THEN JESUS STOOPED DOWN AND WROTE IN THE DUST
Sakkie Parsons
Translated from the Afrikaans Version: Toe buk Jesus en skryf op die grond
Translator: Lynda Botha
While I was reading the following Scripture in the Bible, I thought how self-righteously we sometimes look at people around us. Then I remembered something I once heard, which I would like to share with you:
Read the following, and then I will share with you a few points that struck me anew:
JOHN 8:4-11
4 “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery.”
5 “The law of Moses says to stone her. What do You say?”
6 “They were trying to trap Him into saying something they could use against Him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with His finger.”
7 “They kept demanding an answer, so He stood up again and said. “All right but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!”
8 “Then He stooped down again and wrote in the dust.”
9 “When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman.”
10 “Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”
11 “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”
Right from the outset they did not speak the truth. See what they said to Jesus:
JOHN 8:5: “The law of Moses says to stone her….”
Let's take a look, what is actually written in the Word of God which they so lavishly and self-righteously quoted:
LEV 20:10: “If a man commits adultery with his neighbour’s wife, both the man and the woman who have committed adultery must be put to death.”
The Scripture does not state that just the woman should be killed.
It says that the woman as well as the man should be killed.
Why did they only bring the woman who committed adultery to Jesus?
Why did they quote the Scripture incorrectly from a man's point of view?
And then –
Where is this man with whom she committed adultery?
Is it not perhaps one of their friends?
One can even wonder, if he might have been one of them standing there.
A woman can not commit adultery by herself.
They said:
JOHN 8:4: “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery.”
According to my opinion they spoke the truth.
Just the fact that this woman didn’t accuse them of being liars substantiate that fact, but the best part for me was that Jesus also did not accuse her opponents of lying.
They said that she was caught red-handed.
In which case, they had caught the man as well.
So, why would this man not be there beside her?
Why did they let him go?
Look what Jesus did then:
JOHN 8:6: “They were trying to trap Him into saying something they could use against Him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with His finger.”
At first glance it seems that they had Jesus cornered, and that He did not really know how to get out of this situation and was therefore playing for time because we read: "but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with His finger."
Their plan, so it seems to me, were something like this –
If Jesus said:
"Yes, stone her."
Then He would draw a line through His gospel of love and forgiveness.
If He said:
"No, do not stone her."
Then He would’ve gone directly against what the law indicates.
Was Jesus cornered?
No! Of course not!
All He had to do was to quote the Word of God correctly and then He would have made them look incompetent.
The people would have seen them for what they really were, as false and mischievous conspirators who protected the man who has committed adultery.
I do not have a corresponding Scripture stating what I'm about to say, but Jesus never did something without reason like stooping down to write in the dust with His finger.
In order to make sense of what I'm about to say, it is important that we remember that very few ordinary people could read and write in Jesus' time but usually all of the teachers/priests would’ve been able to read and write.
What if one of the men who stood there was named Benjamin, and one of the prostitutes of that time was named Sarah. What if Jesus then wrote something amongst other things like: "Benjamin last night with Sara." In my mind’s eye I can just see Benjamin’s face flushing and then he said to himself:
"I do not know how He knows but let me get out of here before He tells the whole world."
Then Jesus stood up.
JOHN 8:7: “They kept demanding an answer, so He stood up again and said. “All right but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!”
There was still some guys standing around them, with no comprehension of what the meaningless names meant He wrote the first time around but when they kept demanding an answer Jesus again stooped down and again wrote in the dust:
What if one of the big mouths who stood there, was named Jeremiah. What if he was the one who lets money disappear from the temple treasury. What if one of the things that Jesus wrote the second time in the dust was something like:
"Jeremiah the treasury."
In my mind’s eye I can then see Jeremiah clutching his head and saying to himself:
"I do not know how He knows this but let me rather leave before He tells everyone and then they might want to stone me instead."
We will never in this life know exactly what happened between these people and Jesus, but one thing remains certain –
Something happened between Jesus and these people, who were determined to ask Jesus trick questions so that they could trap Him into saying something that they could use against Him – and what happened? These people disappeared so quickly that when Jesus stood up again, they were gone.
For me, the lesson here is this:
Jesus knows everything about you and me – He can, if He wants to, tell the world – but He regularly, like today, write things upon our hearts with His Holy Spirit about what we are doing wrong and what He would like us to change and you know what is so wonderful?
If I confess the wrong in my life, and repent by asking Him sincerely for forgiveness, then He will stoop down and wipe away the words so that even His angels wouldn’t know what was written and then I'm forever clean of that wrong doing in my life.
The only way I could then be contaminated again of that wrong doing is if I do it again.
Therefore, He tells you and me, like He told that woman:
JOHN 8:10: “Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”
JOHN 8:11: “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”
For me, it is so wonderful to know:
1 JOHN 1:7: “But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.”
Greetings,
Sakkie