The Story of the Adulteress and Jesus

A Beige banner with the title: The Story of the Adulteress and Jesus.

A notepad, a pen, and a cup of coffee.

The story of the Adulteress and Jesus is my favorite story; it's one I have been hoping she would teach on, and she did. But boy, did I learn something new, something that my mind didn’t connect with when I first read it. It’s the story of the adulteress. Now, this one is going to be long, so grab your reading glasses, a drink, and sit back to read, because there is a lot to unpack in this story. Oh, and don’t forget your thinking caps!!

Now, I love this story because it shows us Jesus in a compassionate light, but it’s also the story where many Christians (like me at one point) get the idea that judging others is wrong.

Why? Because Jesus says in this story, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” It’s a pretty popular quote; however, I’ve come to discover in the last year that the quote doesn’t mean what we think it means. It means something entirely different. It has nothing to do with judging people at all. But even more than that, after this study, we gain insight into what Jesus really meant when He said that.

Now, some argue that this story was never in the original texts; however, it can still be found in John. Now, Kristi has this theory (and I’m inclined to believe her, after this teaching) that it was possibly in the original texts, but it was removed. Why? Well, let’s dive in, and maybe you will see why she thinks that way. Or at the very least, you will be able to look at it in a different way than before. You can find the story in John 7:53 through Chapter 8:11.

Now, before we dive in, we need to set the scene.

Old City of Jerusalem

At the time of the story, a festival was happening. It was the Festival of Booths or Sukkot, actually. During all major Jewish feasts and festivals, Jews would make a pilgrimage to the city of Jerusalem to celebrate. This means that the city was packed with Jewish people from all over. The feasts or festivals would last for seven days, and when that happens, the Sabbath takes place the day after the feast ends. So, at this time, everyone, and I mean everyone, was there in Jerusalem.

This picks up on the last day of the Feasts of Booths, and Jesus stands up in the temple in Jerusalem, in front of everyone, and says something. (You can find this in John 7:37-38) What does Jesus say?

“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

When the Jewish people heard this, they would have recognized that it sounded a lot like Isaiah 55:1, where the living God proclaims the same thing. This would have caught their attention, including that of the religious leaders. It’s pretty easy to say that Jesus just stirred the pot, so to speak. He invited people to come to Him for living water, not anyone else, but Him.

So, then everyone goes home, and Jesus goes to the Mount of Olives for the night. The religious leaders would not be thrilled with this declaration, so they would set a trap for Him. Where? In the temple, on the 8^th day following the feast, in Jerusalem, in front of everyone who was still there. But what does Jesus do? He goes right back into town, right back into the temple, in front of everyone.

Now, remember that after the seventh-day festival, the eighth day was designated as a Sabbath day, and that’s when the story takes place. According to the Mishna, writing that leaves a permanent mark on the Sabbath was considered work, but you are allowed to write in dust or sand.

Jesus and the Adulteress

So here is Jesus on the Sabbath in Jerusalem in front of everyone, at the temple on the eighth day after one of the biggest feasts to be held. And of course, here comes the religious leaders with the adulteress, hoping to catch Him in order to accuse Him.

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.

John 8:3-6

Ok, here’s the deal: this was a death penalty offense during that time. They already convicted her, so there was no judgment to be made. They weren’t asking Jesus to make a judgment based on the law. What they were asking of Jesus was whether they should condemn her or stone her per the law. When the religious leaders referred to the Law of Moses, they were quoting Leviticus 20:10. Now, if you have read that recently or you know this already, how many of you are thinking, “Boy, they are about to look pretty foolish.” If you’re not familiar with what I mean, here you go…

“‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death.” Leviticus 20:10

So, do you notice something here? If they were really concerned about the Law, both the man and the woman would be standing there, not just the woman. The worst part is that they did this in front of everyone!

But now imagine being that woman, you have been caught, you know the law, and you are probably wondering how quickly your punishment will come.

Jesus writing in the sand.

So, what does Jesus do next? He wrote in the sand! This means that Jesus was familiar with the law and the Mishnah. Now, we don’t know for sure what he wrote, because the Bible doesn’t specifically state it. However, if we examine this from a Middle Eastern context, as Kristi recommends, then he was probably writing out Leviticus 20:10. Therefore, Jesus was likely answering their question by quoting the exact law.

Then he says that famous line, “Let any one of you that is without sin throw the first stone.”

Those guys knew they weren’t without sin, but even better, if Jesus did write out the law from Leviticus, then what he wrote would have pointed out that they were not following the law at all. It would also show that Jesus knew the law called for stoning.

A road detoured around a house.

So, let’s take a little detour for a moment and talk about sin. See, God hates sin; He hates it because it breaks us, but it also separates us. Sin makes us less than what God intended and designed us to be, and it makes us live in shame. Kristi shares a quote about sin, and I’d like to share it. It comes from a theologian named Cornelius Plantinga Jr., and it’s how he defines sin:

“Sin is the missing of a target, a wandering from the path, a straying from the fold. Sin is a hard heart and a stiff neck. Sin is blindness and deafness. It is both the overstepping of a line and a failure to reach it, both transgression and shortcoming. Sin is never normal. Sin is disruption of created harmony, and then resistance to divine restoration of that harmony.”

In ancient Hebrew, sin is missing the mark. It doesn’t matter if it’s by an inch or a mile, and it hurts us. So, God doesn’t overlook sin, but He does something about it.

She then provides us with another definition of sin, as given by Susanna Wesley, a 1700s housewife with multiple children.

“take this rule, whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God or takes off your relish of spiritual things. And short whatever increases the strength of authority of your body over your mind, that thing is sin to you, however innocent, it may be in itself.”

Sin spreads like a virus. From two people eating fruit, to murder, to the flood, in just a few short chapters in Genesis.

Jesus writing in the sand.

Now that the fun detour is over. Shall we get back to our story? So, after Jesus poses the first statement about who should cast the first stone, he bends back down and writes in the sand again. Back then, some of the Rabbis and Pharisees had the entire Hebrew Bible, or the Old Testament, memorized. So, they would recognize what was being said or referred to.

So, what was he writing this time? Again, we don’t know for sure, but we can draw on our knowledge of the culture back then and make a fairly accurate guess. Kristi does give her best guess as to what he may have written; she asks us to go to Jeremiah 17:13. Jeremiah talks about forsaking God, and the living water will be put to shame. Interesting, if you consider that Jesus was just talking about people coming to Him, because He is the Living Water.

Now, imagine what those religious leaders must have been thinking. Whether that’s what Jesus wrote or maybe even the other theory of Jesus writing their names in the dust, it’s pretty clear that those leaders were not happy. They probably felt pretty shameful at that point. Because Jesus would have been pointing out that they had forsaken the living God and were not honoring the law, they were being dishonest, the man wasn’t there, and it was a trap. Now remember, we don’t know for sure, but it sounds like a good idea, because either way, it makes them really uncomfortable to the point that they all start to walk away.

Oh, and don’t forget, this all took place in front of a crowd of people. So, basically, Jesus just called them out in a BIG and embarrassing way. Even better, that has significant ramifications, especially in a culture based on an honor and shame system.

Now, Kristi points out that this is where it becomes beautiful, because here Jesus takes the focus off of her and places it on himself. They forget about her, and they focus on Him, the Son of God, the Lamb of God.

So, what happens next, because the only ones left are the woman and Jesus. She is standing before the only one who could fulfill the law and stone her, but he doesn’t. He asks her about who was there to condemn her, and she says no one. Then he tells her, Neither do I; now go and sin no more or go now and leave your life of sin.

Do you see how Kristi’s theory could be right? Why would anyone want to include a story of a woman who broke the law, but was restored with no punishment? Why would anyone want to include a story about how Jesus not only embarrassed the religious leaders but shamed them? I can, and it makes sense, even though we may never really know for sure.

Jesus didn’t say, "Do not judge,” he said, "Don’t condemn." But even more so, he wasn’t against the law at all. He was against those who were manipulating the law, who weren’t being honest about what the law said. The Pharisees were setting a trap for him, and they weren’t being honest about the law while doing so. They left the man out and only brought the woman. My guess is that Jesus’ calling them out was all it would take for them to walk away and forget about her, and He knew that. But you can bet that they didn’t let that go. Jesus embarrassed the leaders in front of a large crowd, which is why he redirected their gaze from the woman to himself.

Jesus on the Cross.

And in the end, all of it was leading up to one moment, one moment that we know about. That one moment, that He knew was coming. His sacrifice on the cross. He sent her away because He knew that day was coming. He knew He would pay for her sin, completely.

Whether this story was a part of the original text or whether it was an agrapha (an oral telling of a story that is passed down, until written down), or maybe it just doesn’t fit, it doesn’t matter. This story tells us more about Christ in those days and how He viewed women. This story tells us how He views us and just how much He loves us. It also provides us with a deeper insight into the culture and time of Jesus, offering a new understanding. Most importantly, when we fully understand the context of the story, it provides us with a new perspective on the narrative and the interactions Jesus had, and wow, is it beautiful!

A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;

Isaiah 42:3

God Bless,

K. M. Leffler