John 7:43-8:11
The woman caught in adultery… Today’s reading is one of the shortest that we’ll have all year. It is also an incident that is not included in most of the earliest manuscripts. But to me it’s one of the most powerful of all of Jesus’ activities. It shows His wisdom, His empathy, His righteousness, and His mercy. It’s a powerful story!!
So, where’s the man? I’ve often wondered that question. But today I thought further about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and scribes in bringing only the woman forward. They are showing blatant favoritism toward the man! However, maybe this was a strategic move on the part of the Jewish leaders. They may have reasoned that an obvious question when they brought the woman to Jesus would have been for Jesus to ask about the man. And if Jesus asked about the man, the leaders had Him trapped. If He asked about the man, Jesus would have already been appealing to the Law! The obvious next step would have been stoning the woman! Deal with the man later – the leaders could easily say that the man had escaped. But Jesus bypassed it all – He just stooped down and wrote in the dirt. Brilliant! We need that same Holy Spirit wisdom for questions that the world is asking today. Come, Holy Spirit…!
See also: June 21 / John 7:53-8:11
What stands out to me in this story is that there is no evidence that the woman is repentant, or that she even believes in Jesus. Nonetheless, she is forgiven for what she has done to date. Jesus says that He will not condemn her, but go and sin no more (so no blank check for forgiveness; more like getting off with a warning instead of a conviction).
One of the takeaways of this story for me is that spiritual Judgment belongs to God, not to the Pharisees or earthly overseers. Mercy is an attribute of God, which He can give freely and without being constrained by worldly concepts of worthiness or fairness. Mercy is simply God’s gift. And Praise be to God.
Shakespeare said “The quality of Mercy is not strained; it droppeth as the gentle rain from Heaven upon the place beneath.” I also really like the word “droppeth”!