A Case for Adultery...and Forgiveness (John 8:3-11)
The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11 “No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
Yeshua had come down from the Mt. of Olives and came to the Temple for teaching purposes. The Temple courts were popular for rabbis to take their students to teach them Torah. Yeshua was no different, and during his teaching, the Pharisees came and brought this woman who was caught in the act of adultery.
Yes, the Torah commandments were very specific, in that if a married woman (and the lover) were caught in the act of adultery, they were to be stoned. The problem is, where was the lover? Only the woman was brought before the Messiah. The witnesses were there, yet only the woman was brought as evidence. Again, where was the man involved?
Yeshua did something very interesting: he bent down and started writing in the dust of the ground. Many might ask, "What was he writing?" The question might be answered in Jeremiah 17:13.
Hope of Isra’el, Adonai! All who abandon you will be ashamed; those who leave you will be inscribed in the dust,
because they have abandoned Adonai, the source of living water.
Could it be that he was writing the names of the woman's accusers in the dust of the Earth? Very possible. Can we be 100% sure? No, I wasn't there looking over the Messiah's shoulders. But it is possible that Yeshua was indeed illustrating Jeremiah 17:13. Here in the Temple courtyard, he points out that ALL were guilty of sin. (For all have sinned and have come short of the glory of God). Yes, the only one there who had the right to judge and condemn the woman and stone her decided to grant her mercy.
The woman realizes that those Pharisees who were standing against her all left. The accusers are gone. She is left with God and with God alone.
"I do not condemn you, go and sin no more" were the words of a righteous and holy God. The God who had the right to condemn decided to extend mercy, yet he told her, "Go and sin no more." There was forgiveness, but it also required repentance (Teshuvah), which means, "turn around with a change of mind and heart."
Today in this busy world of commerce, sports, activity, making money, this and that, we tend to forget about God and come to worship and study His Word. Would this be a form of adultery or idolatry? If you think about it, we exchange the worship of a righteous and Holy God for worship of things, pleasure, money, etc. Yet, our Holy and righteous God extends his mercy and beckons us to come back to him, and to give him his rightful place in our lives.
Everything we have in our lives belongs to Him; all possessions are HIS, and we have them only for a short time. Just as He has given us THINGS, He can also take them away. A woman who cheated on her husband could end up losing him through the act of divorce. The man who cheats on his wife could also lose that "love of his life" the same way. Israel had abandoned their only true God and went after idols for many years; the Prophets were sent to warn God's people, but to no avail. Jerusalem ended up in Babylon for 70 years, and the city burned. Yet YHVH never stopped loving his people; he had to discipline them, as a loving father does, and as a husband practices "tough love".
We are the bride of Messiah Yeshua/Jesus. Let us be faithful to the bridegroom, giving the bridegroom the first place in our lives, in worship, coming together on the days of worship, studying His Word, and using our spiritual gifts for the Kingdom. We want our names to be inscribed in the Book of Life and in the Book of Works, not in the dust of the Earth.
The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11 “No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
Yeshua had come down from the Mt. of Olives and came to the Temple for teaching purposes. The Temple courts were popular for rabbis to take their students to teach them Torah. Yeshua was no different, and during his teaching, the Pharisees came and brought this woman who was caught in the act of adultery.
Yes, the Torah commandments were very specific, in that if a married woman (and the lover) were caught in the act of adultery, they were to be stoned. The problem is, where was the lover? Only the woman was brought before the Messiah. The witnesses were there, yet only the woman was brought as evidence. Again, where was the man involved?
Yeshua did something very interesting: he bent down and started writing in the dust of the ground. Many might ask, "What was he writing?" The question might be answered in Jeremiah 17:13.
Hope of Isra’el, Adonai! All who abandon you will be ashamed; those who leave you will be inscribed in the dust,
because they have abandoned Adonai, the source of living water.
Could it be that he was writing the names of the woman's accusers in the dust of the Earth? Very possible. Can we be 100% sure? No, I wasn't there looking over the Messiah's shoulders. But it is possible that Yeshua was indeed illustrating Jeremiah 17:13. Here in the Temple courtyard, he points out that ALL were guilty of sin. (For all have sinned and have come short of the glory of God). Yes, the only one there who had the right to judge and condemn the woman and stone her decided to grant her mercy.
The woman realizes that those Pharisees who were standing against her all left. The accusers are gone. She is left with God and with God alone.
"I do not condemn you, go and sin no more" were the words of a righteous and holy God. The God who had the right to condemn decided to extend mercy, yet he told her, "Go and sin no more." There was forgiveness, but it also required repentance (Teshuvah), which means, "turn around with a change of mind and heart."
Today in this busy world of commerce, sports, activity, making money, this and that, we tend to forget about God and come to worship and study His Word. Would this be a form of adultery or idolatry? If you think about it, we exchange the worship of a righteous and Holy God for worship of things, pleasure, money, etc. Yet, our Holy and righteous God extends his mercy and beckons us to come back to him, and to give him his rightful place in our lives.
Everything we have in our lives belongs to Him; all possessions are HIS, and we have them only for a short time. Just as He has given us THINGS, He can also take them away. A woman who cheated on her husband could end up losing him through the act of divorce. The man who cheats on his wife could also lose that "love of his life" the same way. Israel had abandoned their only true God and went after idols for many years; the Prophets were sent to warn God's people, but to no avail. Jerusalem ended up in Babylon for 70 years, and the city burned. Yet YHVH never stopped loving his people; he had to discipline them, as a loving father does, and as a husband practices "tough love".
We are the bride of Messiah Yeshua/Jesus. Let us be faithful to the bridegroom, giving the bridegroom the first place in our lives, in worship, coming together on the days of worship, studying His Word, and using our spiritual gifts for the Kingdom. We want our names to be inscribed in the Book of Life and in the Book of Works, not in the dust of the Earth.
