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215 August 2nd
I Wonder
Jesus was in the temple one morning. As he began to teach the people, the scribes and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. In verse 4, they report the situation to Jesus and add that she “had been caught in the very act.” In verse 5, they remind Jesus that the Law of Moses commands that such a woman be stoned. And they ask Jesus for His opinion, “What then do you say?” They asked Jesus the question in order to “test” Him, so they could have grounds to accuse Him (v. 6). John 8:1-11
The account of the woman caught in adultery gives us an up-close and personal look at how Jesus interacted with sinners. It is a beautiful example of the heart of God toward us, fallen man.
I wonder what it must have been like for this woman to be dragged by a group of angry, self-righteous men into the temple where Jesus was teaching? We don’t know how she was dressed. Was she naked? Did she have some sort of sheet covering her body? Did the religious leaders have the decency to allow her to put on some of her clothing? We don’t know.
I wonder what she felt. She must have felt: shame, fear, horror, and embarrassment. She knew the penalty for such an immoral act was death by stoning. They only needed the witness of two men to carry out the capital punishment. They had a lot more than two men. What was she thinking? What was she feeling?
Plus, interestingly enough, the passage tells us that she was “caught in the very act” of committing adultery. If that is true, and we have no reason to doubt their testimony at this point in the story, then … where was the man? Where was the man with whom she was committing adultery? Adultery takes “two.” Yet, he was not in the picture. It makes you wonder about whether they had “good ol’ boys” clubs back then, doesn’t it? I wonder if the man were in the crowd watching. If he were, what was he thinking?
I wonder at what point during the ordeal did the woman realized that she was in the presence of Jesus. She had most likely heard of this new “rabbi” who was stunning Jerusalem with His teaching and with His authority. How did she feel seeing Jesus standing right there? Did she notice him right away or did she have her face in the dirt? Had she totally covered her face with her hands in shame?
I wonder what the scribes and Pharisees were like? Were they writhing in anger? Did they have little bits of spit in the corners of their mouths from yelling and screaming at the women? How roughly did they treated her? Were they screaming at Jesus, as they demanded His answer to their test? What expressions were on their faces? Were they proud of their trickery? Or did they look pious and self-righteous? Did they look quizzically at Jesus waiting for Him to fall into their brilliantly intellectual plan?
On top of all that, I wonder what Jesus looked like? What was His face like when He initially faced the crowd to teach them? Did He call some of them by name (the ones He knew)? Did He engage them in polite conversation or meaningful interactions? What did He feel when He saw the religious leaders man-handling this woman who had sinned? Was He sad for her … sad for them … sad that the crowd had to witness such a sight? Was He filled with compassion or anger; or both?
We don’t know any of the answers to these questions. But these answers are not the crucial point to get from the passage.
What we do know is Jesus treated this woman with dignity. He never called her a bad name. He never raised His voice at her. We know that when the accusers had left, He admonished her to go and not sin like this again.
We also know that He treated the religious leaders with dignity as well. He never called them bad names. He never raised His voice to them. We know that when they demanded an answer He gave it. He said that those who were without any sin could cast the first stones.
Jesus was impartial. To Him they were all sinners: the woman, the religious leaders, and the people in the crowd. From His perspective, they all deserved to be treated with dignity. They all needed to be taught a spiritual lesson. He gave each of them exactly what they needed.
One last thing to wonder about; what was God thinking during the whole thing?
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