People are amazing and sometimes amazingly stupid. Been there and done that. Christians aren't immune to this phenomena and there is plenty of proof in the Bible. Take for example John chapter 8 where we find the story of the woman caught in adultery. Not just adultery but "the very act of adultery". Yep, caught with her lover. He disappears from the story and it's seldom anyone asks why. Given the caliber of men who brought the woman to Jesus I can guess it was probably a religious authority. Anyway, not knowing what his place in society it's still important to acknowledge that it takes two to commit the "very" act of adultery. Similar to the story of Adam and Eve. There Eve was the one tempted and sinned AND then brought Adam into the fray by bringing him into the forbidden fruit zone. We all know the end of that story...it's our story as well just as it was the story of the couple caught having sex outside of marriage. The man gets off while the woman gets brought to Jesus for judgment and justification for her death. What happens next has filled the books of speculators for eons. Here are my thoughts.
First, they brought her to Jesus because they wanted to trap him more than to punish her. They wanted him to be gone and thought that backing him into a corner would create a situation where he would be found guilty of one of their laws (certainly no respecters of God's laws.). So, here come the bunch of them with this woman. They approach Jesus and tell him the short story and don't even mention who the guy was. Jesus surveys the crowd of men (women weren't allowed to do this) and his silence is so loud that they demand an answer to their question of whether they kill her or not. These are the same men who have been watching and listening to Jesus for his ministry and have some knowledge of his compassion and grace. Yet they persevere and demand an answer. Jesus questions them about the law effectively backing their religious butts into a corner. The question is meant to ask them why they condemn her when they don't condemn the man. Why do they hold to the law but ignore grace. He bends down and writes in the sand. It's here the story gets electrifying! I believe he wrote their names in the sand. They must have been amazed that he wrote their names as they wondered how he knew their names. He stood back up and said to them, "He who has no sin cast the first stone." Then he bent back down and I believe he wrote their sins beside their names. Imagine what a large area of sand must have been used to do this!
You can almost hear the thud of the rocks hitting the ground and the sound of footsteps walking away. One by one the guilty left the presence of the God of the universe. The story isn't over even though the accusers (sinners) are gone. Jesus stands back up and sees the woman there most likely kneeling on the ground. He asks her, "Does no one accuse you?" She knows they still accuse her and that her life is over in that town. She says, "No one Lord." "Lord"! She called him Lord! She was watching and listening as he interacted with his accusers. Now she waited while he touched her with his presence. Can you imagine the grace and mercy being transmitted to her? It must have been overwhelming and I imagine she began to cry. I would have! He says to her, "Then neither do I. Go and sin no more." End of the story? No way! That story has no ending. The accusers went their way unrepentant looking for yet another way to kill the Son of God. The disciples who had been watching and listening were yet again amazed and saw their names written in the sand. The woman goes on forgiven and her sin is no more. Jesus has enacted grace and mercy for the sinner in a way that confuses the masses even as it does today. It must confuse Christians today as they are so quick to place judgment on others without taking the log out of their own eye first. The story is your story and is my story. We can choose any one of the responses today. We can be the accuser, the woman, the man who wasn't there, the disciples or we can be Jesus. What's your choice? It is your choice.
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