Jesus
stooped down, and wrote on the ground;
What
did He write?
You
all know the story!
The
scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery
John 8:2 And early in the morning he came again into the temple,and all the people came unto him;
and he sat down, and taught them.
[3] And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery;and when they had set her in the midst,
Do
not marvel at this for the father of Cain, that old serpent, Satan,
thought
He too was so clever that He could twist
and
misquote the scriptures to Jesus
and
get away with it when he tempted Him in the wilderness !
[4] They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
It
is important that we see what kind of characters we are dealing with here
so
we understand what is about to take place.
These
oh-so-religious, presumably knowledgeable, scribes and Pharisees
are
plotting to murder an innocent man, Jesus,
and
because He is innocent, they are trying to fabricate a reason to accuse
Him.
Nice, honest, holy men of God, aren't they?
Now
let's watch as these hypocrites,
who
would condemn another for the very deeds they do,
get
religious and quote scripture to God.
(Don't
you just love it?)
John 8:5 Now Moses in the law commanded us,that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
Deut. 22:23 If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband,and a man find her in the city, and lie with her; [24] Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city,
and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel,
because she cried not, being in the city; and the man,
because he hath humbled his neighbour's wife:
so thou shalt put away evil from among you.
So
get ready for some side stitches,
because
this has got to be one of the best all time
"I
gottcha's" of religious hypocrites you'll ever witness,
but
only if you understand the law, i.e.
if
you are familiar with God's Word.
Most
preachers and ministers totally miss what happens here.
Too
bad,
it's
really quite humorous!
You
see, the law to which they refer applies ONLY to a damsel who is a VIRGIN!
STONING
does not apply to a married woman!
The
penalty for a married woman is outlined in Numbers 5:11-31
which
required a special procedure to be performed by the priest
which
left the punishment (judgment) in the hands of God.
Jesus
KNEW that this was a "married" woman and so DID the scribes and Pharisees.
They
just didn't think Jesus knew! How could He?
He
didn't know who she was, so they thought.
Now
the reason Jesus did not confront them verbally with this FACT of the law,
but
rather ignored them and stooped down and wrote the curses
from
Numbers 5:23 was to let the scribes and Pharisees know that He knew
but
He did NOT let the public know.
You'll see His reason for this in a moment.
Next verse:
[6] This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him.But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground,
as though he heard them not.
BUT,
Jesus wasn't going to use this precious opportunity
in
front of this huge crowd just to make them look like they didn't do their
homework .
He
was going to GET THEM TO ADMIT THEY WERE SINNERS.
This
is priceless!
So
the scribes and Pharisees now KNEW they couldn't stone her according to
the law,
but
Jesus instead stands up and says OUT LOUD to THEM (not
to the crowd,
this
is important and often overlooked), but in
full public witness,
"Let
he who is WITHOUT SIN cast the first STONE." HA, HA, HA!
This
is so funny I can't stand it!
Talk
about being caught between a rock and hard place!
Or
should we say more appropriately,
talk
about being caught with your pants down!
These
holy religious men are standing there before the crowd,
and
they KNOW they can't throw a stone
because
they would be BREAKING THE LAW of Moses,
and
Jesus instead stands up tall and says to them,
"Let
Him Who is Without Sin Cast the First Stone".
Here
it is:
[7] So when they continued asking him,He lifted up himself, and said unto them,
He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
[8] And again He stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
Then
He probably wrote the names of "sweethearts"
beginning
with eldest's little secret honey pie!
This
was to let them know if they said ONE WORD
he'd
expose them to the crowd so fast their heads would spin!
"See ya fellas! Nice talkin' to you!"
[9] And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience,went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last:
and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
(You
have to admit,
this
has got to be one of the funniest scenes in the whole Bible.
And
I'll bet these dudes were steaming hot!)
[10] When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman,he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers?
hath no man condemned thee?
[11] She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her,Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
Jesus has a way about Him, doesn't He.
(I'm
still laughing,
I
can just see these guys!
Good
day!)
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