Jesus Is Not a Religious Person. Reflections on John 8:1-11

 

 ¹But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. ²At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. ³The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group ⁴and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. ⁵In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" ⁶They 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. ⁷When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." ⁸Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

 ⁹At 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. ¹⁰Jesus 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." John 8:1-11

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This passage reveals the difference between religious people and Jesus. Jesus is not a religious person; He is the Son of God. And as the Son of God, He calls anyone caught in bondage to freedom in Him.

In this passage, Jesus is teaching in the temple courts early in the morning. Jesus’ message that the Kingdom of God was coming to Earth through His ministry was radical. Jesus also taught with authority and power. The anointing and power of his teaching coupled with His power to perform miracles made Jesus famous. Since He was so well known, Jesus naturally attracted a crowd everywhere that He went. The crowd that Jesus attracted consisted of various types of people from supporters, to followers, the curious and the adventurous, and of course the haters, naysayers, and others in opposition. Jesus generated excitement everywhere that He went. All eyes were on Him wondering: what would He do next?

On this particular morning, as Jesus is teaching, some religious people, specifically Pharisees and Teachers of the law, interrupt His teaching by bringing in a woman caught in adultery. They force this woman to stand in front of the entire assembly as her accusers publicly question Jesus as to whether she should be stoned for her sin, as written in the Law of Moses. But notice that the 6th verse says that the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law were using this question as a trap to have a basis for accusing Jesus. So you see, the Pharisees and Teachers of the law were not really concerned at all about the woman, she was merely a pawn in their attempts to build a case against Christ and delegitimize His teaching. They do not see the woman. We never even see them address her directly or acknowledge her in this interaction. They do not care for her. She is merely a means to an end to make them feel better about their religious position. 

What must it have felt like to be this woman at that moment? To have been publicly exposed, mocked, and shamed? What may it have been like to have all eyes on you and yet still be so invisible; to feel that no one is interested in even hearing your story and that everyone is against you?

Have you ever had an experience where you felt as if the entire world was against you and you were all alone wondering if anyone cared about you or if anyone would even stand with you? I know that I have. If you’ve felt this way, then you can probably empathize with this woman, only except her very life was on the line. What could it have been like to know that at any moment, her life could end with the excruciating experience of death by stoning? There must have been a million thoughts streaming through her mind. It may be fair to assume that she must have been beyond anxious—completely overcome by fear and dread. Maybe she felt guilty and humiliated. Maybe she was upset that she was the only one who had to face the crowd while the man she was with did not. Perhaps she was overcome by anger and despised the people who put her in that situation. And just maybe in this moment, she felt fear, fury, and hate towards Jesus, the one who would decide her fate.

And yet, characteristic of Jesus in many of the stories of the gospel, Christ does the unexpected. Although the Pharisees and Teachers of the law were trying to trap Him, this time, Jesus doesn’t respond with a parable nor does He launch into a long teaching. Instead, He keeps His cool. He doesn’t respond in haste. He takes His time. His response is simple: “let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

And then, He simply waits.

It is as if He pulls out a large mirror forcing this woman’s accusers and everyone else to examine themselves, to consider their own actions, motivations, and content of their hearts. This is part of the power of Jesus’ response; He takes the focus off of the woman and creates a space of self-reflection for everyone present.

Jesus’ statement begs the questions: who has the right cast stones? Who has the right to condemn her? Is it only the person who is without sin? Who then is without sin? From His response in calling the one without sin to cast the first stone, He also seems to be bothered by self-righteousness. He creates a space for introspection so self-reflection and examination appear to be important to Him.

One by one, her accusers, maybe having recognized their own sins, begin to walk away. The older accusers begin to leave first followed by the younger ones. Why do the older people go away first? Is it that they are frustrated because they know that there won’t be a stoning? Or is it that in the wisdom of their old age they are more prone to recognizing their own imperfections? Are they trying to save face? Who can say for sure? What we do know is that the only person left standing with the woman is Jesus. Why? Why is Jesus the only one who can stand with this woman at the center of this trial?

It seems that in standing His ground, Jesus is making a profound statement about Himself. Jesus is the only one left remaining because He is the only one who is without sin. He is the only one who is completely blameless, and thus the only one who has the right to condemn.

And now how does this woman feel? Is her heart racing? Who in the world is this man left standing alone with her? Will He treat her worse than the religious people who dragged her out for public exposure and caused her humiliation? Does she fear that Jesus will stone her all by Himself? Will she be absolved? What will He do?

Jesus’ response: “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?

“No one, sir.” She replies.

And then Jesus simply states: “then neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin.”

In His response, we see that Jesus is not at all like the religious people to whom we are presented in this interaction. In Israel’s history as written about in the Old Testament, God gives the Israelites His law so that they would have a deeper understanding of what it means to live lives that are Holy and set apart for the glory of God—so that God’s people may embody His character and look more like Him. Whereas the Teachers of the law and the Pharisees saw religious teaching as a way of wielding power over others and as a means to self-righteousness, Jesus is not at all like this.

Jesus’ response is powerful for many reasons. In calling her “woman,” meant as a term of endearment, Jesus addresses her with compassion. He is genuinely concerned with the woman and her wellbeing. He seems to be the only one who sees her. He is the only one in the narrative who actually addresses her, and He does so with care. Here, we see that Jesus is not a religious person, but rather He is God. It is extremely important for our understanding and the course of our faith walk to not make the mistake of allowing the mistakes of religious people to overshadow our understanding of God’s character. Religious people are imperfect human beings.

Although the Pharisees and teachers of the law sought to trap Jesus by using her as a pawn, Jesus allows neither Himself nor the woman to be trapped. Jesus advocates for her. He stands with her. Then, although He is the only one with the right to do so, Jesus chooses not to condemn her. Instead, he looks upon her with love and calls her to leave her life of sin—to be free.

Often times, when this passage is read or shared, people have tended to stop short at Jesus’ statement that He who is without sin should be the first to cast a stone. And as a result, the passage has been used to justify an unwillingness to seek freedom in Christ. However, to ignore the end of this story doesn’t do justice to the fullness of Jesus’ message. This woman encounters the presence of the living God, and He calls her to freedom.

Although the Pharisees and teachers of the law sought to gain authority and hoped to have the final say, it is actually Jesus who has ultimate authority and control over the situation. Sin doesn’t get the final say; the Pharisees and teachers of the law don’t get the final say; not even the woman gets the final say; it is Christ alone who gets the final say—God gets the final say. God always gets the final say.

And if God is: if God is real; if God is sovereign; and if God is just, then this is exactly what we should expect—for Him to have the final say.

And what does Christ say? Christ says to be free. We don’t set ourselves free. Freedom isn’t earned; it is a gift that comes from knowing Christ as Lord over your life.

This is grace. That God, instead of condemning us, chooses instead, to call us to freedom in Him.

I think that this passage is especially relevant today in the way that Christians relate to the LGBTQ community. I wonder if self-professing Christians look more like the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law in relating to the LGBTQ community rather than looking like Jesus. It often seems as though the LGBTQ community, like the woman, has become a scapegoat that keeps many Christians from examining the sin in our own hearts. The Bible is very clear that sexual sin begins with lust in the heart (Matthew 5:27-28) and that sexual immorality includes pornography, fornication, and adultery (Exodus 22:16-17, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11;18-20)—issues that are prevalent in the church. When we look at the full spectrum of sexual sin, a lot of the church has been affected or is struggling with sexual sin. And beyond sexual sin, the sins of pride, greed, lying, gossip and other issues raised by the Bible, to name just a few, are also very real issues in the church. So why is it so easy for some in the church to condemn this community in particular without acknowledging our own sin? Furthermore, the refusal of some segments of the black church to recognize the tremendous hurt, pain, and hate experienced in the gay community from those who are supposed to know and follow Christ is extremely troublesome and problematic because it does not reflect the love of Christ. At the same time, the prevalence of sexual sin both inside and outside of the church is not an excuse to indulge in sin. Although Christ in this passage does not condemn the woman for her sin, He still calls her to freedom. Christ calls us to live in this tension of not casting stones or condemning anyone for sin and yet calls us to be set apart in also not approving of sin (Romans 1:28-32). We are called to not be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1-2).

The narrative begs that we examine ourselves. If we can picture ourselves in this story we see that we are presented with a couple of options: Will we be like the Pharisees and teachers of the law at the beginning of the story, hypocritical religious people who see everyone’s sin but our own and seek to condemn others to make ourselves feel righteous? Will we, like the Pharisees, refuse to see and acknowledge the humanity of people around us seeking instead to use religious as a means to an end to bolster their own political agenda? Or will we be like Jesus, full of grace and compassion, seeing the humanity of one another in spite of our sins and calling one another to true freedom in Christ? Will we be humbled by Christ’s call to let (s)he who is without sin cast the first stone? Will we recognize that none of us can claim to be blameless for we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)? Or maybe we’ve felt like the woman who was condemned for our sin and need to accept Jesus’ warmth and call to freedom from sin.

The cross illuminates the meaning of this story in many profound ways. The grace that Jesus shows this woman seems to be a foreshadow of the grace that Christ shows all of humanity on the cross where Jesus doesn’t just stand with us in our sins and call us to freedom, but rather He pays the ultimate price with His life in taking on the sins of all humanity, even though He was completely innocent and blameless, that we may know freedom from sin and reconciliation to the Father. Jesus wills for none of us to be in bondage, but rather makes a way for us to know freedom in Him.

The choice to accept His call to freedom belongs to us.