Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more

 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 then 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 no one but the woman, He said to 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 

 

Yesterday we read that on the last day (the eighth day), that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "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."  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."  Others said, "This is the Christ."  But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?  Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"  So there was a division among the people because of Him.  Now some of them wanted to take  Him, but no one laid hands on Him. Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?"  The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"   Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."  Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  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.  This action describes what people did following the interaction with Jesus in yesterday's reading, above.  Those who go to their own house are the ones from Jerusalem, particularly those on the ruling Council (the chief priests and Pharisees) who sought to have Jesus arrested and who accuse Him.  Jesus goes to the Mount of Olives to stay as a pilgrim -- as do others -- to Jerusalem at this Feast of Tabernacles.  It emphasizes His outsider status, as one not in official authority in the temple, and also from outside of Jerusalem and Judea, as a Galilean. 

 

 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.  Here in this next sentence is a contrast; to be seated to teach the people (while they stand) is a position of authority, for in such a way did authoritative rabbis teach. 

 

 Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery.  And then 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.  My study Bible comments that the law dictated the death penalty for adulterers (Leviticus 20:10).  This ordinance was not observed to the letter in the days of Jesus; the Pharisees brought this particular woman because they saw an opportunity to test Him.  If Jesus had objected to this punishment, my study Bible explains, He could be accused of opposing the Law.  But if He upheld the punishment, He could be accused of showing no mercy to sinners.  My study Bible also points out that this is the single place in the New Testament where we are told that Jesus wrote something.  There are various theories explaining what He possibly wrote.  Some suggest that He wrote out the Ten Commandments, which all of these accusers had violated at least once.  Others suggest He wrote the names of the accusers who had themselves committed adultery.  

 

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 no one but the woman, He said to 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 tells us that Christ's answer confounds the Pharisees, as he upholds a great principle of the Law -- that the wages of sin is death (Genesis 2:17; Romans 6:23) -- without neglecting its greater aspect of mercy (Deuteronomy 13:17; Psalm 117:2-118:4; Hosea 6:6).  Christ's mercy is offered freely to all repentant sinners.  So that we may receive this gift, we must in turn flee from sin, as Christ indicates to the woman in His final word here. 

 

 Today's entire reading (this section of St. John's Gospel) which covers the story of the woman caught in adultery is not found in several ancient manuscripts.  Neither is it covered in the commentaries of St. John Chrysostom and particular other Church Fathers.  But nevertheless, my study Bible tells us, it's still sealed by the Church as inspired, authentic, and canonical Scripture; and it bears the same authority as all other Scripture.  In the Orthodox Church, this passage is read on one of the two days in which St. Mary of Egypt, a reformed prostitute, is commemorated.  Regardless of the questions regarding this passage, it seems to fit in with the recent themes we've read in St. John's Gospel, which involve questions of just judgment and righteousness.  In our reading from Saturday, we read Jesus' words, "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."  In yesterday's reading (above), we read not only the words of the Pharisees claiming that no prophet has arisen from Galilee (a false statement, as the prophet Jonah was from Galilee and a town near to Jesus' hometown of Nazareth), but also Nicodemus reminding his fellow Pharisees (only to be insulted and lied to), "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  So questions of judgment, justice, mercy, and righteousness are all relevant here and pertain to the context in which we've just read that the chief priests and Pharisees sent temple officers to arrest Jesus (while still seeking to find charges against Him), but those officers have been converted by Christ's teachings, saying, "No man ever spoke like this Man!" (John 7:46).  So today's story of the woman taken in adultery, and Christ's question of her judgment, is relevant to its context in a number of ways.  First of all, notably, it's a trap like other traps set to catch Jesus in some plausible accusation for the purposes of destroying Him and His ministry.  He's not part of the authoritative power structure, and is a threat to them.  Indeed, His fame is such that He teaches the people in the temple and they are glad to hear Him; moreover, by now He's become a figure of public discussion and dissension; the people are divided on whether or not He could be the Messiah (but, we've been told, they dare not discuss this openly for fear of the authorities).  Importantly, if we look at the letter of the Law against adultery these men purport to enforce, there is a problem with the case, as the Law says the man involved must also be charged, and for him also the penalty is death (see Leviticus 20:10).  In fact, the concern of the Law as written seems primarily to be concerned with the man's conduct, and secondarily with the woman.  Yet, there is no man presented here.  So this particular case is somehow suspect to begin with.  Is the man one of the ones present? Did he collaborate with authorities to set this up?  What did Jesus write for these men to see, after all, and how was it relevant?  These questions aren't answered, but they may certainly be asked.  Once again, in this context, it all points to the desperation of the religious leaders to silence Jesus, to destroy His popularity and threat to their authority over the people.  The story itself not only teaches us about judging with righteous judgment (and not according to appearance), as Jesus has recently taught, but once again about the mistakes that are made when urgency, greed, desperation, and other heightened passions are in play.  Corners are cut, laws and practices meant to safeguard justice are forgotten, and our own "better natures" -- seeking God's way -- become sidelined all too easily, now as then.  Once again, it's another lesson proper to this period in which we approach Great Lent, with its traditional practices designed to help us better practice dispassion and spiritual discipline, to learn to say no to impulses no matter how heightened they may be or seemingly exigent with the times and the demands of those around us and our circumstances.  Lent and its associated historical practices are meant to help us "hear God" more clearly, to turn to our better natures (or, as President Lincoln famously put it in urging a calming of the passions and an effort for peace to avoid war and bloodshed, "the better angels of our nature").  We live in a time when many of these practices have been discarded or forgotten or ignored.  But on the other hand, there are many now who are just discovering and reviving them.  Perhaps it's time we all realized how necessarily they are, how needful it always is to follow Christ's teachings on discarding our own passions and impulses that drive us astray (see, for example, Matthew 5:21-37 from the Sermon on the Mount), and once again begin to take more seriously the need for spiritual discipline in both our public and private lives.  Let us always seek the wisdom of Christ in all the helpful ways these practices advocate and make possible.  We live in a time when heated debates and proclamations speak about justice and judgment, with passions urged and inflamed at every step.  But perhaps we should try the way the Church has always known to look to ourselves first, and better root ourselves in Christ without the self-righteousness that turns us away from God. For even the men who seek to persecute Jesus are convicted by their conscience in today's reading, and yet this capacity seems sorely ignored as a social good in public discourse today.  Moreover, today we can just imagine people taking either side in this confrontation in the temple, and ratcheting up the temperature.  But let us note Christ's equanimity as model.  Jesus balances the scales with both mercy and justice:  "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you

 

 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.  In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.  For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.  Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.  When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"  The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me."  

 

Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."  And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.  And that day was the Sabbath.  The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed."  He answered them, "He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.'"  Then they asked him, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?"  But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.  

Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you have been made well.   Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."  The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.  For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."  Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. 

 

- John 5:1-18 

 

Yesterday we read that after two days in Samaria near Jacob's well Jesus departed from there and went to Galilee.  For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.  So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast.  So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine.  And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum.  When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.  Then Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe."  The nobleman said to Him, "Sir, come down before my child dies!"  Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your son lives."  So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way.  And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, "Your son lives!"  Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better.  And they said to him, "Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him."  So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, "Your son lives."  And he himself believed, and his whole household.  This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee.

 

 After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.  According to patristic commentary, this feast is considered to be the celebration of the Old Testament Pentecost (also called the "Feast of Weeks").   It commemorated the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai.  My study Bible says that the references to the Law of Moses later in this chapter confirm this interpretation.

 

Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, Bethesda, having five porches.  In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed, waiting for the moving of the water.  For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had.   This was a double-basin pool which was believed to have curative powers.  My study Bible says that it has been discovered about 100 yards north of the temple area, near the Sheep Gate.  The water for this high-ground pool flowed from underground springs.  It as used to wash down the sacrificial lambs before they were slain.  A note tells us that this pool functions as a "type" of Christian baptism.  Under the old covenant, a great multitude waited to enter the water for physical healing after an angel touched it.  These waters were special in that they were a way of indirectly participating in the animal sacrifices of the temple, since the animals were washed in the same water.  But this grace was limited to the first person to enter.  In the new covenant, baptism is given to all nations as a direct participation in Christ's own sacrificial death (Romans 6:3-6) without the mediation of angels.  Baptism therefore grants healing of the soul and the promise of eternal resurrection of the body, and its grace is inexhaustible.  

Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.  My study Bible cites St. John Chrysostom, who writes that Jesus singled out the man who had waited for thirty-eight years in order to teach us to have perseverance, and as a judgment against those who lose hope or patience in much lesser troubles lasting a far shorter time. 

When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"  The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me."  Here my study Bible comments that Christ's question is relevant for many reasons. First of all, it made public the fact that the sick man kept his faith even in circumstances that are seemingly hopeless.  How could a paralytic ever be the first into the water?  Second, Christ draws attention away from the water and toward the need we have for a man to help us.  This is fulfilled in Christ, who became Man in order to heal all.  Finally, my study Bible adds that not everybody who's ill truly desires healing.  Some might prefer to remain infirm in order to have license to complain or to avoid responsibility for their lives, possibly to continue receiving the pity of others.

Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your bed and walk."  And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.  And that day was the Sabbath. This healing is the third sign of seven given in John's Gospel.  It manifests the divine power to restore a person to wholeness.

 

The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, "It is the Sabbath; it is not lawful for you to carry your bed."  He answered them, "He who made me well said to me, 'Take up your bed and walk.'"  Then they asked him, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed and walk'?"  But the one who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place.  My study Bible tells us that although the Law itself does not specifically forbid the carrying of burdens on the Sabbath, this is prohibited in Jeremiah 17:21-22 and explicitly forbidden in rabbinical teachings.  That Christ is Lord over the Sabbath is made clear here by His command ("Rise, take up your bed and walk") and by the man's obedience.  As is frequently the case in John's Gospel, the use of the term the Jews refers to leaders as a sort of political term, and not to the people in general.  We are asked to notice the malice of these leaders, as their focus is only on the Sabbath violation, asking the man, "Who is the Man who said to you, 'Take up your bed'?" but ignoring altogether the miraculous healing.  

Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, "See, you have been made well.   Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."  My study Bible asks us to note that this man was found in the temple, for it shows his great faith, as he had gone there directly to thank God for his cure instead of leaving to someone's home or to the marketplace.  Jesus tells him to sin no more:  My study Bible notes that while there is a general connection between sin and suffering (Romans 6:23), it's not always one-to-one.  The innocent frequently suffer, and often the guilty are spared earthly sufferings (see also John 9:1-3).  Nonetheless, there are times when one's own sin leads directly to personal suffering in this world.  St. John Chrysostom writes that this was the case with this paralytic.  But Christ's warning, according to my study Bible, is that the sins that destroy the soul lead to a far worse result than an affliction of the body.  The one hope is to flee from sin altogether.  

The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.  This man does not report Jesus to the leaders of the Jews in a way that is malicious, but rather as testimony to Christ's goodness.  My study Bible says that although these leaders are only interested in the violation of the Sabbath, the healed man emphasizes that it was Jesus who had made him well, and says nothing about carrying his bed.  

For this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus, and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath. But Jesus answered them, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working."  Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.  Jesus refers to God as My Father, and the religious leaders clearly understand that this implies absolute equality.  He will continue this dispute in our following reading.  

In Matthew 12:1-8, we can read of a similar kind of incident, in which Jesus upsets the religious authorities who accuse Him and His disciples of violating the Sabbath, as they gleaned food by plucking heads of grain to eat in the fields as they walked.  In that case, Jesus provided to them an example of a blameless violation of the Sabbath by David and his men, who ate of the showbread meant only to be for the priest.  But Christ's greater emphasis is on mercy as the very nature of God and source of the Law ("But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless" - Matthew 12:7).  In that reading, Jesus declares that "the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath" (Matthew 12:8), hence the relevance also for the events of today's reading.  My study Bible asks us to examine the attitudes of the religious leaders, whose zealousness for rabbinical tradition would become the source of conflict with Jesus, and also an object of His great criticism for the hypocrisy it led to on their part (Matthew 23).  Moreover, the fullness of Christ's purpose in coming into the world is revealed through this particular action of mercy, for it is necessary in order to heal.  It is not separate from faith (nor used to induce faith through "proofs") as remarked upon by my study Bible, when it notes that the man was found giving thanks in the temple, in gratitude for his healing.  This detail about gratitude is extremely significant, for it seems that it is related to Christ's admonition to the man, "See, you have been made well.  Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you." One of the ways in which we can understand this teaching given by Jesus is an emphasis on the true importance of gratitude, and its linked understanding that this is the recognition of just where the man's healing comes from in the first place.  For without proper gratitude for the healing, how would he be expressing in his life any sense of what has happened to him, and what great gift has been given to him?  How do we understand gratitude except in its proper place as recognition for the giver of a gift?  To continue to commit sin with impunity would in fact imply a complete lack of recognition of the Giver; and prove a sort of challenge to God -- implying entitlement and not gratitude or recognition of what he has been given.  One might say that to continue to sin, without a thought given to God and God's desires and teachings or nature, would be test God in some sense, to challenge the nature of our relationship to God.  For it is we who depend upon God, even as God loves us beyond what we can understand of love.  Gratitude characterizes proper relationship, a true sense of maturity even in human relations.  For without it, we do not properly recognize love or mercy, nor the care and sacrifice of others.  Neither are we able to function fully without the practice of gratitude, as in its absence we find despair, unhappiness, and blindness to the things in life that offer us goodness and richness, our own blessings we overlook.  (For modern science on gratitude, see this article and this one.)  Even these religious authorities show an extreme lack of gratitude in their blindness to the revelation of God's mercy in the miraculous sign of healing, the blessing that has come among them and within their community.  So we may conclude here the essential nature of gratitude to our lives, and the many ways we might show that.  In this case, Jesus admonishes this healed man to remember God, by teaching him to "go and sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you."  It teaches us not to take our blessings for granted, nor the mercy or kindness of others.  It also gives us a strong message about God at work in our midst, for as Jesus teaches about the Holy Spirit, our own responses to God form the shape of judgment (see John 16:7-11), including the possibility of consequences to our lives even in this world.  Even such negative consequences must be seen as corrective warnings, if we are not blind to them nor to God's goodness, giving us another reason why gratitude is a necessary component of a mature spirituality and character of a person.  So let us think hard about gratitude and its central importance for us as human beings.  It centers us in the place of relatedness to God, to Christ, and to God's active work in the world through grace and the Holy Spirit.  It teaches us the proper response to love (and God is love, 1 John 4:8).  It is the hallmark of a person of a fully formed character, and creates right-relatedness within our own social groups, while its lack creates severe problems and conflicts.  Let us consider both the powerful effects of gratitude, and the depleted conditions of life without it, as we move through Lent toward the Passion of Christ, and to Resurrection.  

Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more

 

 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 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 

 

 Yesterday we completed reading the passage in Luke's Gospel in which Jesus gave to the disciples a lengthy discourse on the end times (see Luke 21).  He spoke to them a parable:  "Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.  When they are already budding, you will see and know for yourselves that summer is now near.  So you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is near.  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.  But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.  For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth.  Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.  And in the daytime He was teaching in the temple, but at night He went out and stayed on the mountain called Olivet.  Then early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him.

 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.  In today's lectionary reading, on this Wednesday as we get into the heart of the Advent season in preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus, we are given a reading from John's Gospel.  This passage (John 7:53-8:11) is the story of the woman caught in adultery.  Notably, it is not found in several ancient manuscripts.  Neither is it covered in the extensive commentaries of St. John Chrysostom and certain other patristic authorities.  But, my study Bible reminds us, it is still sealed by the Church as inspired, authentic, canonical Scripture, and it bears the same authority as all other Scripture.  It is important that we understand Scripture in this sense.  The setting for this story is Christ's time at the Feast of Tabernacles, an eight day harvest festival.  Jesus has been sparring with the religious authorities, who have attempted and failed to seize Him.  Even the temple officers sent to arrest Him have failed to do so. 

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.  My study Bible comments here that the law dictated the death penalty for adulterers (Leviticus 20:10).  It says that this ordinance, however, was not observed to the letter in the days of Jesus.  But the Pharisees have brought this particular woman because they saw another opportunity to test Jesus.  If He objected to the punishment, He could be accused of opposing the Law.  If He upheld the punishment, then He could be accused of showing no mercy to sinners.  My study Bible also notes that this is the one place in the New Testament where Christ wrote something.  There are several theories regarding what He wrote.  Some suggest that He wrote out the Ten Commandments, which all of the accusers had violated at least once.  Others say that He wrote the names of the accusers who had themselves committed adultery.

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 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 that Christ's answer confounds the Pharisees, because He upholds a great principle of the Law -- that the wages of sin is death (Genesis 2:17; Romans 6:23) -- but without neglecting its greater aspect of mercy (Deuteronomy 13:17; Psalms 117:2-118:4; Hosea 6:6).   This mercy, it says, is offered freely to all repentant sinners.  In order for us to receive this gift, we must in turn flee from sin, as Jesus teaches the woman ("Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more").

 

 It's important that we pay attention to Jesus' words to this woman.  He tells her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."  His response to her manifests what my study Bible notes:  He upholds a great principle of the Law, that the wages of sin is death -- but without neglecting its greater aspect of mercy.  When we look at this statement, that "the wages of sin is death," we should understand it in a particular sense, in order to understand Christ.  My study Bible cites Genesis 2:17 and Romans 6:23 as the Scripture that underpins it.  But we should not understand "death" as punishment for sin.   Rather -- as implied in Jesus' command to "go and sin no more" -- sin leads us away from God, and to be without God is to enter into death, for it is in God that our life is held and maintained.  God's mercy is never stinted, but apart from God, there is only death.  This is why "the wages of sin is death."  All manner of sin in some way participates in death, in corruption; lies are characteristic of the same, building our lives on false ground, living on values that corrupt and ultimately bind us to oppression, suffering, and that which takes away life and the quality of life.  This is particularly true in terms of righteousness, or the way we relate to others within any sense of community, and thus the issue of adultery becomes important in this context of abuse and broken relationships.  It is with this point of view that Jesus admonishes this woman, after she is forgiven, to "go and sin no more," because to "sin more" would be once again to enter into the way of death, the path which leads to our own loss of eternal life promised by Christ.  This promise is not a "reward"  and its absence is not "punishment."  It is, in fact, our choice for the way of life and the way of death (Deuteronomy 30:15-20), but these are paths that in fact affect our ontological reality, who we are and who we become.  This is not simply about what happens after we physically die, but about our own quality of life in this world, and the blessed way He offers, in contrast to the way of death, which is synonymous with evil and the evil one.  For there are fruits of the Spirit which come with this way of life, as well as fruits of the flesh (that is, life outside of this blessed way).  To walk in this way is to experience a type of peace and joy that aren't to be found elsewhere.  This woman has received the mercy of Christ -- and rightly so, for all kinds of reasons.  But nonetheless, He instructs her to "go and sin no more."   To continue to do so is to walk the way of death, but to follow Him is the way of life more abundantly.  For He is the way, the truth, and the life.  The way to enter into this life is through repentance, for we all sin, even if it's simply to miss a higher mark to which we're called, a better way.  In all cases, our way of life is to follow Him.

 

 

He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first

 

 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 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 

 

 In our current readings, Jesus is attending the eight-day Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem.  It is the now the final year of His earthly life and ministry.  Yesterday we read that on the last day, that great day of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "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."  But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.   Therefore many from the crowd, when they heard this saying, said, "Truly this is the Prophet."  Others said, "This is the Christ."  But some said, "Will the Christ come out of Galilee?  Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the seed of David and from the town of Bethlehem, where David was?"  So there was a division among the people because of Him.  Now some of them wanted to take Him, but no one laid hands on Him.    Then the officers came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, "Why have you not brought Him?"  The officers answered, "No man ever spoke like this Man!"  Then the Pharisees answered them, "Are you also deceived?  Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?  But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed."  Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them) said to them, "Does our law judge a man before it hears him and knows what he is doing?"  They answered and said to him, "Are you also from Galilee?  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.  And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.  . . ."  My study Bible tells us that this story of the woman caught in adultery is not found in several ancient manuscripts.  Neither is it covered in the commentaries of st. John Chrysostom and certain other patristic teachers.  But nevertheless, it says, it is still sealed by the Church as inspired, authentic, canonical Scripture, and it bears the same authority as all other Scripture.  In the Orthodox Church, it is read on one of the two days when St. Mary of Egypt, a reformed prostitute, is commemorated.

". . . 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.  My study Bible says that the law dictated the death penalty for adulterers (Leviticus 20:10).   But at the time of Jesus, this ordinance was not observed to the letter.  This particular woman was brought to Jesus by the Pharisees simply because it was an opportunity to test Him.  If Christ objected to the punishment, then He could be accused of opposing the Law.  If He upheld the punishment, then He could be accused of showing no mercy ot sinners.  My study Bible further comments that this is the single place in the New Testament where Christ wrote something.  There are several theories which exist as to what it was He wrote.  Some suggest that He wrote out the Ten Commandments, which all the accusers had violated at least once.  Others say He wrote the names of the accusers who had themselves committed adultery.

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 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."   Christ's answer is confounding to the Pharisees, in that He upholds a great principal of the Law here -- that the wages of sin is death (Genesis 2:17, Romans 6:23) -- but without neglecting its greater aspect of mercy (Deuteronomy 13:17, Psalms 117:2-118:4, Hosea 6:6).  My study Bible emphasizes that this mercy is offered freely to all repentant sinners.  In order for us to receive this gift, we must in turn flee from sin, as Jesus tells the woman, just as He has previously said to the paralytic He healed.

 

 It's interesting to me that the Gospel tells us that Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.  As the scribes and Pharisees continue to ask Him for His response, He tells them, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."  And then again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.  There is nowhere else in any of the Gospels (or, as my study Bible points out, any of the New Testament) where it's indicated that Jesus ever wrote anything.  Clearly, if He's writing with His finger on the ground, this will also not be any sort of written statement left for posterity.  (Can one imagine if He did leave such a thing for us?)  No, clearly, this writing is only meant for a certain person or persons, and we have no idea what He did write.  But if we link up this noteworthy moment where we're told Jesus writes twice with other things we read in the Gospel, we are given a picture of Jesus that shakes us from the image of the itinerant preacher and the people who are His disciples.  First of all, He's clearly literate.  In Luke's Gospel, He reads the Scripture in the synagogue in His hometown of Nazareth.  When He stands to read on the Sabbath, He's handed the scroll of Isaiah.  He finds the specific place where He can read the following, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."  And He makes this announcement to His hometown:  "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  (See Luke 4:16-30.)  It's not clear where or how His learning came or if He received training in a religious school, but we do know He is not simply an average member of the "people of the land" such as the fishermen who are His disciples, or so many others who  become believers.  In stooping down to write, Jesus, poetically enough, shows us that He is, in fact, on the level of the educated ones, the Pharisees and scribes of Jerusalem in the temple.  He has their skills and education, and moreover, we could say in the tones of American slang, He also "has their number."   He knows "where they are at," He knows what they are up to, and He knows them and their lives.  He is every bit up to the skill of debating and verbal skirmishing they can bring to Him, and He gives the perfect response that stops the trap they've set for Him:  "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first."   We don't know what it is He stooped to write on the ground, both before and after this statement, but whatever it was, He was quite effective.  One by one, from first the oldest and down to the last, they are convicted by their conscience, and go out one by one until only Christ is left with the woman.  In the law as it was written, both the man and woman caught in adultery are supposed to be punished.  Perhaps we should assume that what Christ wrote had something to do with that missing man, and the circumstances in which the woman was brought to Him.  We don't know.  But what we do understand is that Christ is on everyone's level, and that they are no match for Him -- not in human skills and learning, and certainly not in terms of His insight and divine knowledge.  Neither are they a match for His mercy and His justice.  At this present time, we can look around ourselves and see a lot of figurative stone throwing.  Vilification and cancel culture, character assassination and insinuation are made the norms of the day, with more censorship to come of "wrong" opinion and statements.  It seems that, for many, pointing a finger at someone else really does seem to exclude or erase one's own sins, or perhaps to hide them.  Most of this is done today on social media, and it seems doubtful that -- without Jesus around face-to-face -- anyone pauses long enough to be convicted by their conscience regarding their own fallibility or past errors and sins.  We who are among the older crowds of the population should probably be the first to consider our own behavior, if the Gospel -- and real experience -- is anything to go by.  And again, we have to ask ourselves, who is setting this example today?  There is a lot of scolding of others to go around, but it hardly seems that the humility (and wisdom)  to reflect first is very popularly practiced.  Perhaps we should all be convicted by our consciences if we realize that we might be more hard-hearted than even the Pharisees and scribes we read about in today's reading.  On the other hand, it is a reminder that we need to hear Christ's words now more than ever, especially if we are tempted to join in the condemnation.