This story is probably one of the most well known, and the linchpin statement Jesus makes it in it is probably one of the most oft-quoted by people, believers and unbelievers alike. “He who is without sin throw the first stone”. But before looking at that, let’s first make note of how most Bibles tend to indicate that this passage, found only in John’s Gospel, is not believed to have been in the oldest manuscripts. The ESV Study Bible states in a note about it:
There is considerable doubt that this story is part of John’s original Gospel, for it is absent from all of the oldest manuscripts. But there is nothing in it unworthy of sound doctrine. It seems best to view the story as something that probably happened during Jesus’ ministry but that was not originally part of what John wrote in his Gospel. Therefore it should not be considered as part of Scripture and should not be used as the basis for building any point of doctrine confirmed in Scripture.
I thought this worth quoting at the outset because the thoughts I have on this passage are not different per se, but I just have not heard much along the following lines, save for a professor of mine back in Bible college thought this was the case with this passage;
The beginning of the eighth chapter of John’s Gospel tells the story of the woman caught in adultery and brought to Jesus to see if he’d obey the law and see to it that she was stoned to death. He not only didn’t take the bait, but turned it back on her accusers and uttered the famous line. Simple enough story about His compassion on the woman caught in sin, and how smooth he was in the midst of accusation from his detractors, no?
There’s more to it that’s easily lost on a contemporary audience. Jesus was way more brilliant here than we first realize. The early verses state that it was early in the morning (v.2) and that he was at the temple and people were sitting around, having their morning coffee maybe (or not) and had gathered around, sitting and listening to Jesus teach. It was then (v.3) that the scribes and Pharisees brought him a woman who was “caught in the very act” of adultery. Whether this means she was actually doing it, or walked in on the morning after is not clear, considering it was the early morning when this happened. The whole point of them bringing her to Jesus like this was to test Him and see if he’s take the bait and forgive her, which would indicate he’s breaking the law of Moses which taught to stone her for this particular sin. If he had her stoned, then he’d be acting differently than his public persona to date of showing love and speaking with authority, healing people, and so on. It looked like a brilliant trap for Jesus, but that’s the problem with religion. It doesn’t necessarily think its own hypocrisy through.
First thing, under the law of Moses, both persons involved in the act were to be stoned, so where was the man? In Lev 20:10; Deut 22:22-24 state that both offenders were to be punished, but yet this story documents only the woman being brought. There is no reason to believe that this law was carried out on a regular basis, so these scribes and pharisees are raising a question in the name of loyalty to Moses, using a part of Moses’ teaching that they themselves most likely have not kept! Also, we are left wondering why the man was not brought in as well. It may be that he had escaped, but I personally doubt it.
I think he was there in this scene, personally, but that’s just my opinion, but not without merit. Consider that the the offender was only to be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses. If theoretically, one person were to walk in on this couple doing the dirty deed, then they’d make only one witness. I’m not personally sure what the odds are that more than one individual may have walked in the room or chamber and caught the offenders, therefore it becomes likely that maybe the offending male was one of the witnesses bringing the woman to Jesus’ feet like this. In order for this to hold any water, it’s likely it was one of the religious leaders, since the text states that it was the scribes and pharisees who brought her to him (v.3).
Could be it be possible that one of the ‘at least’ two or three witnesses was the man himself, and that these religious leaders, so bound up by their hatred of Jesus and desire to kill him, were blinded by their own hypocrisy that they couldn’t even see how they themselves were guilty of breaking their own laws?
Therefore, when Jesus was calling for the ‘one without sin to throw the first stone’, it was Jesus’ brilliant way of saying “OK, the man who is guilty of committing this act with her, show yourself.” ? I personally lean towards this idea, and that Jesus was calling for the specific hypocrite to show his face and enforce the application of the law, even when it applied to themselves. Where it states in vese 9 that they all left one by one beginning with the oldest to the youngest, it’s likely that the very first individual to get the heck out of there was the offending man/religious leader, and the rest of the older men were the ones to realize what was going on and that they were busted and had no other argument.
Just some thoughts. Obviously nothing I’m willing to bet all or nothing on, but it would help further underscore the brilliance with which Jesus tended to match the leaders of his day and beat them at their own games.
