Meet Mercy

A Simple Exposition of John 8:1-11

Early in the morning, Jesus had returned to the temple to teach.  Many people gathered around him.  All were welcome to hear him preach, even those who were angry at him.  While he’s teaching, the teachers of the law and Pharisees didn’t want to listen patiently themselves, instead they disturbed him.  They brought in a woman caught in the act of adultery.  Obviously, adultery is an act of darkness and of secrecy.  Yet, here she is found out, caught IN the act, and shamefully brought in front of a crowd of people.  She could not plead, not guilty.

I imagine this woman, ashamed, embarrassed, and petrified.  Her life was exposed, laying bare her lust in front of her peers. Now, her life was in jeopardy, for punishment of her crime was death.  But, she was also a lure for the religious crowd to trap Jesus into saying something they could use against him. The Pharisees seemed to have great zeal against this particular sin, even though it seems they themselves were not free from it, as we will find out.  Shamefully so, those who tolerate their own sin can judge severely against the sins of others. 

They plead her case before Jesus and were practically poised with a stone in their hands and then ask Jesus, “So, what do you say?”  This was their accusation.  If he confirmed the sentence of the law, they would say he was being inconsistent with the character of the Messiah.  If he should acquit her, they would call him an enemy to the Law of Moses and say he came to destroy the law and the prophets.  As well, he would be a friend to sinners, which would translate favor of sin, so not punishing the sin would not be characteristic of a prophet. 

In the meantime, the woman must have been reeling with emotions, looking to Jesus for his answer while living in fear of the Pharisees.  What would happen next?

Then Jesus seemed to ignore their question.  He stooped down and wrote something on the ground.  It appeared that he wasn’t paying attention to their words, but then in his writing, he proved that he not only heard their words, but knew their thoughts.  What did he write?  No one knows exactly.

I wonder how long he wrote.  Because the Pharisees kept after him, questioning him as he continued.  The scene probably grew even livelier as they pressed Jesus for an answer.  Voices rose against Jesus’ apparent calm and reserve.  And again, the waiting for the woman.  Can you just picture her eyes darting back and forth from the religious leaders to Jesus, their angry voices getting louder and louder, she wondering what is to come of her life, and Jesus wasn’t saying anything?

Then Jesus stood up and said, “Let anyone of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her,” and then he stooped down to continue writing.  Jesus was in complete control of the situation.  He avoided the trap that had been set for him.  He didn’t discuss the law, he didn’t encourage the prosecution, he didn’t agree with their strong attack, and he didn’t excuse the woman’s guilt.  Indirectly, his point was made with his thoughtful and wise exposition of truth written on the ground for all to see, for truth is all Jesus can communicate. 

The Pharisees had set a snare and now find themselves tangled in it.  They are the accused. We must not punish the offences of others, while living the life of an offender.  Whenever we find fault in someone else, we should reflect upon and be humbled by the obvious sin in our own hearts, rather than accusatory of the sin we see in others.  We don’t need to excuse sin but should seek to restore the sinner in meekness as we consider ourselves and our very own corrupt nature.  To remain pure must be our resolve. 

Jesus came to save, show mercy, bring the prisoner to repentance, and also to expose sin.  This scene reveals all of this.

Previously, it seemed that Jesus had not paid attention to their accusations and questions.  Now Jesus didn’t seem to care if they replied to what he had written in the sand.  Jesus gave them time to pause and evaluate their own hearts.  He could have listed their sins.  Yet, no matter what he wrote, they were blown away with his words to the point that they stopped badgering Jesus and their prosecution of the woman.  Starting with the oldest ones first (possibly because they were the most guilty), the accusers left one by one.  Jesus had exposed them as their true selves, and if they stuck around, they may have been shamed before men, just as they tried to shame the woman they brought to trial.  They didn’t even seem to walk away in a huff!  They had been plenty noisy before.  Silently they retreated, cowardly leaving the scene they had initiated. 

The tables had turned.  The leaders were now exposed, and they didn’t even have the desire or courage to repent.  However, the woman is another story.  The self-righteous prosecutors quit and fled the scene, yet the guilty woman stood there, vulnerable to the rest of the crowd before her Righteousness.  Jesus could have cast the first stone, but he is compassionate to sinners, full of grace and mercy.  There she stands with the only One who can forgive and deliver her, and she waits to see what would become of her life of sin.  Did her eyes melt with fear or did they pierce the gentle eyes of her Savior and discover for the first time, true love?  Did she understand that Mercy was present?!

Jesus asked the woman, “Where are your accusers?  Does anyone accuse you?”  She answered, “No one, sir.”  She didn’t even answer the first question.  With what she just witnessed, she could have had cause to accuse them, but she didn’t.  She’s humbled in her reply as she realizes that in this moment in time something out of the ordinary was about to take place.  No one was there to ridicule her anymore. 

Then Jesus does the perfectly beautiful thing.  He pardons her sin.  To not condemn her was to forgive her.  Then he dismissed her with a caution.  She was forgiven but needed to be careful to not fall into Satan’s trap for her soul.  This was it!  Love had come!  The adulterous was finally able to be free!

Jesus knew the hardened hearts of the Pharisees and the tenderness and sincere repentance of the woman.  Our sins of our past should compel us to go and sin no more, considering that Jesus could, but doesn’t, condemn us.  It is his delight and purpose to forgive.  We certainly don’t deserve it, but he gladly paid the price that we may enjoy the free gift of salvation and eternity with him. 

We are that woman.  We are also the Pharisee.  Yet, most profoundly, when we place our trust in Jesus our Savior, we meet Mercy.