T
Joh 8:7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
This whole story is misunderstood in two ways.
1. Some believe it is speaking against capital punishment,, but its not. The Lord would not
issue the Law to stone, then go against it. In fact, if Jesus had gone against the Law, He would
have sinned and the Pharisees would have a charge against Him.
2. Some believe Jesus is refering to Himself as the "one without sin", but He isn't. Jesus Himself
could not qualify as someone who could cast the first stone. The Law required, that after
someone was found guilty, by two or more honest witnesses, that the eye witnesses, were to
be the ones to cast the first stone. Since Jesus had not been an eye witness, He could not
cast a first stone. If He had been refering to Himself, here again, He would have been going
against the law, and the Pharisees would have had a charge to bring against Him.
So, who is the one without sin here? If anyone is to be without sin, totally in their life, to
qualify to execute any sort of judgement, even for litering, then no one would be qualified.
Without sin is refering to due process. Was the accused judged in a fair trial? Was the accused
judged by those whose job it is to judge such issues? Were there more than one witness, since
no one could be stoned based on one witness account? Were the witnesses found to be
honest with righteous intent and fairness? (Not a trumped up charge because you disliked
an individual).
So, what is Jesus saying here? Well, the woman wasn't brought to the proper officials, but
to Jesus. That is breaking the law, sin #1. The witnesses were not tested before a proper
official, sin #2. They asked should she be stoned without a trial, sin #3. Jesus wrote on the
ground and many speculate to what He wrote, based on the misconceptions listed at the
start. What I think He wrote, were the scriptures that refered back to due process.
He says, he who is without sin, among you, cast the first stone. At this point in time, any
stoning would have been murder, because the law had not been carried out. And murderers
were required to be....stoned. So, they all left. They had asked, should this woman be stoned,
and they were on the verge of being in the same place as the woman, had they went through
with the stoning. They realized they had been trapped.
Jesus backed the law of stoning. He implied if all the due process had been carried out with
how God intended, and you stand righteous before God in these proceedings, then you are
allowed to carry out the sentence. The lesson is not speaking against judging, but judging
righteously and in fairness. Not to judge with evil intent. Not to condemn out of hatred.
Not to have the log in your own eye, while trying to remove the spec in your brother's eye.
And a side note, Jesus was in the temple, which had stone floor. Many had portrayed Jesus
writing in dirt, but He was on stone floors. He wrote into solid stone, which here, He is making
another claim to deity, since the Lord wrote the ten commandments, into rock, with
His finger.
This whole story is misunderstood in two ways.
1. Some believe it is speaking against capital punishment,, but its not. The Lord would not
issue the Law to stone, then go against it. In fact, if Jesus had gone against the Law, He would
have sinned and the Pharisees would have a charge against Him.
2. Some believe Jesus is refering to Himself as the "one without sin", but He isn't. Jesus Himself
could not qualify as someone who could cast the first stone. The Law required, that after
someone was found guilty, by two or more honest witnesses, that the eye witnesses, were to
be the ones to cast the first stone. Since Jesus had not been an eye witness, He could not
cast a first stone. If He had been refering to Himself, here again, He would have been going
against the law, and the Pharisees would have had a charge to bring against Him.
So, who is the one without sin here? If anyone is to be without sin, totally in their life, to
qualify to execute any sort of judgement, even for litering, then no one would be qualified.
Without sin is refering to due process. Was the accused judged in a fair trial? Was the accused
judged by those whose job it is to judge such issues? Were there more than one witness, since
no one could be stoned based on one witness account? Were the witnesses found to be
honest with righteous intent and fairness? (Not a trumped up charge because you disliked
an individual).
So, what is Jesus saying here? Well, the woman wasn't brought to the proper officials, but
to Jesus. That is breaking the law, sin #1. The witnesses were not tested before a proper
official, sin #2. They asked should she be stoned without a trial, sin #3. Jesus wrote on the
ground and many speculate to what He wrote, based on the misconceptions listed at the
start. What I think He wrote, were the scriptures that refered back to due process.
He says, he who is without sin, among you, cast the first stone. At this point in time, any
stoning would have been murder, because the law had not been carried out. And murderers
were required to be....stoned. So, they all left. They had asked, should this woman be stoned,
and they were on the verge of being in the same place as the woman, had they went through
with the stoning. They realized they had been trapped.
Jesus backed the law of stoning. He implied if all the due process had been carried out with
how God intended, and you stand righteous before God in these proceedings, then you are
allowed to carry out the sentence. The lesson is not speaking against judging, but judging
righteously and in fairness. Not to judge with evil intent. Not to condemn out of hatred.
Not to have the log in your own eye, while trying to remove the spec in your brother's eye.
And a side note, Jesus was in the temple, which had stone floor. Many had portrayed Jesus
writing in dirt, but He was on stone floors. He wrote into solid stone, which here, He is making
another claim to deity, since the Lord wrote the ten commandments, into rock, with
His finger.