John 8:1-11

 John 8:1-11

Where was the husband? What about the lover? It is hard to escape the conclusion in this passage that there was a conspiracy afoot. The sinful woman was caught in the very act of adultery. That presupposes that there was a man with her at that moment. Where was he? Participation in an illicit love affair is something that people try to keep secret. So how did they catch her unless they were tipped off?  How did they know when and where unless they were told.  We can be pretty sure the woman didn’t tell them.  Some Bible teachers have suggested that she was a prostitute and her client was part of the conspiracy? Maybe he was there in the crowd, rock in hand.  The language suggests that she was a wife. Perhaps her husband knew of the affair and this was his way of getting out of the marriage while also extracting maximum harm to his wife. Roman law did not allow the Jews to carry out executions.  But with the help of the mob he could maximize her shame and get rid of her.  Whatever the case, this woman is simply a pawn to be used. She was expendable. There's apparently not one scintilla of concern about her spiritual condition by anyone in the crowd except Jesus!

The sharp, cynical, grasping, craving, nature of man is to get what we want without care for the people whom we hurt in the process. The moment we begin to see people as a means to an end we have, no matter how good our intentions, entered into similar circumstances. If you had asked the mob they would have told you that they were pursuing a holy goal, most of them would have even believed it. One woman's ruin is of no consequence; she was mere collateral damage. Jesus on the other hand would hold up the highest standards of righteousness and still value the individual. He would value the individual, even a woman caught in the very act of adultery, enough to die for them.

“Lord, help me to pursue holiness without hypocrisy. AMEN”