Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?

And everyone went to his own house. But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 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. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?" 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. 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." And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 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. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."

- John 7:53-8:11

So many of the events of John's Gospel take place at the important religious festivals of Israel, and today's is no exception. We are in the middle of readings in which events take place at the Feast of Tabernacles. In yesterday's reading, Jesus was speaking at the last day of the Feast. The events of the festival include a procession from the pool of Siloam, commemorating the water struck from the rock by Moses. Jesus said, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." When many heard this, they all debated: "Truly this is the Prophet." Others said, "This is the Christ." But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?" The Pharisees were enraged, and sent officers to arrest Jesus, but the officers failed to do so once they began to listen to Him. They said, "No man ever spoke like this Man!" The Pharisees and chief priests debate, saying that no prophet has ever come from Galilee. Nicodemus, also a Pharisee, whom we read earlier in John's Gospel had been taught by Jesus about baptism by water and spirit, defended Jesus by asking, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?" They answered him sarcastically and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee? Mistakenly, they added, "Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee."

And everyone went to his own house. But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 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. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. We remember that by now the leadership wishes to find a way to trap Jesus. Here, this woman is most likely brought to Him entrapped herself in order to be used to test Jesus. Where is the man involved with her?

And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?" This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. The passage of the law reads as follows: "The man who commits adultery with another man's wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death" (Lev. 20:10). My study bible says that this law was not observed to the letter in the days of Jesus. Rather, this application is being forced in order to test or trap Jesus. If He refuses to condemn the woman, then they can accuse Him of being a lawbreaker. If He approves, then, in the words of my study bible, "He will be inconsistent in His mercy to sinners." We also recall the importance of His women followers and their support (Luke's Gospel truly shares so many important stories that tell us so). Condemnation of this woman, which would be widely seen as a harsh act, may also undermine His ministry in this respect.

But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. My study bible says, interestingly to me, that this is the only New Testament reference that Christ wrote anything. It notes, "Speculation abounds as to what He wrote, one theory being that He wrote the names of those accusers who were themselves guilty of adultery." Perhaps those names include the ones who set this up to entrap the woman and Jesus in the first place. If we read the law, it clearly tells us that "the adulterer and the adulteress" should be put to death.

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." And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. Some manuscripts leave out "being convicted by their conscience." We have a little spiritual gem here, in the teaching that the men left, beginning from the eldest and then even to the last. The word for "eldest" or "oldest" here can also be read as representing a wise elder, perhaps a member of the Sanhedrin or Council. This Greek word is the one from which the Christian term "presbyter" comes to us. In any case, it tells us that the ones with the most experience are the first to leave; perhaps we should also consider spiritual experience a part of this understanding.

And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more." My study bible says, "God forgives and does not condemn the repentant sinner. But true repentance includes striving to sin no more." It also notes that this story "forcefully demonstrates the grace and power of Christ to redeem and reclaim all sinners, in contrast to the judgmental attitude of the scribes and Pharisees."

Sometimes we may look at a story like this and just think of the triumphal Jesus. They are unable to trap Him. What He knows is something far beyond the rest of them. Or perhaps He's just clever enough to understand that His accusers will be convicted by their conscience. However, I think the story is a little more nuanced than that. It's not often that those whose intent is to trap others have a lot of self-knowledge or reflection. Hence, the importance of Jesus' mysterious writing, the only incident in the entire New Testament that tells us He wrote anything. Note that it was written on the ground, so would leave no trace. It's like a secret, perhaps a secret message for the right people to see it, the way that God works in our hearts, a message of faith can come to us, if only to tell us to drop that stone in our hands before we really do something to condemn ourselves. So, Jesus' mercy works actually to save these men from doing something worse than what is already happening. There is also the theme of repentance in terms of the woman. She's not merely an innocent, even if she is used in an abhorrent way and may truly have been set up to be caught and taken before Jesus to entrap Him. It's important that He tells her, "Go and sin no more" for more than one reason. What we come to understand about the story is that in all our imperfection, there is mercy. We have a responsibility to strive to live good lives as best we can and know how. If she were a total innocent, it would merely serve to condemn the accusers even more harshly than they are already condemned "by their conscience." But she is a "sinner" too, according to the law, and so there is mercy all around. There is a kind of leaven of grace that sifts the whole, and permeates the whole story on all sides. Most of all, we get a kind of holistic sense of how God works with us and within us, through all of us, and especially through faith. She is redeemed, reclaimed. Her accusation and entrapment, an evil act, by being brought before Christ, work to reclaim her for Christ; she is one of the saved, one of His. His question, "Where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?" is one I pray that each of us has heard at one time or another, as we stand in our hearts before Him. This is the power of prayer, reconciliation, repentance. We come before Him so that He claims us too, in His mercy and love. We needn't be perfect to do so. This story is not starkly "black and white," and neither, quite often, is life. This is why spiritual experience is important, and not mere theory or abstract. Rules alone are not enough, as Christ so often will teach! We live in a world complicated by the evil and pain in many forms that may be a part of our lives. We go before Him so He may show us the Way through. We also have those more experienced that may help us toward His word for us today.