In the last few chapters we have met three anonymous ladies who crossed paths with Jesus. None is given a name. We know them as the Samaritan Woman at the Well, the Canaanite or Syro-Phoenician Woman and the Adulterous Woman. We could just as easily call them Hope, Faith and Charity. Jesus went to the Samaritan Woman and gave her the hope of Salvation. The Canaanite Woman came to Jesus in Faith. The Adulterous Woman was brought to Jesus and received charity.
We want to spend some more time talking about Charity, the Adulterous Woman. There are some who claim she was Mary Magdalene, but I see no reason for this.
Who was Mary of Magdala?
After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod's household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means. Luke 8:1-3 (NIV)
Mary was a woman from a town on the Sea of Galilee called Magdala. We are told Jesus had driven seven demons from her and she became a follower and supporter of his ministry. This passage in Luke is her first mention and it is at the beginning of Jesus’ second tour of Galilee perhaps a year or more before the encounter with the Adulterous Woman. It is possible that Mary came to Judea with him for the Feast, but it seems highly unlikely she would be the woman caught in the act of adultery there. Certainly His reaction would have been different if it were Mary Magdalene thrust before him in that situation.
Let’s pick up where Jesus was writing in the dirt:
So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.
Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”
She said, “No one, Lord.”
And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:7-12 (NIV)
It is very interesting how so many people want to put the emphasis of this encounter on the line, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first”. Isn’t that so convenient and self-serving. Boy, we can behave anyway we want and do whatever pleases us, and because we know you aren’t perfect you better not say anything about it. They misuse this one saying because they miss all the better ones.
At the end of the encounter Jesus asks the women a question, “Woman, where are those accusers of you? Has no one condemned you?”
She replies, “No one, Lord.“
Did Jesus say, “You are forgiven, go in peace”?
No, he said, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
The Pharisees thought they could catch Jesus either sounding hypocritical by saying “stone her” or breaking the Law by saying, “don’t stone her”. Neither happened.
His saying, “him who is without sin cast the first stone” did not excuse the behavior of the woman because of these men’s sins. It simply showed the hearts of the men were not in the spirit of the Law. These men were using this woman’s sin to entrap someone they wished to shut up. There was no love, mercy or justice in the hearts of these men.
His saying, “him who is without sin cast the first stone” did not excuse the behavior of the woman because of these men’s sins. It simply showed the hearts of the men were not in the spirit of the Law. These men were using this woman’s sin to entrap someone they wished to shut up. There was no love, mercy or justice in the hearts of these men.
Jesus not condemning the woman wasn’t because “everybody does it”. Perhaps He did what he did as a demonstration of the love, mercy and grace of God, putting into practice what he preached without sinning against the Law. However, if this had been a proper accusation, with the needed witnesses the outcome might have been different.
Take note, he admonished the woman, and in doing so confirmed she was indeed guilty of the charge. He said, “Go and sin no more.” We can argue the semantics over whether not condemning her was equivalent to forgiving her. You can choose to not inflict a punishment upon someone and still not forgive the crime. She was not simply let off scot free. It came with the admonishment to sin no more. Can we add to that, "less something worse befall you".
Yes, there is mercy shown, but also an important component of salvation, repentance.
In the Samaritan Woman we saw Jesus bring the hope of salvation through the recognition of our sins and that God offers a way to escape sin’s condemnation.
In the Canaanite Woman we saw we must come to Jesus with believing faith in his power.
In the Adulterous Woman we see we need to be open to repentance as a result of God’s charity.
In the Canaanite Woman we saw we must come to Jesus with believing faith in his power.
In the Adulterous Woman we see we need to be open to repentance as a result of God’s charity.
We also see it doesn’t matter who we are or what we’ve done when we are at that moment before Jesus. We can stand there as we are and as long as we have faith in Him, we will be acceptable, and it is in that acceptance we will find the way to repentance.
Now, is it wrong to point out bad behavior in others when we ourselves sin? Was this simply an illustration of men pointing out the speck in the eye of the woman when they had a 2x4 in their own?
These men certainly had big pieces of lumber in their eyes, but that is not the reason they shouldn’t have pointed out the woman’s sin. Even if these men had been as pure as the wind-driven cliché they would have been wrong. They would have been wrong because they did not do it out of love for the woman or love for God.
These men certainly had big pieces of lumber in their eyes, but that is not the reason they shouldn’t have pointed out the woman’s sin. Even if these men had been as pure as the wind-driven cliché they would have been wrong. They would have been wrong because they did not do it out of love for the woman or love for God.
It is wrong to point out another’s bad behavior for our own gain or to belittle that person’s standing before others or to puff up our own reputation or for the practice of gossip.
However, if it is done with love it is not only not wrong to point out bad behavior; it is obligatory. Why, if you love someone, would you allow him or her to harm themselves or others? Pointing out someone’s bad behavior is not condemning the person; it is saving them. If my child is playing in a busy street, ducking between moving vehicles, is it wrong for me to admonish him or her to stay on the sidewalk because at sometime in my life I jaywalked?
However, if it is done with love it is not only not wrong to point out bad behavior; it is obligatory. Why, if you love someone, would you allow him or her to harm themselves or others? Pointing out someone’s bad behavior is not condemning the person; it is saving them. If my child is playing in a busy street, ducking between moving vehicles, is it wrong for me to admonish him or her to stay on the sidewalk because at sometime in my life I jaywalked?
Is it wrong to tell someone they should not be getting drunk every Saturday night? It may not be wrong, but it probably won’t be accepted gracefully if I’m getting drunk every Friday night. It is certainly not wrong just because I got drunk in my past and repented. Then I probably know of what I speak and am doing it out of love and concern for that person.
In case you didn’t take notice, Jesus practiced love and mercy on those Pharisees, too.
They were His enemy and they were perverting God’s Law for the selfish purpose of harming Jesus. Yet, he didn’t condemn them either. His statement about who should throw the first stone actually made them realize their action was sin too. They were convicted. They repented of their action and went away. We don’t know if they went on to sin no more or not. We really don't know that about the woman either.
They were His enemy and they were perverting God’s Law for the selfish purpose of harming Jesus. Yet, he didn’t condemn them either. His statement about who should throw the first stone actually made them realize their action was sin too. They were convicted. They repented of their action and went away. We don’t know if they went on to sin no more or not. We really don't know that about the woman either.
What patience, what love, what mercy God show to us all.
We should do the same.
Illustration: “Faith, Hope and Charity”, an illustration for Dante’s The Divine Comedy by Gustave Dore
NEXT: BRIEF ENCOUNTERS WITH WOMEN WITH SERIOUS PROBLEMS
NEXT: BRIEF ENCOUNTERS WITH WOMEN WITH SERIOUS PROBLEMS
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