As we walk with Jesus on His way to the pain of Calvary and the joy of the resurrection, we are looking to see what we can learn from the lives of certain people who encountered Jesus.  All encounters with Jesus were life-changing, life-altering divine appointments.  

First, we looked at the woman at the well in Sychar, a city in Samaria.  Jesus healed her spiritual need to the point where she abandoned her empty well-water bucket.  She ran into the city and came back with people in order to introduce them to Jesus.  Living Water Himself had met her greatest need. 

Are YOU thirsty? 

Last week, we looked at the helpless, hopeless lame man at the Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem.  Jesus healed his physical infirmity.  Jesus restored the life of a man who had been lame for 38 years.   

Do YOU want to be healed? 

Today’s lesson shares the story of the woman caught “in the very act of” adultery.  Jesus treated her with such tough and tender love and set her free. Jesus gave her grace and forgiveness.   Right there in the area of the temple mount in Jerusalem, Jesus provided grace and forgiveness to a tarnished soul. 

Do YOU need grace and forgiveness? 

From long before the time of the angel Gabriel’s joyful announcement to Mary in Nazareth, Jesus was on a mission.  He left Heaven and came to earth through a miracle birth so that He could live a sinless life and die a sacrificial death in the place of broken humanity.  His resurrection would conquer death forever.  All along the journey from Heaven and back to Heaven, His plan was to change the lives of every person He encountered.  

The Feast of Tabernacles was in the fall of the year.  Jesus was there to celebrate with those who gathered in Jerusalem.  His usual place to stay overnight was the “Holiday Inn Express” called The Mount of Olives, the hill just east of the city.  He and His disciples would sleep there on the ground with quick access to the temple mount for teaching during the day.  The Garden of Gethsemane was there on Olivet.  I have pictured Him there in my mind and wondered if He was gathering His thoughts in preparation for His arrest that would soon take place there.  Just a thought… 

While He was teaching in the temple courts, the self-appointed “moral police” showed up bringing an un-named woman caught in the act of adultery.  These scribes (scripture scroll copiers) and Pharisees (teachers of the Law of Moses) were also on a mission.  They wanted to get rid of Jesus.  Ever since He had healed the lame man on the Sabbath, they determined to accomplish that task.  Suffice it to say, they cared NOTHING for this woman or her fate.   

Leviticus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 22:22 record that if adultery is committed, both the man AND the woman were to be put to death.  Blatantly misquoting the scriptures by omitting the guilt of the man, they still thought they had the perfectly air-tight entrapment case against Jesus.  “What do YOU say we should do with her?!?” Whatever answer He gave, they could condemn Him, too.  

There, all around, stood the listening crowd. 

There, in the center, cowered the guilty woman. 

There, in satisfied glee, hovered the hissing accusers. 

There, sat Jesus, the compassionate Teacher. 

Sometimes, the BEST thing we can do is to say nothing.  Good lesson for everyone.  Jesus moved from His teacher seat to a stooped position.  He began to write on the ground in the dust with his finger.  Basically, Jesus ignored their distortion of the scriptures.  He diffused their blabbering, calming the intensity of the situation. I can imagine a curious, whispering crowd, a quivering, half-clad woman, a silent teacher, and a clamoring group of accusers.   

Some of them kept pressing Him for His answer, eager for judgement against the adulteress.  They certainly got their answer.  The ones who came to trap Jesus caught themselves.   Jesus stood up and said, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the one to cast the first stone at her.”  Then, He squatted down and continued scribbling in the sand with His finger.  

From oldest to youngest, they walked away one by one. I’m certain that un-thrown stones dropped to the ground as they walked away.  

“Where are your accusers? Were you condemned?”  “No, Lord.”  Don’t miss that she called Him “Lord” as she heard the verdict…” Go and sin no more.”  I doubt that she ever forgot the events of that day.