From John 8:3-11
Her body was pressed into the ground. The sand cut her face. Her feet were blistered from the march across the city. They hadn’t allowed her to put on her sandals or her head scarf. They’d hardly given her time to cover up with her underdress. Sweat trickled down her skin. The heat was oppressive. More oppressive than the heat, however, was the hate and fury of the crowd.
She dared not open her eyes. She trembled in fear over what was to come. She choked back sobs as the men shouted for her stoning. May the death come quickly, she thought, bracing herself for the punishment to come.
“According to the law, this woman, caught in the very act of adultery, is to be stoned! What say you, Teacher?”
The crowd’s question was met with silence. She heard a rustling sound and chanced a glance. The teacher had stooped down and was writing something in the sand. The dust rose as his finger drew figures in the hot ground.
“What say you?” they again demanded.
He stood and looked over the crowd. “Whichever of you is without sin, you cast the first stone.”
He again stooped down and drew in the sand.
For several minutes, no one moved. No one spoke. Then, one by one, the woman heard the sound of stones falling to the ground and could taste the dust being stirred up by their sandals moving across the sand. Before long, all was still, quiet.
She opened her eyes, amazed that her accusers were gone. The teacher was still drawing in the sand. With reluctance, she rose, wiping her hands free of the sand. She kept her face down, but stole a look from under her lashes.
She tensed as the teacher rose. He brushed his against his tunic and glanced around the area. “Woman, where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?”
Lowering her eyes and trembling at the question she replied, “No one, Lord.”
“Then, neither do I. Go, and sin no more.”
We don’t know much about the woman. Many believe she was Mary Magdalene, but nothing in the scriptures indicate Mary was the woman taken in adultery. The woman must have been known by the religious leaders. They knew exactly where to find her, and they were certain she could be used to trap the troublesome teacher.
I can imagine the fear the woman must have experienced. She was ripped from the arms of her lover, dragged through the hot, dusty streets, and thrust into the path of this man who had become the talk of Jerusalem. Some said he was a teacher, others a trouble maker, and others believed him to be the Messiah. Who was he, though – really? She had no idea. All she knew in that moment was, by law, she was to be stoned.
I can also imagine her shock and relief when she learned that the law would not be carried out that day.
Finally, I can imagine skepticism. What does He want from me? No one shows kindness without wanting something in return.
He asked for nothing. Instead, she experienced grace, forgiveness. She experienced mercy from a man she’d never met. She was a sinner, an outcast, unclean, yet He showed compassion – something she hadn’t experienced in a long time, if ever.
“Go your way and sin no more.” His only command to this woman – “sin no more.”
Those of us who know Christ have been given the same mercy and grace, love and compassion that He granted the adulteress. He took our punishment so that we “could go our way.” We have also been given the same command: “Sin no more.”
Wrap yourself in His mercy. Accept His grace. Live in the deep well of His love. Experience His compassion. Surrender to Him. Walk in the Light. Go, and sin no more.
“I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:12
