John 8 (NRSVue)
2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and began to teach them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and, making her stand before all of them, 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. 5 Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, sir.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.”
The way of Jesus liberates us from complying with oppressors.
Here are some questions for discussion:
1. What dangers arise when law is separated from love? What dangers arise when love is separated from truth? How do we see examples of both distortions playing out in our world today? How did Jesus model a third way that avoids both extremes, holding law and love together, in a way that brings life? What would implementing THAT look like in today’s society?
2. We have no idea what words Jesus wrote in the ground, but we do know the action He chose. How does this reflect in the ways the we engage with the law? What could this intentional ambiguity about what was written invite us to wrestle with?
3. Jesus takes the time to demonstrate loving mercy to the woman, and the crowd as well. What can we do today under our laws and in the teachings of Jesus to do the say for each other?
If you’d like to dig a little deeper, consider the following:
1. When have you been treated with law and judgement rather than love and mercy? How did it affect you? Contrastingly when, in your life experience, have you been shown a love that also held you accountable? How was that experience different?
2. The crowd had judged the woman deserving of death but no matter how many times we read the story and no matter how many different translations we read — there are a number of questions left unanswered. What does this reveal about how we make decisions or judge others? How can we ever know the whole truth of a situation?
3. The crowd speaks (and acts) and Jesus speaks (and acts) but the woman is only mentioned as little more than scenery. What does it say about God’s grace that what she would say or do now would not impact Jesus’ love and lack of condemnation of her?
4. Why do you think John preserves the detail that Jesus wrote something on the ground—yet does not tell us exactly what He wrote?
For further contemplation, consider these prompts:
1. Right after this encounter, Jesus declares that He is the light of the world. What does this tell us about the nature of Christ’s light compared to the harsh glare of human judgement? What does this more clearly illuminate for us about our own call to “walk in light” both for ourselves and in how we relate to others we encounter?
2. The word “condemn” (katakrinō) in this passage means to judge against or pass judgment on. Jesus says that He will not pass judgment on her actions, condemning her person for her behavior. How does this also demonstrate the idea of God’s mercy?