Mystery behind Jesus and the Woman Caught in Adultery

Spread the Word!

This story of Jesus and the woman caught in adultery is found in the book of John Chapter 8, verses 1-11.

Reading through the four Gospel accounts of Jesus, we already know that the Jewish Pharisees and Sadducees were waiting for every opportunity to find fault with Jesus’ teachings.

This story is no different.

They bring a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery to Jesus, to see how he would react to the situation.

*Note: These verses below are taken from the ESV translation

The Twist in the Story

Jesus being all-knowing (Matthew 9:4; Mark 2:8; Luke 9:4) tested them instead.

While the Jewish teachers told Jesus that according to the Law they are to stone the woman for her wrong-doing, Jesus had other plans.

Jesus instead redirected their own question.

“Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” John 8:7 (ESV)

Jesus was great at getting people to think, instead of blindly following a set of rules. The Law was given so that we may not sin and have the fear of God within us. Instead, in this instance, it was used to accuse another, which was not the main goal of the Law.

In Matthew 21:23-27, Jesus again used their own questions against them.

In Matthew 21:23, the chief priests ask Jesus regarding His teachings;

“By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”

So Jesus tells them that He would like an answer for His question before He answer theirs. Here is Jesus’ question;

The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” Matthew 21:25-26

So after a bit of discussion among themselves, they answered – We don’t know.

And to this Jesus said,

“Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” Matthew 21:27

Jesus also Tested His Disciples

Jesus is even found testing the faith of His in disciples.

In Matthew 8:23-27, we see that when the disciples were in a boat with Jesus and were caught up in a storm, the disciples panicked and woke Jesus, asking Him to save them. While Jesus calmed the storm He also asked the disciples why they had little faith.

Again in John 6, when Jesus wanted to feed the large crowd, asked Philip where we can buy bread for the people to eat.

He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. John 6:6

Often Jesus gives us tests in life to see how far we can stretch our faith in trusting Him, even in difficult situations.

The Hidden Revelation of the Woman Caught in Adultery

Coming back to the story of the woman caught in adultery, there is another mystery to this story.

When Pharisees brought the woman and were questioning Jesus on His opinion regarding the Law, Jesus bent down twice to write on the ground.

Here is the verse;

This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.  John 8:6

Two things are questioned in the story:

1. The authority of the Law of Moses
2. The authority of Jesus Christ

When the Law was given to Moses, the bible tells us that it was written by the finger of God.

And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God. Exodus 31:18

So in the story of the adulterous woman, every time they pose a question to Jesus, He is seen using his finger to write on the ground.

Bible Study Questions:

1. There is no mention of what Jesus had written on the ground. But if it were insignificant, this part of the story would not need to be mentioned.
2. Did the author of this Gospel, intentionally leave out explaining what and why Jesus wrote on the ground?
3. Is there a connection between God writing the Law, and Jesus writing on the ground?

Spread the Word!