Then each went to his own house, 1 while Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 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. 3 Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle. 4 They said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. 5 Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 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. 7 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.” 8 Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him. 10 Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She replied, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, [and] from now on do not sin any more.”
During the joyful Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus was teaching in the temple area early in the morning (v. 2). A woman had been caught in adultery and the scribes and Pharisees brought her to the Temple and made her stand in the middle between Jesus and the crowd (v. 3). Since she was caught in the act of adultery there was no need for an inquiry. The penalty for adultery was death and stoning was specified if the woman was betrothed (Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:22-24). They asked Jesus for his opinion to see if he would disagree with the Law (vv. 4-5).
There is no clear explanation why Jesus bent down and wrote on the ground (v. 6), but the book of Jeremiah is often referenced as the meaning; “Those who turn away from thee shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the Lord (Jer. 17:13).” That would have changed the focus to the personal guilt and hypocrisy of her accusers. The reference to throwing the first stone (v. 7) comes from Deuteronomy, 'The hands of the witnesses shall be the first raised to put the person to death (Deut. 17:7).’ The witnesses have a special responsibility for the death of the accused person. Since no one can claim to be without sin, the elders who fully understood the position Jesus had put them in left first followed by those of lesser importance in succession until they were all gone (v. 9). After the woman’s accusers had left, Jesus did not condemn her but forgave her sins and commanded her not to sin anymore (v. 11).
Almighty God, grant us the strength to obey your Commandments and avoid sin so that we can be raised to new a life and be restored to a right relationship with you. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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