Background From the beginning of Jesus’ ministry he and his message are met with opposition from those in authority within Judaism. Among them are the Scribes and Pharisees who represent the leaders of the Temple and local synagogues. This account of the woman caught in adultery is usually considered to be an addition to the Gospel and may have it roots in an older tradition. The event follows an account of Jesus preaching in the Temple during the feast of Tabernacles or Booths. His words cause great concern to the Jewish leadership but because of their popularity with the people, they were afraid to confront Jesus. Thus they look around for an opportunity to embarrass Jesus and to make it appear that his words were in conflict with Moses and the Law. In many ways the event is not really about the moral position of the woman but more about the clash of authorities: the authority of Jesus and his Gospel versus the authority of the Jewish leadership and the Law of Moses. Under Jewish Law the woman should have been stoned, but Romans forbade the Jews to enforce the death penalty. Pharisees waited for what Christ would say in hope that he would offend either Jews or Romans.
Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area, and all the people started coming to him, and he sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle. They said to him, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Following on from his account of Jesus’ teaching in the Temple during the feast of Tabernacles, Jesus has gone off to the Mount of Olives, presumably to pray. Refreshed and renewed in prayer, Jesus returns to the Temple and the immediately the crowd begins to gather to hear his words. In the midst of his teaching, the scribes and Pharisees who represent those who oppose Jesus, bring a woman who has been caught in adultery into the gathering. She has been caught in flagranti, in the act of having sex with a man who is not her husband. In a situation of great distress, the woman half-clad, aware that she faced death under the Law of Moses, is dragged before the crowd. The woman is of no concern to the Scribes and Pharisees. For them she provides an opportunity to put Jesus to the test and to expose his non adherence to the demands of the Law of Moses. Even the use of the title "Teacher" is full of sarcasm and irony!
Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?" They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him.
To heighten the test and the possibility of their finding fault with Jesus the Scribes and Pharisees publicly reiterate the requirements of the Law of Moses. Under the Mosaic Law, a woman caught in the act of adultery was to be sentenced to death. However, the means of death is not actually prescribed in these circumstances, in fact under Roman law only the civil authorities have the right to inflict the death penalty:
If a man is discovered having relations with a woman who is married to another, both the man and the woman with whom he has had relations shall die. (Deut 22:22)Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, "Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him. It is impossible to explain the full meaning of Jesus’ action of writing in the dirt. Throughout John’s Gospel Jesus is described as being in control of situations in which he finds himself. Here might be another one of those situations. Aware of what the Scribes and Pharisees have in mind and their real motivation, perhaps Jesus is expressing his disappointment at this course of events. He simply turns away from their questions. Determined to pursue the question, they continue to ask his views. His response is swift and telling. Only those who are "without sin" have the right to seek fulfillment of the Law. Whether this means only those without sin in general or those who are without sexual sin have the right to seek her death. Having challenged them Jesus again looks away and continues to doodle in the sand. The words are cutting for the Scribes and Pharisees, and in their confusion and embarrassment they begin to slip away beginning with the elders. Soon, as St. Augustine tell us "only two remains, the miserable woman and the merciful one."If a man commits adultery with his neighbor's wife, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death. (Lev 20:10)
Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She replied, "No one, sir." Then Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more." Left alone Jesus looks at the woman and asks here where he condemners are? For the first time we hear the woman’s own voice and words. No longer is she an object of others’ manipulations, now she is capable of entering into relationship with Jesus. Addressing him as "Sir" or "Lord" she displays her reverence and gratitude to Jesus. No one is left to condemn her and neither does Jesus instead he challenges her to a new way of life. He offers her the possibility of a new life. Where the Scribes and Pharisees had once sought to take her earthly life, Jesus now offers her a newness of life in a right relationship with God.
Introduction to the Gospel Page