Friday 21 July 2023

Background

The most striking thing about this passage is what is not there – we are told that Jesus twice wrote something on the ground with his finger, but not what he wrote. Why? Perhaps only the woman saw – and perhaps it was so precious and personal that she carried it with her always, without telling another soul. Perhaps, for the author, the point to prove was that Jesus could write, after the religious leaders questioned his authority, saying he had never been taught (7:15). Perhaps the author wanted to make a connection with Exodus 31:18, which says that God wrote the covenant with the people of Israel on tablets with ‘the finger of God’: Jesus, in living out the law of Moses, is one with God who gave the law to the people.  

In this passage, the scribes and the Pharisees attempted to fabricate a charge on which to have Jesus arrested by bringing to him a woman caught in adultery. Under the laws given by Moses, adultery was punishable by death – see Leviticus 20:10. (This passage refers to both the ‘adulterer and the adulteress,’ so it is interesting to note that only the woman was brought to Jesus.) They wanted a clear-cut example of Jesus flouting the law – they had clearly seen enough of Jesus’ ministry to expect him simply to send the woman on her way. 

But instead, Jesus turned the question back on the religious leaders, inviting them to stone her in accordance with the law, but only if they were ‘without sin'. They drifted away, until only Jesus and the woman were left. Jesus told the woman that he did not condemn her, but he also told her not to sin again. The biblical scholar Richard Burridge notes that John’s Gospel is symbolised by an eagle which, in the Hebrew Bible, represents both God’s care and providence (eg Exodus 19:4) but also God’s judgement of human sinfulness. This passage is an example of John’s Jesus holding both together. He does not condemn the woman, but instead shows her love and respect when she has been victimised and humiliated. But neither does he condone adultery – he sends her away, urging her to turn away from sin and towards the love of God.  

To Ponder:

• What do you think Jesus wrote on the ground? 
• What message would you most like to hear from Jesus today? How might God be trying to communicate with you? Are you listening? 

Prayer

Compassionate God, we thank you that you are loving and generous to those who have been treated unkindly – help us, too, to be quick to love and slow to condemn. Help us today to turn away from sin and to embrace all that leads to human flourishing. Amen.  

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