(A) Introduction. (Read the reference)

There has been some uncertainty about whether this passage should be included in John's gospel. It is not to be found in the earliest manuscripts and it is not written in the style of John. My view is that the story of the woman taken in adultery fulfils the purpose of Scripture; it is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2Tim3v16and17. The fact is, John's gospel would be the poorer without these eleven verses.

(B) The attitude of the Pharisees and teachers of the law.

(1) To the woman.

(a) The Pharisees were preoccupied with the adulterer's sin. They had no real interest in, let alone compassion for, the sinner. One can almost detect a note of triumph in their voices: "Teacher this woman was caught in the act of adultery." v4. The guardians of the nation's morals would not try to understand why the woman did what she did. It seems unlikely that it was an act of passion. It is not so easy for strangers to catch two lovers having sexual intercourse. The opponents of Jesus knew where to find this woman at work. She was probably a married prostitute whose family lived off her immoral earnings.

When people sin we should always make an effort to understand why. I knew a young man, Stephen, who in his late teens met a girl, Mandy, of about 14. Mandy undoubtedly loved Stephen and did all she could, with the help of her mother, to get her man. Stephen had no experience of love and mistook the affection he felt for Mandy for Eros. Later he met someone else - Felicity - with whom he really fell in love. Stephen committed adultery, divorced Mandy and married Felicity. He could not face a lifetime in an insipid, unsatisfactory relationship after he had experienced the 'real thing.' I believed that what Stephen did was wrong but ....... .

(b) The Pharisees were blatantly unfair. It takes two to commit adultery! Where was the man? The Law of Moses said that both the woman and the man who commit adultery should be put to death.

Woman, throughout history, have been treated more harshly for their sexual misdemeanours than men. This was true in the Victorian era when unmarried mothers had a harder time of it than the unmarried fathers! It is even true in England today. A promiscuous boy is sowing his wild oats - a bit of a lad - but a girl who sleeps around is a tramp, a trollop and a tart. A man who has many sexual conquests is treated as a bit of a hero whereas a girl who is free with her favours is shown little respect.

Sin is sin whether committed: by young or old, rich or poor, male or female, for money, lust or love.

(c) The clever lawyers used the woman taken in adultery in the hope of entrapping Jesus. They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. It is always immoral to use a person for our own ends. A measure of deceit or hypocrisy is involved whenever we are used. My old friend Edward, who can no longer drive his car, is very reluctant to ask me for a lift because he thinks this is 'using me'. It isn't! I tell Edward he would be asking a Christian brother for help and that the Christian brother would be jolly pleased to provide it. There is no deceit or hypocrisy involved in making an honest request for assistance.

There are many ways we can use people. We can invite a spinster sister on holiday - not because we really care about her - but because she is good at looking after the children. A daughter might ask her elderly father to stop for a week - not because she enjoys his company - but to help with the decorating. The captain of a village cricket club always picks big Al - not because he is any good at the game - but his large and expensive car is very handy for transporting half the team to the away matches. The pastor might ask Gruff Graham to sing the occasional solo - not because he can sing - but his annual Christmas box is much appreciated! We might even help others - not because we love them - but because it makes us feel good and does wonders for our reputation. And so I could go on!

(2) To the Law.

Jesus opponents pretended to be much concerned for the Law of Moses but it is doubtful whether they cared that much:
(a) Death was the penalty for adultery according to Lev20v10 but not necessarily by stoning.

(b) This law had never been consistently applied. King David and Bath-sheba were not put to death for their adultery. By the time of Jesus if a woman committed adultery she was deprived of her dowry and divorced. I imagine a man generally got away with it!

(c) The Pharisees had no intention of stoning the woman. If they did they would fall foul of the Romans who alone could carry out the death penalty and did not punish adultery by death anyway. It is significant that when the woman's accusers left they did not take her with them.

The group of Pharisees and lawyers were hypocrites. Wherever lots of rules and regulations exist there is enormous scope for hypocrisy. We have all heard the expression: 'He had the book thrown at him.' This is not normal procedure but if someone incurs the wrath of the authorities it can happen. If a farmer is rude to a health and safety inspector it can happen. If a teacher annoys his headmaster it can certainly happen! If a motorist gets abusive to a traffic policeman it will always happen. The authorities do not really care about the rules but they can be handy at times!

(3) To Jesus.

The sad thing about the story of the woman taken in adultery is the awful antagonism the Pharisees had for Jesus. They hated him. They wanted to catch him out and thereby get him into trouble. The question the lawyers asked Jesus put him in a difficult situation:

(a) If Jesus condemned the woman to death by stoning he would upset the Romans by challenging their authority in Judea. He would also no longer qualify as the friend of publicans and sinners.

(b) If Jesus spared the woman the Pharisees could accuse him of undermining the Law of Moses. The Messiah would surely do no such thing.

The modern opponents of Christianity do their best to discredit believers. They might encourage conservative evangelicals or Roman Catholics to make angry and illiberal remarks about homosexuals and woman priests. The enemies of Christ are never better pleased than when they can accuse his followers of bigotry. Another favourite ploy is to get fundamentalists to make ill considered remarks about Science and the Bible. I am afraid that this is by no means difficult. Christians who persist in advocating that the Genesis Flood was universal in spite of biblical and scientific evidence to contrary are just plain silly. (See my article on the Genesis Flood) They can be accused of obscurantism.

It is as well to remember that the opponents of Christ are not interested in truth. If we engage in dialogue with them we should be aware that they will try to make us look stupid, gullible, intolerant, deluded and ungracious.

(4) To the words of Jesus.

The deputation who marched the adulteress to Jesus was gleeful at putting him on the spot. They kept pressing the Master for an answer. The less time he took to consider the matter the better. The fact that he couldn't look the Pharisees in the eye and was slow in responding encouraged his enemies to believe that they had got him. They thought that Jesus was on the ropes and so they piled on the pressure - badgering him for a ruling.

Jesus showed great wisdom in making the Pharisees and lawyers think individually - for themselves and about themselves. So long as they could act collectively - as a mob - egging one another on - the woman's accusers would not think rationally. Jesus challenged each one personally when he said: "If anyone of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." v7.

Either the men trying to trap Jesus had a conscience or, what is likelier, they realised they had been outwitted. The fact that the men left - from the oldest to the youngest - suggests they realised that Jesus had out manoeuvred them. It dawned on the most experienced first!

Whenever religious people are particularly censorious about a brother or sister who has sinned - especially if that sin be of a sexual nature - it is not a bad idea to appeal to individual consciences. Sex is a difficult appetite to control - especially for some who are not married. If we were physically hungry and without food we would spend a lot of time thinking about it and longing for it! Very few men can have a completely clear conscience about sex; I know I haven't.

(C) The Attitude of Jesus.

(1) His self-control.

Jesus was angry and distressed by the behaviour of the Pharisees and lawyers. He was very upset that they hated him so much that they put a wretched, sinful woman to an open shame. The problem came out of the blue early in the morning when he was teaching his pupils in the temple court of Gentiles. It must have caught him by surprise. I have to say in such situations I have reacted very differently to Jesus. I can remember an occasion many years ago when the deputy head of my school whispered in my ear, "Watch out! The head of Science and the headmistress are planning to move you out of your room." I had already been relocated once, for the benefit of the Maths department, and this was more than I could bear. I went at once into the study of the headmistress in a towering rage. I was not in the best frame of mind to negotiate! The deputy head hated the headmistress and knew exactly what he was doing! If I had waited until I was cooler I could have chatted to Miss A in a good humoured, reasonable fashion and got my own way without well and truly upsetting her.

Jesus gave himself time to calm down. He avoided looking at the gloating, self-satisfied, cocky faces of the Pharisees. They were so pleased with them selves. Jesus doodled in the dust. He wrote nothing of consequence otherwise John would have recorded it for us. Jesus is most unlikely to have scribbled anything for the benefit of his opponents. They could hardly read what he wrote - unless he wrote upside down - a very difficult thing to do. Jesus doodled to maintain self-control. He needed to think clearly and coolly under provocation.

When something has really upset us it is advisable to calm down before doing anything. We need to wait until we are in control of our emotions and thinking clearly before we take action. If I had done this through the years it would have saved me a lot of trouble.

(2) He showed consideration to the Pharisees.

Although the Pharisees and lawyers treated Jesus very badly he dealt with them compassionately. He said to the woman, "Then neither do I condemn you." I wonder how Jesus spoke those words. If he put the stress on 'neither' and 'you' then he is saying to the adulteress, "I haven't condemned the Pharisees and I won't condemn you either."

Jesus may well have felt like condemning the Pharisees for their hypocrisy, malice and evil intent. On this occasion he made no full frontal attack. Jesus realised that it would not do any good and might do the woman taken in adultery harm. So the Master gave his opponents the opportunity to examine themselves and think better of their actions.

When passions are in danger of getting out of control in the church it is a wise leader who can get the protagonists to pause and examine themselves.

(3) His compassion for the woman.

One of the reasons Jesus spared the Pharisees was to spare the woman greater humiliation. If he had enraged the woman's accusers they would undoubtedly have dragged her away and prolonged her public disgrace. So Jesus said to her: "Neither do I condemn you." I have spared my enemies and now I spare you too.

Believers thank God from the depths of their hearts for the mercy Jesus shows to sinners. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through him. John3v17.

In loving kindness Jesus came,
My soul in mercy to reclaim
And from the depths of sin and shame
Through grace He lifted me.

(4) Jesus expected something better of the woman.

Jesus said to the adulteress: "Go now and leave your life of sin." He didn't tell her to give up a lover. He doesn't urge her to be faithful to her husband. Jesus does not even instruct her never to commit adultery again.

Jesus commands the woman to leave her life of sin. I do not believe that her adultery was a one-off act of passion. Her life style was sinful. This is what makes me believe that she was a married prostitute. Her earnings may have been the mainstay of her family but, nevertheless, Jesus said that she had to change the way she lived.

All converts to Christianity are expected to abandon a life of sin. We cannot conquer our sinful natures and will always be prone to the sins of the flesh - even with Christ's help. But we cannot persist in a selfish, self-centred, self-indulgent and immoral life style. There were other ways that a woman could earn money in the time of Christ other than by prostitution!

(D) The attitude of the woman.

Why was Jesus able to save the adulteress? BECAUSE:

(1) That was his mission.

The God appointed task of Jesus was to seek and to save the lost. In the wonderful words of Paul to Timothy: Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - of whom I am the worst. But for this very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. 1Tim1v15to16.

(2) The woman did not attempt to justify herself.

The adulteress did not excuse herself. She didn't tell Jesus that she had tried to get other work and failed and that she needed the money to feed her incapacitated husband and two children. The woman did not plead that she could not help herself - that a raging passion had swept her off her feet - that she was head over heels in love.

When we justify ourselves before God and men Jesus cannot save us. It is only as we acknowledge our sin that Jesus can show mercy and grant us forgiveness and eternal life.

(3) The woman remained in Christ's presence.

The adulteress did not take the opportunity to slink away after all her accusers had left. She had the opportunity. Jesus was doodling in the dust. His audience was doubtless distracted by the departure of Jesus' discomfited opponents. It almost seems as if Jesus is surprised when he looks up and still finds the woman standing before him. He said to her ironically, "Woman, where are they? Has no-one condemned you?" Jesus states quizzically, "Where have they all gone? And no one has condemned you?" The unspoken question is: "Why then are you still here?"

The sinful woman remained for Christ's judgment. She waited for the only judgment that mattered. The accused, apprehended in the act, accepted that Jesus had a right to judge her. She submitted to his authority. The Master was without sin and could have thrown the first stone - the large boulder that would have put her to death. The woman taken in adultery threw herself on his mercy. There was no stone in his hand!

Forgiveness is conditional on repentance and belief in Jesus. To be admitted into God's family we need to accept Christ's authority over us. That is what the woman in the gospel story did and was saved. Jesus would not so much as look at the self-righteous Pharisees but he looked on the broken, sorrowful prostitute and forgave her. Jesus does not bear stones but nailprints in his hands for sinners. He will save all those who throw themselves on his mercy.