The gospels are full of so many beautiful, powerful stories, but there are some stories that have an even greater power. They are stories that reach deep into our souls and take us by the heart. Such is the story we will study this morning. It is one of the most well-known of all the stories from the ministry of Jesus – the story of the woman taken in adultery.
There are so many levels to this story, and so much that goes on, and it is so beautifully constructed. Reading the story, it is easy to feel a sense of righteous anger welling up within us, as this woman is treated so poorly by those who brought her to Jesus. Remarkably, Jesus seems so calm throughout the entire episode. There seems to be none of the righteous anger that burned in him when he cast the moneychangers out of the temple. And perhaps that is because his heart was heavy with grief over what happens. That a group of religious leaders, so arrogantly and so self-righteously drag this woman to Jesus, and they do so with no sense of compassion at all. But while Jesus is so calm, anger surrounds him, as the threats and intimidations of the religious leaders were hurled at this mistreated woman.
Follow along as I read the passage, from John 8:2-11 –
2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them.
3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group
4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.
5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”
6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.
7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.
10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11 “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
As we move through this passage this morning, I want to talk about three stones that I believe Jesus asks us to put down, and one element that he asks us to take up.
The Stone of Violence.
We often picture the accusers of this story as already having stones in their hands. John does not say whether or not they did; maybe they did, maybe they did not. To think that they did certainly adds a weight to the story, so to speak. But whether the stones were in their hands or not, the threat of violence was certainly heavy in the air.
The threat of violence seems to always be in the air. Violence is, to me, one of the most puzzling aspects of humanity. It’s not puzzling to me that it exists, as that comes with the fallen nature of humanity. What I find puzzling is the way we accept some violence while condemning other violence. Consider this phrase for instance – senseless violence. We often hear that phrase, and maybe we sometimes us it. What a crazy phrase that is. I would like for someone to explain to me what violence is not senseless. All violence, I believe, is senseless. I know we sometimes speak of “justified” violence, but in my opinion, any violence is ultimately “senseless,” as it means the relationships between people have broken down to such a point, and also because it is against God’s design for human relationships.
What we do, however, is create categories of violence, such as official or unofficial violence. If it is a government-sponsored or government-sanctioned violence, then in some way that makes it sensible. If it is not government-sponsored or government-sanctioned, it becomes senseless. I believe Jesus saw all violence as senseless. I don’t believe it is in any way possible to read, interpret, or use Jesus in order to make any violence sensible.
The problem of official violence is that it leads to what we have experienced in our society in recent months. Official violence can lead to abuse and the accompanying injustices that provoke an inevitable response, which is sometimes violent in its own right. A violent response makes no sense, I believe, as the use of violence to combat violence is absurd. As I wrote that sentence, I struggled to think of words to use in the sentence that were not, in and of themselves, violent. But it proved difficult even to avoid the use of violent words, such as combating violence, or fighting violence. Even our language depends on violent words.
I am, I will add, sympathetic to the overall goal of the protests that have taken place in our society in recent months. I believe in the need for racial equality, for justice, and the call to address other issues brought to light by these protests. I oppose any power that leads to the use of official violence that abuses people. I also, however, oppose the use of violence in response to that abuse. It is not all of the protestors who use resort to violence, but there are some, and those who use violence hurt the overall cause. I stand squarely with the long line of nonviolent advocates, such as Martin Luther King, Jr. in more recent history and going back, of course, to Jesus. When Dr. King led the protestors to march across the Edmund Pettus bridge in Selma, Alabama and suffered attacks, they did not defend themselves with violence, and by refusing to use violence they exposed the tragedy of the violence used upon them. When Jesus was arrested by the Romans, he did not defend himself. When Peter raised a sword and used it momentarily to defend Jesus, Jesus spoke those immortal words, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword (Matthew 26:52).
The Stone of Hypocrisy.
Let me mention a name this morning, as this person has been in the headlines a number of times in recent days, and in an especially unfortunate way – Jerry Falwell, Jr.
Here’s what I have to say about Mr. Falwell. When you spend years lecturing people about how they should live, and then flaunt the very values and morality you purport to uphold, that is hypocrisy. And what is going to happen, when you lecture and point a finger at people in a judgmental fashion for years? You are going to get called out when you fail to uphold your purported values, and rightfully so. Unfortunately, in the public comments he has offered in response to the release of a compromising picture, he did not sound very remorseful. In fact, he sounded flippant and arrogant. When you lead a university of almost 50,000 students who are required to adhere to a particular code of morality, but you do not abide by that code, as the president of that university, that is flagrant hypocrisy and does not honor the cause of Christ. When you hold such a position, you absolutely must take seriously what you represent and the faith people that place in you, which can never be taken lightly.
I should also ask the question that is raised from this story – where was the man? I’m trying to be delicate here, but the plain reality is, you don’t commit adultery by yourself. This is hypocrisy on any number of levels, and certainly the hypocrisy of inequality. The puffed-up religious leaders who were so concerned about the law, and yet showed, remarkably, they had no interest in the man’s transgression – only the woman’s – proved their hypocrisy. Further, verse 3 says, they made her stand before the group. Isn’t that a terrible image? Dragging this woman in front of Jesus – again, just the woman – and parading her before everyone in order to use her for their own ends was a travesty. This woman had been used enough and didn’t deserve to be used any more.
What’s interesting about this passage is that it serves as an early example of “cancel culture.” The phrase “cancel culture” has come into our cultural conversation a good deal in recent years, as though it is something new, but it is not. Cancel culture has been around for millennia. What’s different now is that the people who have traditionally held power and done the cancelling are now the ones being canceled. Those who brought this woman to Jesus were, in essence, seeking to “cancel” her. Women have been the victims of “cancel culture” basically, since the beginning of time. You’re a woman. Canceled. You’re poor. Canceled. You are on the margins of society. Canceled. You’re a person of color. Canceled. You’re a person with a different sexual orientation. Canceled.
It has long been speculated that perhaps Jesus was writing down the transgressions of those who brought the woman to Jesus. There is Biblical evidence that Jesus did write something that challenged and convicted those who wanted to stone this woman. The Greek word for write is grapho, from which we get the word graphite. One of the uses of graphite it to make the lead in pencils. The verb to write is graphein, but graphein is not the word used here. John uses, instead, the word katagraphein. The prefix kata means against. In this verse, it means to write down a record against someone. Isn’t that interesting? Jesus was writing, evidently, a list of some kind of charges against the ones who bring the charge against this woman. Jesus said in Matthew 10:26 that there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known, and here he is bringing to light their hypocrisy.
The Stone of Judgment.
There are a few verses of the Bible that almost everyone knows, and one of them is Matthew 7:1, where Jesus says, do not judge, or you too will be judged. Most everyone knows at least those first three words – do not judge. Jesus goes on to say, in verses 2 – 5, 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
And yet, the truth is, judgment is so deeply engrained in us that it is often a default reaction, and we judge before we even realize we are doing so. I have told two very similar stories over the years about my own rush to judgment. The stories were almost identical. In both instances, I was sitting at a traffic light when a group of bikers pulled up next to me. As I looked over at them, with all their leather and tattoos, my mind immediately began making assumptions and judgments about them. And both times, as they drove off, I saw the insignia of Christian motorcycle clubs on the backs of their vests. Well, guess what I’m here to tell you this morning? No, I haven’t done it a third time, and that’s probably only because I’ve not had the opportunity to do so!
But I still find myself judging people so often.
A harsh, judgmental spirit is what turns so many people against faith, sadly. The angry, finger-pointing hand of judgment, has, sadly, become a too-accurate caricature of faith. From the teachers of the law and Pharisees in this morning’s Scripture text to today, the judgment that is so often meted out in the name of Jesus is a tragedy.
Pick Up Grace.
I’ve mentioned three stones to put down this morning, so allow me to close by mentioning something to pick up.
Pick up grace.
The image of this angry crowd of religious people is quite disturbing, and it is an image that has persisted for many years. It is one thing to express righteous anger at the wrongs of the day; it is quite another to direct that anger at people who, like us, have been created in God’s image and are equally loved by God. The angry, stone-holding religious crowds have driven far too many people away from God, and we all grieve over that terrible reality. The angry, stone-wielding crowds, however, are not the face of Jesus. Jesus confronted and condemned the harsh, angry religion of his day, and set the example for us to condemn it in our own day. A core tenet of Jesus was grace, and in this story, he demonstrated grace in abundance.
I have heard it said many times that the gospel is about second chances. But that is wrong. It is wrong because it is too limiting. The gospel is about the third chance. And the fourth chance. And the fifth chance, and however many chances are necessary.
What the teachers of the law and the Pharisees could not see was how much Jesus loved this woman. Their contempt for her blinded them to this reality – the person they so disliked, the person they so despised, was loved by Jesus more than they could ever imagine. It is a reminder to me to never forget that the person I dislike the most, is also loved by God more than I could ever imagine.
Let us take up grace. Grace really is amazing! Amen, and amen!
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