M-G: 6.16.12 // How to Throw Stones, John 8:7

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Passage: John 8:1-11

While Jesus was teaching in the temple, the stone-ready scribes and Pharisees (saps) brought a woman to Jesus caught in the very act of adultery. The saps were always jumping at the opportunity to discredit Jesus due to His ever-increasing popularity with the people. So they brought the woman to Jesus in the hope of “exposing” something in His teaching that might run contrary to their own personal bias concerning the Law of Moses. 

The saps presented what they considered to be an ironclad case where the law “commanded” the woman to be stoned to death. There was a glitch in their presentation, however, “it takes two to tangle" (cf. Deut 22:22, “both of them shall die.”). As they were questioning Jesus, He stooped down and wrote something on the ground. I wonder if Jesus wrote the words, “Where’s the man?” in order to expose their bias, hypocrisy, and ulterior motive.

Whatever He wrote the saps tried to ignore it for “they persisted in their questioning” (Jn 8:7, JBP). Perhaps the mindset of the saps at this point was "Forget the technicalities, Jesus, she was caught in the very act!" They were not interested in doing what was right only in trying to prove Jesus was a lawbreaker by not agreeing with them on what should be done with her.

When Jesus finished writing He stood up and finally spoke, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” The saps were totally blindsided by His answer as we soon shall see. Before suggesting what He did say, let's look at what He did not say. Jesus was not saying that condemnation of sin was wrong, nor was He defending the woman’s right to sin, nor was He challenging the possibility that the woman’s legal rights may have been violated, nor was He condoning sin, nor was He criticizing the severity of the Law, nor was He minimizing the serious nature of adultery. This was a very volatile situation.

What Jesus scribbled on the ground and when He spoke out penetrated their hearts like a bunker buster bomb penetrating the layers to the target before detonation. Then Jesus stooped down again and wrote something else while His words, written and spoken, made its way through the hardened defenses of their darkened hearts. Kaboom!

In spite of the countless speculations, the Bible does not reveal what Jesus actually wrote on the ground; it's anybody's guess, including mine. The bunker buster bomb in verse 7 detonated in verse 9, “Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience" left the Temple. The effects of Jesus' words whether written or verbalized or both were powerful and effective on the selected targets; if Jesus taught “as one having authority” (Mt 7:28-29), it is logical to conclude He wrote as one having authority, as well. Incidentally, this is the only instance of Jesus writing anything in the New Testament.

The image of being blown away is evident by the statement, "Then those who heard it" were no longer to be seen; they left the Temple going out "one by one beginning with the oldest even to the last." So that when "Jesus had raised Himself up" the blast area removed the enemy, and "[Jesus] saw no one but the woman" (Jn 8:10). The missile had done its work.

On a positive note concerning the saps, apparently they still had a reachable "conscience" (v9) for they walked out leaving the woman behind. Sadly, they left unchanged in their opinion of Jesus. They would have another opportunity to go after Jesus, but that day belonged to Him. For the saps the adulterous woman was nothing more than a pawn in their shaky scheme to expose Jesus as a fraud. They could have cared less about her spiritual condition or whether she lived or died even though they were the spiritual leaders of the nation; whatever it took, right or wrong, the saps wanted Jesus out of the way, and they would stop at nothing to make that happen!

Their true motives were nothing short of despicable in trying to trick Jesus into discrediting Himself publicly. There was a failure by the saps to apply the Law fairly and equitably. The furthermost thing in the minds of these self-righteous men was forgiveness or restoration, only condemnation. Not only did the scribes and Pharisees miserably failed to keep the spirit of the Law, they couldn't even keep the letter of the Law (where was the man to be stoned to death?)!

What followed after the departure of the saps has, unfortunately, been taken out of context to justify the position that we should not judge others because we are all sinners. They reason, "We must follow the words of Jesus – 'He who is without sin ... throw a stone.' Since we are all sinners, we cannot throw a stone at another. We must follow Jesus' example, 'Neither do I condemn you.'" 

Everyone in the Temple that day witnessing this mockery of justice were sinners but Jesus. His meaning here is that the only one who is competent to judge sin is the one without sin, referring to Himself. Jesus was the only one qualified to throw a stone at her (cf. Jn 8:16), but He didn't, "Neither do I condemn you." Jesus in His first advent did not come into the world to condemn it but to save it from destruction (Jn 3:17; 12:47-48).

A proper understanding of the passage will not gleam from Jesus' words any non-accountability for sinful thoughts, attitudes, or actions (cf. Mt 12:36; Eccl 12:14; Rom 2:16; 14:10; Heb 9:27; Jude 1:14-15; Rev 20:12) or that we are not to judge sin as believers in Christ. What Jesus warned against was hypocritical judgment and being judged by the standard we judge others (cf. Mt 7:1-5).

It is interesting that those who read into what Jesus said to the saps and then to the woman ignore the command to the woman, "Go and sin no more"(v11). A suggested paraphrase of Jesus’ reply to the woman is, “Woman, where are those who accuse you, has no one thrown a stone at you? Neither will I stone you. You are free to go but refrain from practicing sin any longer.”

Jesus expected her to stop practicing sin immediately even though she still retained her sin nature; it is the same with all believers (1 Jn 5:18, ESV). This move toward holiness cannot happen unless she experienced a change of heart, being born again (Jn 3:3). She was forgiven, “Neither do I condemn you;” because only Jesus, who was full of grace and truth (Jn 1:14), had the authority to forgive her sin (Mk 2:10).

You can’t help but be drawn like a magnet to those words written on the ground by Jesus that day! Whatever He wrote was indeed purposeful and powerful as the words from His mouth. As believers our condemnation of sinful behavior needs to always be tempered with pure motives, godly purity, impartiality, and without hypocrisy, not like the impetuous saps! When true believers are Christ-like, they will avoid personal sin and judge sin righteously. Sin in the life of a believer is serious business and not to be taken lightly. We all are accountable to one another in the body of Christ.

Isn’t it easier to pick up a stone first than being like the Rock of Ages? Isn't it easier still to avoid throwing any stones at all? Failing to throw stones and just accepting people regardless of how they live is not agape love but earthy, sensual, or natural love. Nowhere in the Scripture will you find Jesus compromising the truth for grace, nowhere; this is because agape (supernatural) love or Christ-like love has a standard, a higher loftier standard called holiness, not man-made "holiness" but the very holiness of God in Christ. We need wisdom and discernment in making sure we are like Him before throwing anything in love at those unlike Him, not unlike us! That’s how to throw stones if we are called upon to do so. <><