Lent, 5th Sunday (C) The Pharisees have set a trap for Jesus. They can accuse him either of breaking Roman law or of breaking Mosaic law. Jesus cleverly escapes their trap by stating, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
But first, he starts writing in the dust with his finger. What was he writing? Scholars have been fascinated by this question. I have heard three different theories of what Jesus is writing. The first is that he was writing the sins committed by the scribes and Pharisees.
The second theory is that Jesus is writing the text of the law in question. I know of two places in the Bible that reference punishing adulterers: Lev 20:10: “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death." Deut 22:22: “If a man is found lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman; so you shall purge the evil from Israel." Notice that the law requires both the man and the woman to be put to death. The Pharisees are only selectively applying the law.
A third theory comes from the scripture scholar Jeff Cavins. John chapter 7 comes before John chapter 8. In that chapter, Jesus has secretly visited the temple for the Feast of Booths. Jesus starts teaching in the Temple. The chief priests and the Pharisees send officers to arrest Jesus.
John 7:37 says, "On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and proclaimed, “If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were to receive; for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified."
Afterwards, the officers return without arresting Jesus. They say, "No one ever spoke like this man."
The next day, Jesus is again teaching in temple area. The scribes and Pharisees bring a woman caught in adultery and interrupt Jesus' teaching. What is Jesus writing in the dust? Well, Jeremiah 2:13 says, "my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns, that can hold no water."
Jeremiah 17:13 says, "O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who forsake thee shall be put to shame; those who turn away from me shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water."
Jeff Cavins thinks Jesus is writing the names of the accusers. The names of the chief priests were listed in the temple from oldest to youngest. They all leave, beginning with the eldest.
The prophets were always reminding God's people that they had a covenant with God. When the Israelites worshiped false Gods, the prophets likened their unfaithfulness to adultery. Jesus is essentially telling the leaders of Israel that by rejecting him, they are guilty of the same crime that this woman is guilty of.
Let's look again at Jesus's words: “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” There is, in fact, one among them who is without sin: Jesus himself. Jesus is the Lord of heaven and earth, the true judge, and the only one qualified to mete out justice. He alone can stone her. He instead offers her mercy and the chance at a new life.
As Pope John Paul II said, "We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures. We are the sum of the Father's love for us and our real capacity to become images of his Son." Our true identity is God's love for us. Despite our sins, we have not erased our capacity to become images of the Son.
The offer of mercy costs Jesus something. In fact, when he dies on the cross, Jesus dies for her so that she can have new life. He pays her penalty so she can go free.
St. Paul was one of those Pharisees who was not afraid to throw stones at sinners. But then Jesus met him on the road to Damascus. He realized that he, too, was a sinner. He stood before Jesus as Jesus wrote in the dust, then straightened up and looked at him and said, "Go, and do not sin any more."
Imagine for a moment that someone died in your place. Someone offered his life so that you could live. Would you not feel a sense of gratitude, and responsibility? Would you not feel that you needed to make it worth his while? Jesus died for Paul. Paul now lives for Christ. He spends the rest of his life living, and dying, for the One who died for him.
Every time we put something else first in our lives, we too are guilty of adultery. Jesus remains faithful and he dies in our place. How will you live for him?
(6 Apr 2025)
Going Deeper: What do you think Jesus was writing in the ground? What would he write if YOU were the one being accused and condemned?
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