The Adulterous Woman
But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”]]
John gives us an example of Jesus’ love and compassion without too much action or commentary. The story is that of a woman who has been caught in the act of adultery. From the previous chapter, the scribes and the leaders are trying to find a way to falsely accuse Jesus to get him to be executed. While they are trying to find something on Christ, they find this woman who is guilty of adultery. In Deuteronomy 22:22-30, the law that was given shows the “proper” way that the situation of the unlawful act should be handled, but the leaders are trying to use their intelligence to outwit Jesus. Fortunately, Christ is able to use his peace and calmness to stop the confusion and calamity of the crowd and restore the woman to her whole self.
As we look at this particular situation, we can see it in a different manner. We are the adulterous woman and we are presented to Jesus. How many times have we been presented to Christ or gone to him with our shortcoming and sins? How many times have we been presented with situations that we believe that we have created and Jesus will not save us from? How many times have we held our heads in shame in the presence of Jesus and we stop him from comforting us? Jesus is the only on that can judge us and make us whole. He knows all the sins and obstacles that we allow the enemy to use to stop us from being close to him. He knew the woman before she was presented to the crowd. He knew each sin that she has ever committed (from the oldest to the newest). He knows all the things that makes us vulnerable and knows that the enemy will use these to stop us from getting close to Jesus and allowing him to heal our being. What are the sins that are hold you and me back from the true love and compassion of Christ?
A little further in the chapter, Jesus states that he alone cannot make judgment on individuals, but he and the Father together can make judgment. Jesus chooses to forgive us when we are submitted to his divine grace in spite of the sins that we have committed in the past and present. He sees us without anyone to condemn us.