Stone Her? Go and Sin No More…

As He was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. "Teacher," they said to Jesus, "this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?" They were trying to trap Him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with His finger. They kept demanding an answer, so He stood up again and said, "All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!" Then He stooped down again and wrote in the dust. When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, "Where are your accusers? Didn't even one of them condemn you?" "No, Lord," she said. And Jesus said, "Neither do I. Go and sin no more." John 8:3-11 NLT

Stoning. What a brutal archaic custom. Stoning, throwing rocks at the accused, is the capital punishment of one person by a group of people so that no one is directly responsible for that one person’s death. Death does not come quickly or mercifully. Rock by rock—stone by stone. Painful. The custom still exists today in some Muslim countries. Jesus did not condemn this woman caught in adultery, but everyone condemning her was caught in their own sin. Let the sinless person throw the first stone. No one threw a stone—they all walked away. I’ve often wondered, what happened to the man who was committing adultery with her? It takes two. Was he in the crowd that stood around? Did he pick up a rock…only to drop it and walk away, too? What did Jesus write in the dust? Was He writing the names of the accusers? Was He writing the Ten Commandments that everyone needed to obey or maybe what I think is His favorite commandment, Luke 10:27… You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind, and, love your neighbor as yourself. Whatever He wrote we won’t know this side of heaven…but the people there and then changed their hearts…and that woman’s life. Go and sin no more. Good advice for us all, especially remembering that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13).

RSVP: Jesus is teaching us today, as He taught those who brought the adulteress woman, that we shouldn’t judge others until we’ve looked at our own lives. Don’t throw stones at others if you have any sin in your life. How will you respond to Jesus’ teaching today?

Prayer~ Dear God I am asking You to enable me to live a life worthy of Your call. May You give me the faith and power to accomplish all the good things You  prompt me to do. 2 Thessalonians 1:11 NLT.

© 2014 by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved.

All scripture quoted from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise noted.