THE ADULTERESS WOMAN.

THE ADULTERESS WOMAN.

Reading: John 8:3-11.

HER ROLE IN SCRIPTURE.

A. The situation.

One day some scribes and Pharisees brought to Jesus a woman who had been caught in adultery, “in the very act” John 8:4. They quoted Moses’ Law, which called for stoning, and asked Jesus, “But what do You say?”

Several things make this approach to Jesus unusual:

1. The woman was caught “in the very act.” Where was the man who was also subject to stoning?

2. Where would a person go to catch someone “in the very act”? How would the Pharisees, noted for their claim to holiness, have known where to go?

3. While Mosaic Law prescribed stoning for adultery, this penalty was not imposed in the first century. Rabbinic courts strictly avoided imposing the death penalty.

4. A panel of rabbis, not an individual, would deal with such a case. Besides, the scribes and Pharisees did not recognize Jesus’ authority.

These facts make it clear that they mission was not seeking a legal opinion, nor was they concerned with punishing the woman. They wanted to discredit Jesus. If He called for stoning, He would separate Himself from the people. If He failed to call for stoning, they could accuse Him of denying the authority of the Law.

Rather than answer their question, Jesus simply said, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first” John 8:7. Jesus then stooped and wrote on the ground. One by one the woman’s accusers slipped away, leaving Jesus and the adulteress alone. No one was left to condemn her, and Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more” John 8:11.

Jesus’ response to the challenge not only avoided the trap; it also completely changed the status of the woman. Before Christ spoke; the woman had been nothing more than a select test case, a disposable object to be used against Jesus. But Jesus would not deal with her in the selection. Jesus treated her and her accusers as human beings. In insisting that one without sin cast the first stone, Jesus forced each opponent to examine his own conscience and to deal with his own humanity rather than with legal theory.

Then Jesus spoke to the woman. While Jesus assured the woman that He did not condemn her, He let her know that He was fully aware of her guilt. He told her to go, but He also told her to sin no more. Jesus treated her as a person responsible for her own actions. She had the ability to make choices, even to make choices that reversed the course of her former life.

B. The woman.

While we do not know this woman’s name, we know more about her than a brief reading of the text might suggest. We know that she was an adulterous. That she was taken “in the very act” suggests that she may have been a prostitute, whose venue was well known.

We know from ancient literature that prostitutes lived in Jerusalem in the first century, so this is not unlikely. Surely a “professional” would have been easy to locate and to catch “in the very act.”

First-century rabbinic writings portray loose women as bold and brazen. However, women who engaged in prostitution were likely driven to that life by grim necessity. They faced banishment by respectable citizens and were viewed with utter contempt by the more religious people.

Such women certainly did not possess a positive self-image, nor were they the temptresses portrayed in rabbinic writings. They would have been as much victims as victimizers. Yet there is no doubt that this woman was a sinner.

As luck would have it, the response of her accusers when Jesus challenged them showed that they were sinners too. Guilty men had dragged a guilty woman before the One Person who knew the hearts of all: the One Person who had entered the world not to condemn sinners, but to save them.

In this we sense there is hope for the woman and for all of us. “Neither do I condemn you,” Jesus said. “Go, and sin no more” verse 11.

Jesus did not dismiss her sin; He granted her a pardon. He gave her the freedom to go, and He totally recognized that the choices she had yet to make would determine the shape of her future. In telling her to “sin no more,” Jesus reminded the woman that the choice was hers. She had known what was right before and had made the wrong choice. Would she make a better choice tomorrow?

Some might answer by referring to words she addressed to Jesus: “No one, Lord” John 8:11. Does not this mean that she recognized Jesus as Lord and committed herself to obey Him? Was not her future sure? No, for the Greek word translated “lord” was also used simply to express respect. Her words might better be rendered, “No one, sir.”

In this passage we meet a woman who was used by Jesus’ enemies, whose humanity and value Jesus reaffirmed, but whose future remained in doubt.

Would she return to her past life, or would she accept the responsibility for herself that Jesus offered? Would she return to her past life, or would she go and sin no more?

THE ADULTERESS: AN EXAMPLE FOR TODAY.

A. It is so easy to condemn others for their sins, or to use their sins to justify our own.

(“At least I have never done that!”) Thankfully, our Saviour is more gracious than we are.

B. This woman’s story provides us with a beautiful example of how Christians can display Christ’s graciousness toward others.

We are not to excuse sin, but we are not to condemn the sinner. Rather we point others to Jesus. He forgives sin, and provides the power needed to “go, and sin no more.”

CONCLUSION:

I do hope we have learnt something in looking at the life of this adulteress woman.