Study on John 8

John Chapter 8

2 At dawn He went to the temple complex again, and all the people were coming to Him. He sat down and began to teach them.
3 Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, making her stand in the center. 4 "Teacher," they said to Him, "this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery. 5 In the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do You say?" 6 They asked this to trap Him, in order that they might have evidence to accuse Him.
Jesus stooped down and started writing on the ground with His finger. 7 When they persisted in questioning Him, He stood up and said to them, "The one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her."
8 Then He stooped down again and continued writing on the ground. 9 When they heard this, they left one by one, starting with the older men. Only He was left, with the woman in the center. 10 When Jesus stood up, He said to her, " Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"
11 "No one, Lord," she answered.
"Neither do I condemn you," said Jesus. "Go, and from now on do not sin any more."

After reading John 8:2-11 one question pierces my thoughts. What was Jesus drawing in the sand? We have all done it at some time or another. Perhaps we were small children playing in the dirt, or organizing football play of the utmost importance. But here we see something different, not a child aimlessly perusing the dirt collection, but rather a grown man stooping down to write in the earth. Why does John include this? Surely, if we have no knowledge of what Jesus wrote, there must be a reason for including the action, which is repeated twice. Perhaps it was merely to show his attitude toward the Pharisees’ actions – but then why wouldn’t John have purely stated that Jesus ignored them? No, there must have been a reason for this. Perhaps John himself was unaware of why he included such detail, God himself might be the only in knowledge of such things.

Looking at the overall message that Jesus is sending, one is ensnared in mercy. Jesus finds no problem with the law, nor denies the woman’s guilt; nor does he ignore the intent of the Pharisees. But rather Jesus’ intent was to reveal the persecutors their fault without condemnation, while showing mercy to the woman by not condemning her as well. Mathew 7:1-3 does come to mind when thinking of this passage. In his sermon on the mount Jesus states, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”

But certainly Jesus could have condemned the sinner – he was without sin. Yet, he doesn’t. In Mathew 5:17 Jesus say that he “did not come to destroy but to fulfill it.” This perspective on law is echoed again in Luke 16:17. No, Jesus wasn’t trying to undermine the law or replace it, but as he said fulfill it. Then why didn’t he condemn her? In my opinion this is because he shows her the love which he surmised the law and prophets. John 3:17 put it as such: “For God did not send his son to condemn the world but to save it.” The grace Jesus shows to the Pharisees and the mercy that is evident towards the woman are innately connected to his writing in the sand.

So what? We still are left with the question about Jesus’ writing in the sand? What is it all about? It is impossible for us to know exactly what Jesus did write, but it is interesting to note another occasion in which God wrote with his finger. Exodus 31:18 states “When the LORD finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.” Whoa, lookout. The finger of God wrote the law – that’s what the Pharisees were talking about! Maybe Jesus was exemplifying the fact that he is the Word incarnate. He is the new covenant beyond the Law of Moses. This curious connection leads to the next question, why did Jesus always stand before he replied to questions? I believe that John paints wonderful imagery with the notion of the earth.

We see Jesus taking four specific steps.

• First, he stoops down to the dust.
• Second, he gets up and speaks to the Pharisees.
• Third, he gets down in the dust again.
• Fourth, he gets up and forgives the woman her sins.

Looking at this progression with the understanding of the Old Testament connection between dust and death, we can see a much broader picture. First Jesus is not around and then is born when he rises up the first time. His comments to the Pharisees can be seen as his earthly ministry before is killed in his third action, and is then is resurrected to free us from sin. The message here is not unlike that which Paul refers to as ‘walking in newness of life.’ When you look at the incident through that lens, the beauty and love of God is magnified.

Response to Jeremiah 17:13:
"O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from Me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of Living waters."
Was Jesus writing the names of the Pharisees in reference to Jeremiah? They probably would have been well enough versed in scripture to make the pistons start shooting in their head. In short, I don’t know. The actions Jesus took and the words he said were apparently enough to convict the men and divert their actions. Overall I don’t think Jesus purpose was to condemn these persons who were guilty and then turn right around and forgive the woman who was also guilty. Rather, Jesus piles them all together in the ‘Guilty but not condemned pile’ and calls it a day, if you will. He loves them all.