The adulterous woman

 

The adulterous woman

 

John 8:3-5『And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst of her, they said unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?

The scribes and Pharisees’ purpose in bringing up this issue was not really to find an answer to the question of the woman’s fornication, but to find fault with Jesus’ answer. If Jesus had taken pity on the woman who had been captured and told her to let her go, they would have criticized Jesus for claiming to be the Son of God but not following the law. On the other hand, if Jesus had told the woman to be stoned according to the law, then since Israel was under the rule of the Roman Empire at the time, this would have been a violation of Roman law, which prohibited any nationality from imposing their own death sentences. This would have also provided an excuse for Jesus to be attacked.

John 8:6-8 『This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger he wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said to them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.』

The Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus with a trap set to embarrass Him, no matter what Jesus answered. But in this difficult situation, Jesus fell down and wrote something on the ground. When they continued to press Jesus for an answer, Jesus stood up and said to them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her."

In the eyes of the Jewish leaders, this woman caught in adultery was a good bait to catch Jesus, a woman who had committed sin and was unclean. However, by saying, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her,” Jesus made the people’s eyes look not at the woman but at the Pharisees and scribes who were doing this, and at the people who were there. After a while, starting with the elders, they left the place one by one. When they saw the woman's sin, they thought that she should be stoned to death as the law said, but when they heard Jesus' words and saw their own sins, no one dared to say that they were righteous for their sins, so they could not help but leave that place. Jesus wrote on the ground so that the word of God would resonate in their hearts.

Jesus writing something on the ground was knocking on the door of their hearts. If there are people today who believe in another Jesus, this is spiritual adultery. Another Jesus is a group of people who use the name of Jesus to do business, and people who worship Jesus who died on the cross as God. Jesus is knocking on the door of the hearts of believers.

John 8:10 『When Jesus had lifted himself up, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?』This contains the meaning that those who hear the voice of God do not judge others. Jesus did not come into the world to condemn, but to save mankind who are in sin. Therefore, Jesus tells the people who are saved not to fall into sin.

The world condemned the adulterous woman as a sinner, but Jesus did not ask her to pay for her sins, but forgave her sins. The adulterous woman was caught at the scene of the crime. However, everyone left the place at the word, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.” Although they had not yet been caught at the scene of the crime, they were sinners no different from the adulterous woman. Likewise, all people in this world are judging the sins of others, but they are all sinners before God.

Humans are like the prodigal son who abandoned God's perfect love and left his father. Just as the prodigal son abandoned his father who gave him all his property when he asked for it, humans who received God's perfect love have abandoned God. This is the image of the prodigal son and shows the depravity of humans. Before realizing this depravity, we cannot see God's love. This depravity is based on the sinful desire to become like God.

This greed (idol) is the angels who left their positions to become like God, and the desire to become like God (A.I.) is in the hearts of humans, so they continue to oppose God. Therefore, repentance is to become like the prodigal son who becomes dead and returns to his father. It is difficult to think that if someone who leaves his father returns unconditionally, his father will accept him. God tells us to repent, become dead, and return believing in the resurrection life.

This A.I. (angel intelligence) resides in the hearts of all humans. The Bible calls this self-righteousness. This is what leads people to sin and torments them. Spiritual warfare is the battle against this self-righteousness. When God brought humans into the world, He also placed this A.I. in their bodies. He made them realize what sins they had committed. However, very few people realize their sins, and everyone thinks of themselves as their masters and opposes God. Even today, everyone acts in the same way. They make idols and think of themselves as divine beings.

Even Christians think this way. They are those who believe in God but cannot abandon themselves. They become those who serve both the world and God. This is spiritual adultery.