Jesus is in
the temple courts when the religious leaders bring a woman to him and say, “Teacher,
this woman was caught in the act of adultery.
In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” (John 8:5). They do this because they think that they can
trap Jesus. If he says, “She should be
killed” then, not only would some of his followers be outraged, but so would
the Romans who ruled the land. They were
the only ones who had the power to execute anyone. However, if Jesus says, “Let her go”, then
the Jewish people would accuse him of not following the law of God. Jesus, though, avoids the trap by doing
something completely unexpected.
“Jesus bent down and started to
write on the ground with his finger” (Verse 6).
People often ask, “What did he write on the ground?”, but I think that
is wrong question (As an aside, we are never told what he wrote). To me, the real question is, “Why did he
choose to bend down in the first place?”
I mean, he is in the middle of an angry mob! You would think that, if anything, Jesus
would “stand up” against these people.
Why does he bend low to the ground?
The answer: because that is likely where the woman was!
Think about it. She has been “caught in the act”, dragged
out, humiliated in the most sacred and public place in town and now the people
are gathering stones with which to kill her.
Where is the woman in this picture?
Though scripture says that she is “standing” before Jesus, you can well
imagine that she is cowering near the ground; and that is where Jesus meets
her. He assumes a physical position that
communicates his figurative position.
One that says, “It is ok! I am
with you. I am on your side”.
Jesus’ posture speaks volumes and
I think it is a lesson for us. If we are
ever going to share the message of God with others, we have to assume a posture
that gives us a hearing. We must look
more like the crouching Jesus than the angry mob. As one author says, “If your posture (or
approach) is wrong, you will always be perceived as an enemy or a judge” and if
that happens, the message is likely finished before it starts.
The story ends with Jesus telling
the woman to, “Go now and leave your life of sin”. He does not shy away from telling her that
she needs to change, but he does it in a way that she wants to hear it. He says it as a friend, not as a foe.
Posture is important!
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