John 8:1-11 (Common English Bible)

And Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he returned to the temple. All the people gathered around him, and he sat down and taught them.

The legal experts and Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery. Placing her in the center of the group, they said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery. In the Law, Moses commanded us to stone women like this. What do you say?”

They said this to test him, because they wanted a reason to bring an accusation against him. Jesus bent down and wrote on the ground with his finger.

They continued to question him, so he stood up and replied, “Whoever hasn’t sinned should throw the first stone.”

Bending down again, he wrote on the ground. Those who heard him went away, one by one, beginning with the elders.

Finally, only Jesus and the woman were left in the middle of the crowd.

Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Is there no one to condemn you?”

She said, “No one, sir.”

Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on, don’t sin anymore.”

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First, a word about the image on the bulletin cover, which I also sent out by email and posted on Facebook. It is probably silly to say that one has a favorite piece of art at the St. Louis Art Museum, but Max Beckmann’s Christ and the Sinner is mine. The first time I saw it I was mesmerized, and kept returning to it throughout our visit. And take time to admire it whenever we go to the Museum.

So, I share it with you today as we visit John 8.

Second, a word about John 8. In some translations, John 8:1-11 is printed in the body of the text but has brackets at its beginning and end. In other translations, it is not in the body of the text but is relegated to a footnote. This is because the oldest and most reliable Greek texts of John do not include the story told in John 8.

There is ongoing debate among the hermeneutically minded about the appropriateness of preachers and teachers treating the passage as scripture since it appears to be a later addition to the text.

The passage feels like Jesus to me, and so, I consider it more than appropriate to use it as a focus for preaching and teaching.

And according to my records, I have preached on this passage 9 times in my 4 decades in ministry. Beyond that, I have taught on this passage in Bible studies and in classrooms multiple times.

And I can tell you, I do not ever remember feeling what I felt this week as I was focusing on this passage and reflecting on the story.

I felt anger.

I am angry at this ridiculous mob and their sadistic treatment of this woman- these men who can’t find a better way to disrupt Jesus’ ministry than to use this woman as a pawn. They could have asked the same question of Jesus without putting this woman on display. It is done for effect and it is pathetic.

I kind of wish I wasn’t in a church setting as I talk about these people, because I dare not use the language that I really want to use to describe how disgraceful and dishonest and disgusting they are.

But, Keeping a check on my language, here we go.

Jesus is at the temple, the holiest place in all of Israel. Shoot fire, to the people who drag this woman before Jesus this space is the holiest place in the universe. And yet they use the spot to try an unholy manipulation.

They have, they say, caught a woman having sex and now drag her before Jesus hoping that they might catch Jesus defending her so that they can then claim that Jesus doesn’t follow the religious law.

The story does not tell us how they catch the woman having sex.

Maybe they were walking along and lo and behold this woman is having sex in the street, but I doubt it. More likely, to me, is that this woman has been set up be exploited in this insidious way.

We know nothing about the woman, except that on this day, she has had sex, and apparently was caught in the midst of it. We do not know a name. We have no description. No point of origin. We don’t know if she is young or older, single or married (if she is single but having sex with a married man, she would be guilty of adultery according to the Law). We don’t know if she is a sex worker or if she is a mistress or if this was a casual hook-up. And we don’t need to know, because we know she doesn’t deserve this humiliation.

The men who drag her to Jesus say, “We have caught this woman having sex. The law says we can stone her to death, what do you think we should do?”

They think Jesus is trapped. If he defends the woman, he will appear to be ignoring the law of God, and they can arrest him for it. But if he approves of stoning her, then he appears to be inconsistent because his whole thing has been teaching about love and grace and forgiveness and mercy. Jesus has been the champion of the underdog, and this woman is certainly that in this moment.

They think they have caught him, Because they have caught her.

Perhaps it is because of the anger that wells up in me as I am focusing on this passage, but as I read the story I am imagining that Jesus is angry too, at them, is disgusted at their behavior, and is broken hearted for this woman.

As they ask the question Jesus stoops down and begins to play in the dirt with his finger.

I am reminded of the old quote, “love that stoops is grace.”

John doesn’t tell us what, if anything, that Jesus actually writes. He is simply stooping and writing in the dirt.

A popular game associated with this passage is to come up with the most creative thing that Jesus might write in the dirt.

Some say he writes the 10 Commandments in the dirt,

Others believe he is writing specific sins that might apply to some of the accusers, maybe alongside their names.

Still others assert that if indeed this woman is a prostitute, Jesus is writing down the names of those in the crowd who have also been her clients,

Others think that perhaps Jesus is writing down a scripture quotation,

Some don’t think Jesus is writing anything, that he is just doodling while collecting his thoughts.

I wonder if Jesus, so disgusted at what’s going on around him, stoops down and start scribbling nonsense on the ground with the sole intent of drawing attention away from this woman who is being victimized. Knowing that the clowns in the crowd will be obsessed with his reaction, he diverts their attention and their gawking stares away from this woman

Perhaps Jesus’ sole desire is to get these fools to look at anything other than this woman whose humanity they are betraying. Maybe, just maybe, Jesus’ act of stooping and scribbling is a way of protecting the woman in this moment.

As Jesus stoops and writes in the dirt, the men bug him about an answer. Because they think they have him caught.

“What do we do with her? Oh, come on teacher, let us know.”

Jesus stands up, and in my thinking looks at the woman directly in the face, compassion and empathy expressed in his eyes, and he sighs a sigh of disgust, “Go ahead, Stone her, but the one of you that has never screwed up, the one of you without sin, should throw the first rock.”

And then he goes back to scribbling in the dirt. The crowd of accusers continue to glare at Jesus, now realizing that they are the caught ones.

If one of them chooses to throw a stone, their hypocrisy will be on full display, and any supporters they have might turn against them. But if none of them throws a stone, they are admitting that they are in the same situation as the caught woman, people in need of grace, people who need a break.

And so, the best political decision for them is to cut their losses, and choose not to go up against Jesus in this moment. The mob disperses, not because they have seen the light, but because it is politically expedient.

They will lick their wounds and try again another day.

Jesus looks up after a bit, and the woman, exhausted and done in, is quietly staring at him.

They are alone.

“Huh, They’re all gone. So no one threw a rock. Nobody condemned you.”

“Nobody, sir.”

“Ok then. Neither do I. Go. And stay out of trouble.”

2 morals of this story are:

There is nothing worse than thinking you have caught it, only to learn that you have been caught.

and

There is nothing better than thinking you are caught, only to learn that grace has set you free.

Amen.

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Pastoral Prayer

God, Creator of all,

You have called us to live as living stones,

dedicated to the building up of humankind.

Help us, then, to put down stones we use to throw at one another.

Whether they be insults, or gossip, or lies, or discrimination, or rejection, or violence – and commit ourselves to seeing the good in one another.

Help us instead build up each other,

encouraging wholeness, inclusiveness,

endless and abounding love for those

with whom we come in contact.

Help us to speak out in challenge to those voices

that want to instill fear, anger, and hatred

in our world.

Instead, fill us with loving patience

and a desire to do our best,

no matter what the cost.

We pray in the name of Jesus,

our brother and friend. Amen.