Genesis 50:1-26

Jesus and the Adulterous Woman
1 Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 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.”

Jesus’ enemies took him on in public on more than one occasion. Nearly every time they went away licking their wounds. But in this story no one takes on Jesus publicly other than pelting him with questions that go unanswered. In a potentially explosive affair, Jesus diffuses the situation so that all but one walk away quietly. The account captures a woman caught in the act of adultery who gets dragged before Jesus with questions about punishment.

Curiously this story contains the only known instance with Jesus writing, which he does in the dirt – at least twice. People have often speculated what Jesus wrote: Perhaps the names of other adulterers gathered around at the time; surely he could see into their hearts. Perhaps he wrote other sins of people standing before him; maybe he drew a picture of Snoopy, later passed on to Charles Schulz. We don’t know.

What we do know is that he was left alone with an adulterous woman. And he gave her what no other man would give her: Forgiveness. Additionally, he told her to go and sin no more; he acknowledged her sin (just like he acknowledges ours!). But he powerfully forgave in a hostile environment of condemnation. Wow! Read the story and find out how he does it