John 8:7-11 7And as they persisted questioning him, he stood up and said to them, “Let the one who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8And again, bending down he wrote on the ground. 9But when they heard it, they departed one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman who was in the middle. 10And standing up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11And she said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
The tension at the scene had grown considerably when Jesus seemed to ignore the question of the scribes and Pharisees. Perhaps they could see what he wrote or wondered in their minds what he was doing. Verse 7 begins with the agitation of the group as they continued to pound Jesus with their questions and accusations against the woman, which was really an accusation against him. They had set him up with a test of his authority and compassion, with the guilty woman as the victim. One of the two would be guilty and die: either the woman for her adulterous sin or Jesus for breaking the law, though killing him for this would have been difficult with the Roman authorities looking on. The Jews could not execute without Roman permission.
Jesus’ response is classic and well-known, even among unbelievers, though often taken out of context and without awareness of the whole gospel context. We have to give some credit to the scribes and Pharisees for seeing through their own faults and sin. The substantival participle one without sin (anamartētos) is built on the common New Testament word for sin, a result of disobedience and breaking of God’s commandments. The Bible is clear in both Testaments that the consequence of sin is death (Romans 6:23), and these religious leaders took that to the extreme in a literal and physical way.
As the Jews accused the woman and waited for Jesus’ response, his writing in the dirt gave them time to reflect on their own lives. They had studied God’s commands and knew that they were also sinners before God. They may have reflected on Deuteronomy 13:9; 17:7 which read that the witness to the crime must be the first to throw the stone. To kill someone like that is a huge burden because life is precious, even the life of the guilty. One had better make sure the crime was truly committed before casting a stone. How did the scribes and Pharisees know that this woman was guilty? Had they seen the act or only going by hearsay? They may have also realized their own sin in the matter. Their consciences had kicked in and they felt convicted. Their motives were not pure, but they were also guilty of trying to bend the law to get rid of Jesus. The older ones had more wisdom and life experience and were the first to process the situation. The younger ones may have been caught up in the emotion of the moment and been blinded to logic or clear thinking.
The situation changed after all the accusers had left, leaving the woman alone in the middle of the circle. What was going in her mind? She knew her guilt. Her life was threatened. There was no hope. A woman caught in adultery had ruined her marriage and probably forever shamed her husband and any children they had. She had little hope of any life after this. Her family would have abandoned her and her community ostracized her. She would become a beggar, prostitute, or slave. Her bad decision in the heat of passion had ruined her life and future. Perhaps it was better to be stoned to death, though that would have been a painful way to die. We can imagine the emotions and fear this woman had as she stood in the midst of this crowd and now stood before Jesus.
In this hopeless, Jesus turned his attention to her directly. Jesus used a respectful way of addressing the woman, what we might say today as “miss,” or “ma’am” (gynai). Jesus did not condemn her but asked about those who wanted to condemn her. There will come a time when he will be the judge, but first he comes as redeemer. Her answer is simple and gives no hint of hope. She knew she was guilty, even if her accusers had gone away. Jesus’ response in verse 11 is the surprise and high point of the story. Jesus did not come to condemn the world but save it (3:17; 12:47). He was not the woman’s judge but savior. Salvation has responsibility; grace requires a response. In this case, Jesus called for the woman to no longer sin. She needed to change her life. This was a new start.
We can only imagine what that might mean for a Jewish woman in the first century who had been publically shamed like this. She likely had a lot of broken pieces to pick up and reassemble in her life. Sin often has repercussions. The key point of the story is that Jesus forgives even the worst sinner and can restore life and hope when everything seems lost. Although this story seems out of place in John’s Gospel according to the manuscript traditions, it is consistent with the message of John, that Jesus is the Savior who offers eternal life, and that life begins now. Our part is to believe, repent, and live in obedience.
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