The Woman Caught in Adultery

One of my favorite lessons from the bible is the story of the woman caught in adultery. To me, it is the most moving representation of how Jesus demonstrated love of, compassion for, mercy toward, and acceptance of sinners.

And while few of us may be caught in the act of adultery, we all can understand what it might be like to be caught in a sin and feeling like the spotlight is shinning on us and giving attention to that sin that we really do not want.

Let’s review the story of Jesus and the woman caught in adultery.

John 8:3-11 [NLT] 3 As He was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. 4 "Teacher," they said to Jesus, "this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?" 6 They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. 7 They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, "All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!" 8 Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. 9 When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, "Where are your accusers? Didn't even one of them condemn you?" 11 "No, Lord," she said. And Jesus said, "Neither do I. Go and sin no more."

Here are the key lessons of this incident, according to my thinking:

1.      This was meant to be a trap for Jesus – to see if He would put the law of Moses ahead of the message of love and forgiveness He had been preaching.

Often, Satan seeks to bait us with sin as well. For him, it seems to be his hope to provide us with opportunities for us to fail, especially to fail in showing the love and compassion for others that we want God to show to us is a tool that Satan particularly loves. It is certainly something that we see in the world around us. There are plenty of situations where we hear newscasters, political leaders and even churches encouraging us to think “us and them” instead of “we are all struggling with something”.

2.      What He wrote in the sand is unknown. John chose not to share it. BUT, it was enough to take the wind out of the sails of the would-be stoners.

This is one good example to learn from these would-be enforcers of “justice”. When faced with our own sins, we should accept our own guilt and show some humility.

3.      Jesus’ first thought was to make the woman safe – to protect her.

Let’s not forget that she was clearly guilty. Jesus knew that. But His first thought was to get her safe. We would do well if our church congregations and we as individuals understood that our first job with sinners may be to ensure that they feel safe in our congregations. Maybe feed them. Clothe them. [See Matthew 25]

4.      He made sure she knew that He did not condemn her.

One of my favorite Bible teachers is Beth Moore. She said, “No one is shamed into loving God.” (Or something similar.) Some churches seem to be afraid to lead with “God loves sinners” and “you are welcome here”. The message too often seems to be, “Come let us tell you why you deserve death.”

It is true that we all deserve death for our sins and it is one of the greatest tenants of the Gospel message that Jesus took on the death we deserve in our place. But isn’t it also true to say, “Come let us tell you why and how you are loved.”?

5.      Only after ensuring she was safe, felt loved and accepted, did He tell her to stop sinning.

I believe that the lesson here is that love and trust must be built before we can possibly even consider speaking to another about their sin? Or maybe the lesson is that it might not be our job to judge at all? Or what exactly do we think Jesus meant when He by His teaching recorded in Matthew 7:1-5?

The Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit convicts each of us. Right? So, if a sinner feels safe and loved and accepted, might he/she then be more open to listening to a sermon about living out the love of God in obedience? Might they not more willingly be convicted by the Holy Spirit and the scripture while sitting among other humble, loved and loving followers of Jesus, rather than among those who have spoken as though we are less worthy of death? Love is the greatest power in the universe. Not “tough love”. Love.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 [NLT] 4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

I believe that the story of the woman caught in adultery is an amazing example of Jesus showing us how His example of loving us enough to die for us can and should look in how we live our everyday lives – of how congregations and congregants should interact with the other sinners we meet.

I welcome your comments and questions. You can write me now in the comments section or any time at Nancy@DynamicChristianMinistries.org