The Road to Easter: Jesus Writes on the Ground
(NIV)John 8:3 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.”
I have always found this account of the woman accused of adultery to be one of the most compelling of Jesus’ encounters with the Pharisees. Consider this: each time Jesus met with the Pharisees, their intention was not to fellowship with Him, nor to learn from Him, but to entrap Him.
In this instance, if Jesus called for mercy the Pharisees would accuse Him of breaking Mosaic law. If He agreed to stone the woman, He would have been breaking the Roman law, which allowed the Sanhedrin to pronounce a guilty sentence, but not carry out the death penalty.
Jesus wrote with His finger in the dirt reminiscent of God writing the Ten Commandments with His finger on stone not once, but twice. Although we are not told what Jesus wrote in the dirt, what if He was simply writing the “Thou shall nots” followed by the Pharisees’ names? That would get their attention.
Whatever Jesus wrote certainly had the desired effect. One by one the accusers left, until only Jesus and the woman were remaining. What a beautiful depiction of mercy and redemption.
I recall the song “Tell me the story of Jesus, write on my heart every word…” When we engage in Bible reading and prayer, we are ensuring that our hearts are fertile for planting the Word, and the harvest we reap will be one of joy.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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