Merciful But Tough: The Story Of The Woman Caught In Adultery Series

INTRODUCTION

I imagine we really like this story of the woman caught in adultery. We especially like the fact that Jesus didn’t condemn the woman – even though the religious experts said that she should be stoned.

But as we reflect on the story, we find that it gives us some quite uncomfortable questions.

Let’s imagine how Jesus might respond to a situation like this if he was alive today.

Islamic law, like Old Testament law, calls for adulterers to be put to death. This isn’t in the Qur’an; it’s part of later writings called hadith.

Let’s suppose that in Nigeria or the UAE, for example, a woman is sentenced to death for adultery. There were such cases in those countries in 2000 and 2002, so it isn’t impossible.

Some Islamic scholars come to Jesus and say, ‘Teacher, hadith says that the punishment for this woman should be death by stoning. What do you say?’ Let’s imagine that Jesus says, ‘That law was appropriate 1000 years ago. But we now live in a different time. That law isn’t appropriate now.’

But the next day, a group of Pharisees and scribes time-travel to the 21st century. They find Jesus and ask a similar question. This is what they say:

‘Teacher, the Old Testament law says that the punishment for the woman should be death. You said that the Old Testament law stands. You said that ‘until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished’ [Matthew 5:18]. The law about adultery comes in Deuteronomy [Deuteronomy 22:22-24]. We know you respect Deuteronomy. When Satan tempted you in the wilderness, you followed God’s commands in Deuteronomy. God commanded ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test’ [Deuteronomy 6:16]. You followed that. God commanded ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve’ [Deuteronomy 6:13]. You followed that. You followed THOSE commands in Deuteronomy. So doesn’t that mean the commands in Deuteronomy still apply? Doesn’t THIS command about adultery still apply? What do you say?’

If Jesus was faced by those time-travelling Pharisees and scribes today, what would he say? I would really like to know! Actually, I would have a further question. If THIS command doesn’t apply now, how do we know if ANY of the Old Testament commands still apply?

So, although this story is really encouraging, it also brings up a very difficult question! I’m not sure that I can answer that question to your complete satisfaction. I’ll give it a go. But even if I can’t answer it, there’s still a lot we can learn.

I’m going to look at the three main actors in the story and see what we can learn from each. There are the Pharisees and scribes. There’s the woman who had committed adultery. And there’s Jesus.

THE PHARISEES AND SCRIBES

In Britain, no one will charge you with adultery. But in a number of US states, there are laws which make adultery a felony. No one has been charged under these laws for 50 or 60 years but they’re still technically in force. In a number of Islamic countries, adultery is also a crime. In Israel in Jesus’ time, adultery was against the law – that is, against the law God had given. If it was against the law then presumably if a person was aware of it, they should do something. So there was nothing wrong with the Pharisees and scribes taking SOME action.

But the way they went about it was definitely wrong. We can see the key issue in verse 6. The Pharisees and scribes present Jesus with the problem. Then John comments: ‘THIS THEY SAID TO TEST HIM, THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE SOME CHARGE TO BRING AGAINST HIM.’

The Pharisees and scribes’ question was not in the least innocent. They weren’t interested in applying the law correctly in the case of this woman. What they wanted was to find a basis to accuse Jesus. And here’s the really important result of that. BECAUSE THEY HAD A HIDDEN AGENDA, THEY WERE NOT QUALIFIED TO BE JUDGES FOR THE WOMAN.

After the Pharisees and scribes ask Jesus about the woman, Jesus doesn’t reply. He writes something on the ground. Then, one by one the Pharisees and scribes slipped away. Perhaps Jesus wrote something that made them realise that if they persisted in seeking the death penalty for the woman, they would bring judgement on themselves. Their motives in bringing the woman to Jesus were certainly not pure. And their lives were very possibly not so pure either. The law didn’t just call for adulteresses to be put to death. It included adulterers too. So, sensibly, they withdrew.

If that hadn’t been the case, could they have judged the woman? I think they could have. Christians sometimes think that they should not judge in any circumstances. That is completely wrong. We only have to go back to the previous chapter in John to see this. Jesus tells some Jews in the temple, ‘Do not judge by appearances, BUT JUDGE WITH RIGHT JUDGEMENT’ [John 7:24]. You SHOULD judge, in other words. Just do it right!