John 8:1-11
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. 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. 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. 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."
The WORD
More than an encounter on the subject of the Law of Moses and the problem of adultery, the story of a woman caught in adultery is a parable in action.
In Biblical parlance, adultery means idolatry. God regards His relationship with Israel as a covenant of love; Israel’s infidelity to God is seen as a bride’s unfaithfulness to the groom (see the story of Hosea). One of the glaring instances of Israel’s idolatry-adultery happened right after God rescued her from the slavery of Egypt. While Moses was communing with God, and while God was writing the Decalogue on tablets of stone (see Dt 9:10), Israel made the image of the molten calf which she adored! This infidelity angered God, yet God showed more of mercy than judgment. God wrote a second time the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone.
The Pharisees, successors of Moses (Mt 23:2), move away one by one as Jesus writes a second time with His hands. They know the Old Testament story too well. They know Jesus is not simply making harmless doodles on the ground. In effect, Jesus is saying: "You, O Israel, are like this woman many times over… yet the Father’s mercy for you is overflowing. Live out and share that legacy of mercy!"
SOURCE: "365 Days with the Lord," ST PAULS, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: publishing@stpauls.ph; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.
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