The Set Up

Have you ever been challenged?

Then each of them went home, while Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, they said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, sir.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.” - John 7:53-8:11

What do you think the Pharisees expected Jesus to do about the woman they brought before him?

They must have thought he wouldn't want to stone her to death, right?

Why?

They must have thought he would forgive her sin, since he used that language when he cured the sick and healed the crippled.

So, this was a set up.  They expected him to break the law of Moses, and then they would have him where they wanted him.

Of course, Jesus doesn't do what they expect.  He does something only they can see, and while he does this, they keep questioning him.  So, you would think they were not paying attention, or maybe he was not paying attention to them.

What happens next comes as a surprise to everyone, including us.  He invites them to cast their stones, but only if they are without sin.

He then returns to writing on the ground, and this time they pay attention.

One by one, they leave.

Something touched a nerve.

Some believe he wrote their names or their sins in the dirt.  Maybe he did, or maybe he just gave them pause.

They thought there were only two possible outcomes.  Either Jesus would defend the woman or he would cast the first stone.  Either way, they would have him.  He would either show that he could not forgive sins, or he would break the law.

But he chose a path they didn't anticipate.  He invited those among them who have no sin to judge the woman.

What he is telling all of us with this is that we have no right to judge others because we, too, are sinners.

We can argue, and we do, that our sins are less than theirs, but in God's eyes, we have given up our right to judge by our choices.  

So, they all went away sad.  And the woman got another chance.

Is that so bad?

More to come...