Christ with the Woman Taken in Adultery (Guercino, 1621, Dulwich Picture Gallery)Patrick Comerford
We are now in the last two weeks of Lent, and this week began with the Fifth Sunday in Lent (Lent V), sometimes still known as Passion Sunday.
Before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read in these ways:
1, reading today’s Gospel reading;
2, a short reflection;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;
4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.
John 8: 1-11 (NRSVA):
[[(7: 53 Then each of them went home,) 8: 1 while Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery; and making her stand before all of them, 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. Now what do you say?’ 6 They said this to test him, so that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, ‘Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’ 8 And once again he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders; and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus straightened up and said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ 11 She said, ‘No one, sir.’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.’]]
Today’s Reflection:
As we read this morning’s Gospel reading at the Eucharist (John 8: 1-11), two points are worth keeping in mind.
Firstly, as we approach Holy Week and Easter, it is worth remembering how Saint Mary Magdalene, who is an intimate witness to some of the most important events in the life of Christ, including his Crucifixion, burial and Resurrection, has been wrongly identified in tradition with the unnamed woman in this passage.
Mary Magdalene is mentioned by name 12 times in the canonical gospels, more than most of the apostles. In all four gospels, she is a witness to the crucifixion, in the three Synoptic Gospels she is also present at his burial, and all four gospels identify her, either alone or as a member of a larger group of women, as the first witness to the empty tomb, and the first person to testify to the Resurrection. She is often referred to as the ‘apostle to the apostles’.
Secondly, it should be noted, the earliest manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not include John 7: 53 to John 8: 11 in the Fourth Gospel. Many early manuscripts omit this story, and there is some confusion about where it belongs.
This periscope is not found in its canonical place in any of the earliest surviving Greek Gospel manuscripts. It is not found in the two third century papyrus witnesses to John, P66 and P75. Nor is it found in the fourth century Codex Sinaiticus or the Codex Vaticanus. However, all four manuscripts appear to acknowledge the existence of the passage through the use diacritical marks at the spot.
The first surviving Greek manuscript to contain the pericope is the Codex Bezae, in Latin Greek, dating from the late fourth or early fifth century.
Many scholars continue to defend the Johannine authorship of these verses. However, while almost all modern translations now include the pericope adultera at John 7: 53 to 8: 11, some place it in brackets, and some add a note about the oldest and most reliable witnesses.
Yet, this passage contains two of the best known sayings of Jesus: ‘He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her’ (AV, verse 7b) and ‘Go and sin no more’ (AV, verse 11). In the NRSV and NIV there are less memorable versions: ‘Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her,’ and ‘Go your way, and from now on do not sin again’ (NRSV) or ‘Let anyone of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her,’ and ‘Go now and leave your life of sin’ (NIV).
The literary influences of this passage reflect how well-loved and well-known it is. Where would we be if we without being able to draw a line in the sand? Who would I accuse if I had permission to throw the first stone? How reckless might each of us be without the admonition to sin no more? Or how guilty might we feel, constantly, without the assurance that we are no longer condemned?
The disciples had gone up on their own for the Feast of Tabernacles (or Booths) in Jerusalem, as we read on Friday (4 April 2025, see John 7: 1-2, 10, 25-30), and there they were joined unexpectedly by Jesus half-way through the Feast. Now they have gone home without him, leaving Jesus alone, and on his own he goes to the Mount of Olives.
He returns to Jerusalem, and begins teaching in the Temple courts once again. There a trap is set for him by an unholy alliance of Scribes and Pharisees in the form of an apparently honest request for help in pursuing justice. However, we can see in verse 6 that the Scribes and the Pharisees are not interested in justice – their only interest is in trapping Jesus.
Adultery was regarded as a capital crime (see Leviticus 20: 10). This seems horrifying to our minds today, but remember how the Mosaic Law was tough on crimes against people, relationships, and the family unit, while other contemporary law codes were tough instead on crime against property. This difference in emphasis (people or things) indicates different value systems.
Now Jesus is caught in a dilemma: if he agrees with the Mosaic Law and calls for the execution of this woman, he could be accused of sedition, for the Romans had taken away the Jews’ right of capital punishment.
On the other hand, if he says she should not be stoned, he faces an accusations of false teaching and could be discredited among the people, who would also prefer harsh punishment for proven criminals.
When Jesus bends down and starts to write in the sand, he might be seen as stalling for time. Yet, he has not been caught off guard in the past.
However, Jewish civil law had very strict conditions under which adultery was punishable by execution. It required that those accused of adultery should be caught in the act (Numbers 5: 13). Rabbi Samuel says: ‘In the case of adulterers, they [the witnesses] must have seen them in the posture of adulterers.’ Another Talmudic scholar says: ‘[It is not just an issue] of their having seen the couple in a “compromising situation,” for example, coming from a room in which they were alone, or even lying together on the same bed. The actual physical movements of the couple must have been capable of no other explanation, and the witnesses must have seen exactly the same acts at exactly the same time, in the presence of each other, so that their depositions would be identical in every respect.’
But the law also demanded that both parties should be brought forward and prosecuted (Deuteronomy 22: 22). Well, it does take two to commit adultery.
If the woman has been caught in adultery, then where is the man? The whole story could have been fabricated. Perhaps the woman has been set up so she can be used to discredit Jesus. Did one of them solicit her, and then others burst in on a pre-arranged signal, let the man go and drag the unfortunate woman before Jesus?
If so, then they too are accessories to the crime and guilty of adultery themselves.
What did Jesus write in the sand? According to several later manuscripts, verse 8 includes the words: ‘he wrote the sins of each of them’ (see Jeremiah 17: 13). But most readings leave us not knowing. Yet, whatever he wrote did not set them back in their intentions, for they kept on questioning him.
So, despite the popular dramatised portrayal of this story, what Jesus said to them is more important than what he wrote on the ground (see verse 7b): Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.
As the men slowly slip away, the woman is left looking at Jesus, and the crowd is still looking on. She has been publicly humiliated, she has been in danger of losing her life, and now her accusers have faded away while she is left embarrassingly in front of Jesus and in front of everyone else.
The response of Jesus to her is very different to the response she must have expected. She does not deny her sinfulness. She simply admits there is no-on there to condemn her. And neither does Jesus condemn her.
He does not say she has not sinned. He accepts her. He loves her. He simply requests that she should sin no more. She makes no apology, and he expects none. This is not about apologies. This is about divine forgiveness, and she receives it and receives the gift of life.
In a real sense, this woman is each and every one of us. We too receive the unrestrained mercy of Christ.
The woman has sinned, she makes no effort to deny or conceal this, and she stands humbly before Christ. Subsequently he extends to her the divine forgiveness that we are all in need of in our lives.
When we read Gospel stories, we often like to think we would behave like Jesus. We ask the WWJD question: ‘What Would Jesus Do?’ But when I read this story, I often find myself identifying both with the woman and with the people. So often I can feel I am being unfairly accused and unfairly judged by others … but if they really knew what was in my heart at times, what would they think of me? And so often I can rush to judgment about others without realising and accepting my own weaknesses, my innate faults, my own sinfulness.
It is right that we are not too quick to judge and it is certainly right that we do not put God to the test as the Pharisees tried to do to Jesus. But neither is it a matter of condoning wrongful behaviour, or turning a blind eye to sin – especially in our own lives. It is a matter of recognising our sinfulness and placing our humble trust in Christ before whom we must all be judged.
This woman places herself fully and completely at the mercy of God. The NRSV translation ‘Sir’ in verse 11 may appear like a polite Americanism. But it misses the potential that is in the original Greek of seeing her making a confession in Jesus as ‘Lord’ when she says: Οὐδείς, κύριε.
Let us then hide nothing from him but turn towards him with all our hearts for forgiveness and by our example encourage others to do the same.
How do I respond when other people come to me with gossip and stories about the sins or lifestyle of others?
Are there some people who find forgiveness difficult to receive in the Church?
In many modern translations, this passage appears to say nothing about the woman’s faith. Do you think there is a necessary connection between faith and the assurance of God’s forgiveness?
Today’s Prayers (Monday 7 April 2025):
The theme this week in ‘Pray With the World Church’, the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘Healthcare in Bangladesh.’ This theme was introduced yesterday with a Programme Update by Suvojit Mondal, Programme Director for the Church of Bangladesh Community Healthcare Programme in Dhaka.
The USPG Prayer Diary today (Monday 7 April 2025, World Health Day) invites us to pray:
Pray for the continued success and outreach of the Church of Bangladesh Community Healthcare Programme, as it strives to reach the most marginalised communities, ensuring they receive the medical care and support they need.
The Collect:
Most merciful God,
who by the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ
delivered and saved the world:
grant that by faith in him who suffered on the cross
we may triumph in the power of his victory;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Post Communion Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ,
you have taught us
that what we do for the least of our brothers and sisters
we do also for you:
give us the will to be the servant of others
as you were the servant of all,
and gave up your life and died for us,
but are alive and reign, now and for ever.
Additional Collect:
Gracious Father,
you gave up your Son
out of love for the world:
lead us to ponder the mysteries of his passion,
that we may know eternal peace
through the shedding of our Saviour’s blood,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Yesterday’s Reflection
Continued Tomorrow
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org
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