John 8:1-12 – “But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. 3 Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, 4 they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?”   6 This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.  

7 So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”  8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” 

11 She said, “No one, Lord.”  And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” 

12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”  NKJV

There are so many issues one could raise in this account including the hypocrisy of the Pharisees who brought the woman to Jesus.  How did they ‘catch’ her?  Was she ‘set up’?  Where was the man?  You cannot commit adultery alone can you?  Good and valid questions but not my focus in this devotional.

The accusers rightly quoted the Law of Moses about adultery’s penalty but the fact they were using this as a ‘gotcha moment’ to entrap Jesus is more important than what has transpired with the woman and the unnamed and unidentified man she was involved with.  Jesus’ response is arresting as he calmly addressed the Law, the requirements and allowances of the Law saying, “He who is without sin is to throw the first stone.”  It has been argued and with validity that His statement was not just a blanket statement about SIN but about this particular sin and thereby exposed them as guilty of like sin as this woman they were accusing.  No matter, they had sin in their hearts and as a result of the conviction brought but they words of our Lord they dropped their stones and left.

I find it interesting that Jesus would continue writing on the ground until He knew they had all left with heads hung low and said to the woman, “Where are those accusing you?”  He knew that the Law required two or three witnesses to bring about a conviction and since there were no witnesses He was not violating or ignoring the Law when He said, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”  He was offering grace!  He was not justifying her action and clearly identified that in saying SIN NO MORE. 

He then says to everyone present, “I am the light of the world.  He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”  This statement is incredibly powerful coming that the conclusion of the events of this account for these words identify the problem of SIN, the remedy for SIN and the HOPE of man.  This beautiful story can never be used to justify wrong but should always be used to present Grace and serve as a continual reminder that before we seek to condemn others we should look within at our own condition.  If the angels in heaven rejoice when one sinner is brought in how much more should we who have tasted God’s forgiveness rejoice?

            God bless you as you go through this day!