This week’s story is often titled “A Woman Caught in Adultery.” But it could have just as well been titled “Men Caught in Hypocrisy.” One cannot commit adultery alone; it takes two.
John 7: 53 Then the meeting broke up, and everybody went home. 8:1 Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, 2 but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. 3 As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.
4 “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?” [1]
A Plan to Entrap
The Jewish leadership wanted to rid themselves of Jesus, whom they considered a heretic. They had just sent the Temple Guard to arrest Jesus. Instead of arresting Him, the guards were enthralled with His teaching. The disgusted leadership took matters into their own hands and devised a plan to entrap Jesus.
Their plan entailed catching a woman in the act of adultery. Now, it would be difficult to catch one in the very act. Was the man part of the scheme? Scripture doesn’t say, but the fact that the man went free does seem suspicious.
They thought they had a foolproof trap. If Jesus said the woman should not be stoned, He would violate the Law of Moses. If He said to stone her, they could turn Jesus over to the Romans. It was illegal for Jews to carry out an execution.
Trapped by Their Own Trap
While stoning was rare during Jesus’ time, it was a legal penalty per the Law of Moses. Jewish law required that both the man and woman caught in adultery to be stoned, (Lev. 20:10, Deut. 22:22). The Jewish leadership shamed and threatened the woman while ignoring the man’s sin. She was just a pawn in their scheme to take down Jesus.
Jesus did not fall into the trap. Instead, He revealed their hypocrisy. They assumed moral superiority over the woman. However, we must remember that when we point a finger at someone, three fingers are pointing back at us. Jesus forced them to admit their sin, and they left.
Jesus did not condone the woman’s sin, but told her to stop sinning. He did give her a fresh start and, in doing so, gave an outcast wholeness. At the same time, men caught in hypocrisy were exposed for who they were. To learn more, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/wholeness-for-the-outcast
[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Jn 7:53–8:5). Tyndale House Publishers.