may be "doubtful." Hmmm.
 
Well, I'll be honest and tell you I lean rather heavily on the side of authenticity. Why am I less "doubtful" than some other folk who have greater biblical scholarship skills than I? For one thing, the story was included within the Gospel of John that was ultimately canonized in the third century BCE as Scripture. Oh, it may have been a "later addition" than the rest of the Gospel, but enough of those rather persnickety men (sorry ladies, they were all men) who approved the 27 books that form the New Testament thought that it should be a part of John's narrative. Moreover, as I read the story, it seems to me to be consistent with the kind of behavior I would expect to see from our Lord. For those two reasons alone...and more, which I'll also share with you if you ask...I don't find this story "doubtful."
 
Actually, I find this story "hopeful." Jesus is obviously being tested here. Those who have brought this humiliated woman before him are trying to set him up in a "Catch 22" situation. (By the way, Mosaic Law required that both the female and male adulterers be stoned to death...not just the woman. So, question of the day: "Where is the man?") If Jesus says that she should be stoned to death, then he will likely lose the support of the common people who are hanging on his every word and also be in trouble with the ruling Roman officials, because only they have the authority to put someone to death. On the other hand, if he says she should go free, then he will be in direct violation of Mosaic Law, and they would be able to bring him up on charges.
 
At this point, discerning clearly their nefarious purposes, Jesus takes a moment to kneel down and write in the sand with his finger. What is he writing? As you can imagine, there has been unending speculation about that, and no one knows...or ever will know. But having written, he stands and declares, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw the first stone at her." Then, he once again kneels and continues writing in the sand. Convicted by their consciences, one by one...beginning with the oldest...the woman's accusers disperse.
 
Left alone with Jesus, he looks on her (I imagine with compassion) and asks who is left to condemn her. And she answers, "No one, Lord." (Notice her use of that term?) And Jesus speaks the five most powerful and hopeful words she could ever expect to hear: "Neither do I condemn you."
 
In the face of my own sins, which at times seem legion, what would I give to hear those same words from Jesus? "Neither do I condemn you." The thing is, I have heard them on a few grace-filled occasions, and they have provided hope for future days of living more closely in tune with God's purposes. I pray that you may hear those five words of assurance, as well, and go forth to live as did this unnamed sister of ours.
Reflection
This wonderful story leaves me with questions...as do any number of Jesus' stories. One question is, what happened to her? Jesus says to her, "Go your way. From now on, sin no more." Okay. But let's remember that she is a woman in a heavily male-dominated society. Her reputation has now been seriously sullied by these events. Where is she is supposed to go? And what it is she is supposed to do? Can she actually "sin no more"?
 
I think I might have the answer to my question, and it comes from the Gospel of Luke. One of my all-time favorite Bible stories is the one about another unnamed woman, the one who comes in off the street while Jesus is having dinner at Simon the Pharisee's house, and kneels down to wash Jesus' feet with her tears and dry them with her long hair. You can remind yourselves of the details in Luke 7:36-50. At the end of this story, Jesus tells the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."  Again the question, "Go where?" In fact, when she leaves Jesus' presence, unless she has a male (son, father, husband, brother) to take care of her, she is destined to continue to earn her sustenance on the streets. So where can she "Go" and be "in peace"?
 
The answer may well be found in Luke 8:1-3, which follows immediately on these words of benediction to that unnamed woman: Soon afterwards he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod's steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources.  I suspect these two women were among the "many others" who found a place to live and grow and be loved in and among that band of women and men who were following Jesus and his twelve disciples throughout the cities and villages, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.
 
Jesus created a radical, counter-cultural community of both women and men, something no other rabbi of his time had done. Through this unusual ensemble, he was laying the foundation for his Church. We are the heirs of this heritage. That woman caught in adultery? That woman who shed her tears of love on Jesus' feet? They are our sisters-in-the-faith. For like them, we have known the love and compassion of the One who also says to us, "Neither do I condemn you."
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Prayer
Amazing grace! How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see.
--John Newton (1779); UMH #378.

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