They had figured out the perfect no-win situation for Jesus. In the past the scribes and Pharisees had come up with seemingly foolproof questions that would trap Jesus in His own words, and repeatedly He had turned the tables on them. But this time it was going to be different. Either way Jesus answered the question, they had Him. If He answered “Yes,” He would appear mean-spirited and would offend much of Jerusalem. If He answered “No,” they would accuse Him of defying the law and God. It was going to be win-win for them and no-win for Jesus.
Pick up the story in John 8:2: “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 8:2–12).
Leviticus 20:10 states, “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.” Also, one of the Ten Commandments prohibits adultery, (Exodus 20:14) and adultery is called a sin in both the Old and New Testaments. Some say that this incident proves that Jesus broke the civil law of Israel—or at least advocated ignoring it—and dismissed one of the commandments. They reason that Jesus did all this in an effort to be merciful in a case where He considered His Father’s law to be too harsh. But is that what really happened?
Magnifying the Law
Jesus specifically said that He did not come to do away with His Father’s law—rather, He came to magnify it: “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:17–20).
The apostle John wrote, “sin is the transgression of the law,” (1 John 3:4, KJV) and the Bible teaches us that our salvation depends on the fact that Jesus was a sinless sacrifice for our sins. Hebrews 9:28 makes this clear, “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” According to your Bible, Jesus “…was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). If Jesus broke the law, the scriptural account of His role as a sinless sacrifice is false, and to reject His Father’s law implies an act of rebellion. Also, some reason that if Jesus could overlook the law whenever He wanted, they can too. This kind of thinking operates to deceive people into believing that they can reject what God says is right and wrong and decide for themselves. So whether or not Jesus broke the law is of great importance to us.
Is there more going on in this story than meets the eye? There certainly is, but it is necessary to have some additional information on the legalities and circumstances involved before we can understand why Jesus said the things recounted in this incident.
The first odd circumstance presented in this account is the fact that the scribes and Pharisees brought only a woman taken in the act of adultery. Where is the man? The scripture quoted above states, “…the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death.” Why did they let him go? Also, adultery is a sin committed in privacy. How could a whole group of pious scribes and Pharisees be eyewitnesses to such an act if they had not arranged to be? Many times, Jesus said to these people, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” (Matthew 23:13). There is a real possibility that this woman was entrapped in an effort to entrap Jesus.
Rules of Evidence Provided Balance
Adultery was a grievous spiritual sin (Exodus 20:14) and a capital crime, for which the Israelite law called for death if the person was convicted. And regardless of unfair circumstances, this woman apparently did what she was accused of. In Israelite law a number of offenses existed that could result in a death sentence, and these penalties might seem harsh by today’s standards. But it is important to realize that Israelite rules of evidence were so strict that it was extremely difficult to convict anyone. This added balance to the system.
Several conditions were necessary before a person could be convicted and executed.
There had to be two or more witnesses. “Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses, he shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness” (Deuteronomy 17:6). This is why it was necessary for the scribes and Pharisees to present a crowd of eyewitnesses to the adultery. It is also why it was extremely rare for anyone ever to be executed. In contrast, most modern systems will convict a person of a capital crime on the testimony of one witness and often on forensic evidence alone. Because people had little fear of punishment, adultery was so common in Jesus’ time that He called them “…‘An evil and adulterous generation…’” (Matthew 12:39). The scribes and Pharisees knew that a public call from Jesus to execute adulterers would make Him widely resented and feared.
The witnesses had to agree. If two witnesses gave conflicting testimony, then clearly one was not a true witness and the condition of having two witnesses was not met. This was the case in Jesus’ unfair trial. “And some rose up and bore false witness against Him, saying, ‘We heard Him say, “I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands.”’ But not even then did their testimony agree” (Mark 14:57–59).
The main witnesses had to participate in the execution. “The hands of the witnesses shall be the first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So you shall put away the evil person [perjurer] from among you” (Deuteronomy 17:7). A witness had to be so certain of the truthfulness of his testimony that he would be willing to take a leading role in the final assault on the accused. In this case they had to “cast the first stone.” The equivalent of this in more modern times would be to require the eyewitnesses in a murder trial to participate in the firing squad—or the accused would be let go.
It should be clear by now that Jesus did not ignore or break the law when he said, “Neither do I condemn you” to the adulterous woman. All her accusers had gone, and since there were not two witnesses, she could not be convicted under Israelite law! But there are still some unresolved questions. For instance, while it is true that the witnesses lawfully had to “cast the first stone,” the law said nothing about requiring them to be “without sin” themselves. Then why did Jesus say, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first”? And why would a group that Jesus rightly called “hypocrites” (Matthew 23:23) and a “generation of vipers” (Matthew 12:34, KJV) be so docile that they would walk away when confronted about their own sin?
Writing on the Ground
The answer lies in Jesus’ mysterious actions just after He was asked if the woman should be condemned. “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 [the chief witness] even to the last” (John 8:6–9).
What did Jesus begin to write in the dust of the temple floor? It was probably the sin of the eldest accuser. Because they were “an adulterous generation” and complete hypocrites, they all were at least as guilty as was the woman they accused. But since there were no witnesses against the accusers, Jesus forced them to witness against themselves. The eldest witness could see what Jesus was writing. He knew that if he picked up a stone, Jesus would expose him. It was his right—actually his obligation—to cast the first stone, but if he would not do so, he could not lawfully condemn the woman.
Now, who was in the no-win situation? The scribes and Pharisees. The eldest accuser made a hasty exit, and as Jesus continued to write in the dust, so did the next, and the next, until all were gone. They did not leave because they had tender consciences. They left because they had guilty consciences.
“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’” (John 8:10–11). Without two or more witnesses she could not be convicted, so “Jesus said to her, ‘Neither do I condemn you.’” It would have been unlawful for Him to do so.
The Woman’s Sin?
So far we have only dealt with the issue of the woman’s crime of adultery under Israelite law. But what about her spiritual sin? Did Jesus ignore that? It must be remembered that Jesus had the authority and power to forgive sins. There once was an incident in which Jesus was preaching to a packed house, and some men made a hole in the ceiling to let a man down to be healed. Jesus used the opportunity to assert His unique authority: “When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven you.’ But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, ‘Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?’ But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, ‘Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven you,” or to say, “Arise, take up your bed and walk”? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins’—He said to the paralytic, ‘I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go your way to your house’” (Mark 2:5–11).
Without witnesses, it would have been unlawful for Jesus to condemn the woman for the civil crime of adultery, but it was within His authority to forgive her spiritual sin. Moments before, the woman had stood in the midst of a mob, in terror that she was about to be bludgeoned to death with stones. Now she was spared and tearfully facing her Savior. We can safely suppose that she was thoroughly repentant for what she had done. So Jesus, having dealt with her civil crime, dealt with her spiritual sin. He said, “Go and sin no more.”
In the incident of the woman caught in adultery, Jesus dealt with both her civil crime and her spiritual sin, and in doing so, He not only meticulously observed the law, He administered elegant justice. One such as this should judge the whole world!