Lesson 10 

The Dilemma 

    Everything about this passage is a dilemma. Its placement in scripture is the first. Then there is the woman, the accusers, the law and the person of Jesus. 

    This passage was not written by John. It was one of the stories that circulated in the early church, but was not included in the written gospels. It made its first showing in the Eastern church with Byzantine manuscripts in the 9^th century, but was often shoved to a margin with an editorial note. With one exception no Eastern or Greek Father even mentions the story until the 11^th century. The Western church was established by Constantine in Rome in the 4^th century and at that time the story was incorporated into the scriptures when Jerome began working on the Latin Vulgate. Jerome found the story in many Greek and Latin codices and it then became main streamed into the Latin text and the Western church canon. Scholars say that the story belongs to a pool of stories that contributed to the Synoptic Gospels. It is a classic “conflict story” that sets Jesus against the teachers of the law and the poor sinful people. There was also at this time a debate on the death penalty. An engaged woman caught in adultery was to be stoned and a married woman was to be strangled. So we know that the woman in question was betrothed. Jesus completely refuses to enter this debate. This text was ignored for centuries by a patristic leadership concerned by the easy out for the woman. It remained wildly popular with the people, which accounts for it existence and clarity. 

     Ethical perfection and penance was the  hallmark of the patristic period. The problem of sexual immorality was a huge conflict for those living in a Roman culture. Paul gives many warnings about it emphasizing sexual purity is what honors God. The leadership however of the early church was heavily legalistic in this area.  

    “It was not until the fourth century that the church was firmly established in society through the efforts of Constantine. Its care of souls and disciples had stabilized and bishops were admonished to demonstrate mercy. Thus Basil of Caesarea could set the penance for an adulteress at fifteen years.”  Gary Burge 

    This story has always been considered scripture, but was not admitted to the early texts because of a lot of nervous husbands. 

The woman is a necessary, but almost incidental part of the story. The scribes and the Pharisees bring a legal accusation against the woman. This means that they have 2 witnesses who can give evidence. The first question that comes up is the convenience of this situation. Now “to be caught in the very act” with 2 witnesses available to testify, sounds really flaky. Warren Wiersbe suggests a trap or conspiracy of some kind involving the man who somehow gets away. These hyper keepers of the law seemed to overlook that both of the guilty parties were to be stoned. Now the law also expected that if you saw a person about to sin/break the law, you were to stop them out of compassion-a position that the eye witnesses certainly were in. These leaders were not concerned about the whole law, their intent is to trap Jesus. They drag the woman into a crowd, very publicly. She has no worth, she is only a tool to expose Jesus.  

    This woman didn’t rob a bank or cheat on her taxes. She was guilty of sexual sin. The Pharisees went for the jugular on this one. Just like today, sexual scandal is the best kind for headlines and strong emotional reactions. This sin situation would have no power if the person involved was a man-revealing the much cherished double standard, which apparently has its roots in the ancient world. So to bring this conflict to its highest power, it had to be a woman and involve sex. 

   Jesus bent down to write in the dust. No one knows what he wrote. There are some traditional views of various scriptures that he could have been writing. I think he was counting to 10, because he was so mad at the outrageous behavior of the Pharisees.

That is probably just a sinner’s perspective-mine, but Jesus saw clearly their motives, lies and inconsistencies. They pressed him for an answer. So he uses the law to reveal to them their inadequacies in passing judgment. The reply, “he who is without sin, cast the first stone,” means that any who aren’t guilty of the same sin, may judge her. This does not mean sin in the generic sense, but this sin of sexual immorality. It is a direct reference to Deut 13:9 or 17:7. Jesus will not allow a double standard nor will he allow the law to be used for such a base purpose. The oldest left first. The young are rash and full of their own cause, unable to see themselves accurately. The weight of years and living bring the older ones to a sober estimation of who they are.  

    Jesus asks the woman who condemns her? No one. Then comes the profound and gracious reply, Jesus will not condemn her either, but she is to live a changed life. The result of this encounter is that the woman’s life is spared, Jesus is not trapped, and the keepers of the law are disturbed in the Presence of the very Word of God. 

      Meanwhile, back at the feast of the Tabernacles comes the light ceremony.  Carol last week described the water ceremony with its high drama and Jesus statement, “ if anyone is thirsty. Let him come to me and drink.” Equally powerful is the scene involving the proclamation of Jesus, “I am the light of the world.”   The feast of the Tabernacles comes at harvest time, at the time of the fall equinox. The themes from the Exodus wanderings are profound in the Tabernacle ceremonies. There is the provision of food from heaven, the Lord supplying water in desert, and the Lord’s Presence in the pillar of smoke and fire. In the court of the women, there were four large stands. Each held four golden bowls. These 16 bowls, reached by ladders, were filled with oil and the used worn undergarments of the priest were used as wicks. When these bowls were burning at night, the effect was spectacular. This is a time in history when there were no public lights at night. At night the city would be dark, except for the lights in homes. It was costly to burn oil, so personal lighting was quite limited. It is the last day of the feast and Jesus goes to the court of the women, and stands beneath the 16 bowls and states that he is the true light of Jerusalem and also of the whole world. John loves the word light and uses it to emphasize God’s Presence on earth. It is a powerful word and only Jesus can fulfill all of its meanings.  

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