By oldhermit
I. The Pharisees Attempt to Trap Jesus on a Point of Law, 1-11.
“But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. “Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him.”
A. The setting
1. Jesus is in the Temple
2. He already has an audience of listeners.
3. He is seated to teach in good rabbinic fashion.
B. A woman caught in adultery is brought before Jesus by the Jewish rulers.
1. These rulers are the ones responsible for judging such matters so, why bring her to Jesus?
2. The scribes and the Pharisees hold no regard for Jesus as either a teacher of the Law nor a judge so, why bring her to Jesus?
3. Jesus in not a Levitical priest so he as no legal grounds for passing judgment in a criminal case, so, why bring him to Jesus?
Since all of this is true, there is no reason why these rulers would have brought this woman to Jesus to decide her fate. You sort of begin to sense a trap.
C. Adultery and the Law of Moses
1. Leviticus 20:10, “If there is a man who commits adultery with another man's wife, one who commits adultery with his friend's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.”
2. Deuteronomy 22:23-34, “If there is a girl who is a virgin engaged to a man, and another man finds her in the city and lies with her, then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city and you shall stone them to death; the girl, because she did not cry out in the city, and the man, because he has violated his neighbor’s wife. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you.”
The accusation was that this woman had been “caught in adultery, in the very act.” So, where was the man? Why was he not also charged? Why did they only bring the woman? It would seem that these men were not so interested in justice and protecting the Law as they appeared. This entire exercise was nothing more than a hypocritical charade. They have no intrest in the Law. They care only about creating an accusation about Jesus.
D. What were the facts of the case?
1. The woman was caught red handed as it were. There is no question of her guilt for she had been caught in the very act of adultery.
2. The penalty under the Law was certain death. There was to be no appeal.
3. The Pharisees had an obligation under the law to stone both the man and the woman to death. That would have satisfied justice under the Law.
E. The legal dilemma – “Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?”It also commanded them to stone the man. They must have forgotten that part of the commandment. Now, there are only two possible options to this case. She must either be stoned or released. In their minds, no matter which answer Jesus gave they would be able to accuse him either before the Sanhedrin or before Pilate. If Jesus said not to stone her, he violates the commandment and they could bring charges against him before the Sanhedrin. If he says to stone her then they can bring charges against him before Rome because Rome had taken away the right of capitol punishment form the Jews. Only Rome could condemn a person to death. They felt they finally had him either way.
F. Jesus' response – “But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground.”
1. Jesus has no intention of involving himself in this fiasco. This matter was their's to judge, not his. So he just stooped down and began to doodling in the sand ignoring their question.
2. What did the Law say about casting the first stone? Deuteronomy 17:7, “The hand of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.” It was the legal duty of the one witness who brought the accusation to cast the first stone against the accused. Jesus simply offers a challenge.
3. “But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” It may well be inferred from the text that Jesus is leveling an accusation of adultery against each of these men. “The one among you who is not guilty of the same cast the first stone.” This would over rule any hypocritical condemnation of this woman. How do you condemn someone of a crime for which you yourself are guilty. This must have really struck home because, “When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones....” By this one simple statement from Jesus, their scheme had completely fallen apart.
G. Jesus refuses to condemn the woman.
“And He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court. Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” With no witnesses to accuse her, Jesus simply says, “I do not condemn you, either.” The text does not say that Jesus pardoned her, nor does it say that he forgave her. This would have been contrary to the Law. By the provisions of the law in matters involving the death penalty he cannot do otherwise. The Law says, “On the evidence of two witnesses or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness,” Deuteronomy 17:6. Even though Jesus, by virtue of the fact that he could have known the facts of her guilt if he so chose, she still cannot be put to death on the testimony of only one witness and with no other witnesses to accuse her, the law cannot judge her. He has to let her go; but, Jesus sends her away with this warning, “Go. From now on sin no more.” In other words, “You are free to go so go and don't do it again!”