Today I read John 8, which is more of the Savior talking with and arguing with the Pharisees. It also contains the story of the woman taken in adultery. As the scriptures read, the woman was actually caught committing adultery and she is brought to the Savior for judgment. Now, under the rule of the Romans, the Jews are not allowed to put anyone to death so their question to Jesus is moot anyway. Nevertheless they are trying to trick Him by telling Him that under the law of Moses adultery was punishable by death.
At first Jesus flat out ignores them, bends down and starts drawing in the dirt. I have often wondered why He did that. He certainly did not need to formulate any opinions or come up with an answer, He knew what He was going to say already. So why ignore them and draw in the dirt? When they continue to pester Him, He tells them that let he that is without sin be the first to cast a stone. Then He goes back to what He is doing and ignores them again. One by one they all leave until only the woman is left, which I personally feel is significant. This woman was caught having some kind of a sexual relation with a man that is not her husband, she knows the penalty as well as those men who accused her but she remains to face the Savior, even after being given a perfect opportunity to leave. That tells me the caliber or the woman right there, that she is a good woman who has succumbed to temptation and is not lost. When Jesus asks her if any man is left to condemn her she answers that no one is left. Then He states that He does not condemn her either and to go her way and sin no more.
Now it is significant to note that He does NOT forgive her of her sins like He does with so many others. This tells me a few things. She is not repentant. She is upset and sorrowful that she got caught surely, as all who make wrong choices are. But she does not have godly sorrow at this point. She is not ready for forgiveness yet. But Jesus tells her that He does not condemn her, meaning He will not have her stoned and sent to the Father in this state, but rather will give her the opportunity to repent and turn her life around. Then He commands her to sin no more. What a compassionate thing to do! Jesus knew the law, He wrote it for crying out loud! He knew that a woman taken in adultery with so many witnesses like this had called for her death. And yet, He chose compassion and knew that here in this woman, perhaps BECAUSE she was caught, was the potential for repentance and a new life and it would be completely unmerciful to send her to her Father in Heaven as she is right now.
As we said above Jesus does not forgive her at this time but rather tells her to go on her way and sin no more. This is one of the few times that Jesus does not forgive someone of their sins. He frequently forgives those who are labeled as sinners by those around Him. The difference being those men and women are repentant and ready for His forgiveness. But this woman is only now starting to feel the desire and need to change her life. She has a long way to go before she can be forgiven of her sins. But she has started on the path to get there. But Jesus has at least given her the chance to start on that path, hopefully she took it.
The rest of the chapter is the Savior arguing with the Pharisees about who He is and whether or not He has a devil in Him. As we have stated in the past, the Jews are a very passionate people and are prone to forget the fact that they are not supposed to put people to death. At the end of this chapter, Jesus says the name, the true name, of their God, Jehovah, or rather the Hebrew version of it, which is forbidden under Jewish law. They immediately pick up stones and prepare to put Him to death. So why would He do this knowing it was forbidden? Well for starters it's His name. He can say it if He wants to. But they don't know that and that is exactly what they are arguing about. Secondly, Jesus is trying to remind, and in some cases, prove, to the Jews that Abraham was a great man, but he was only that, a man. They revere him way too much and are not focusing enough on what he taught them. Because Abraham taught them that Jesus would come one day and they need to be ready for Him when He does.
I sometimes chuckle to myself how confrontational the Savior can be. I mean He could have had all these discussions with the Pharisees in such a way that they wouldn't have tried to stone Him immediately and could have been less abrasive with them. Or perhaps He couldn't have. They were incredibly volatile and so perhaps even if He had tried the kinder, gentler approach, it would have ended up the exact same way. I certainly am not critiquing what the Savior did, that would be both foolish and pointless. He knew the right way to do things and I'm sure He took the best way. When you start to question leaders, that's when trouble starts. We do not need to engage in blind obedience, that is what prayer and the Holy Ghost are for, to help us know if what we are being told is the truth that God would have us follow or not. Be sure you take advantage of it. It is too rare and precious gift to squander. Until tomorrow.
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