NB: Many Bibles (e.g. NIV; NASB; ESV) note that "The earliest manuscripts do not include 7:53-8:11." The consensus of expert opinion is that it is not in John's style and does not fit well into the context, the passage flowing best from 7:52 directly to 8:12. It is also agreed however that the story is ancient and, whoever wrote it, it is authentic and in accordance with the spirit of the gospel (See Leon Morris, NIC,"The Gospel According to John")

It doesn't do to jump to judgement. All too often as we parade our righteous indignation before the world our own sins and questionable motives, that we think are known only to ourselves, are often all too apparent to others. When we are quick to bring a judgement call to the Lord nothing is hidden and it is well that we remember that. The men in this story had no idea that He could read their hearts and know their sins as they confidently dragged before Jesus a woman caught in the very act of adultery. I have sometimes wondered how on earth they might have caught her in the very act and what they were up to in the process of catching her. In any event you can imagine the cacophony of voices crying for justice and citing Scripture in support of their "righteous" judgement:

"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?"

Of course, if they were so sure of their cause why didn't they take her out and stone her? The aim here was to draw Jesus and have him make a judgement on a controversial issue, i.e. violate the Law of Moses or pass an unpopular judgement that was seldom acted upon. If he said stone her he lost his popularity but if he showed mercy he disobeyed Moses.

Just as when they tried to catch Jesus out over the question of taxes (Mt.22:15-22) they were convinced that there were only two possible answers to choose from. Legalism does that to you, confines you to a narrow view of the world. It is amazing how confident we can become when we blind ourselves to alternative views and confine ourselves to two options. Just as with the tax question Jesus here responds quite unexpectedly:

"If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her"

This story illustrates the great difference between the judgement of God and the judgements of men, the verdict of Grace and the verdict of Law.

A legalistic morality is first impersonal. The Pharisees didn't care about this woman as a person but simply wanted to use her to make a point about Jesus, to catch him out. Yes she was guilty but, while Grace sought to save her, Law simply sought to condemn her. How often in our witnessing do we forget the worth of the person in our rush to prove a point, build a case and win an argument; the argument eventually won but the person lost. Jesus cared for the person and sought to salvage a guilty life.

A legalistic morality is often selective. Where was the "other party", the man in this charade of moral inequity? If she was "caught in the very act" then surely so was he! The morality of the Pharisees was conveniently selective, accusing some while excusing others. But everyone is guilty before God. That is the point in Jesus declaring; "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her" The men in the crowd, in truth, did not stand against the woman but in their guilt stood with her. Paul wrote, "God does not show favouritism" (Ro.2:11) and:

"There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Ro3:23)

Legalistic morality is punishment oriented. Yes, the woman was guilty and, yes, right and wrong are very important. But the Pharisees were not concerned about encouraging the right but in punishing the wrong. They did not seek reformation and restitution but judgement and condemnation. Jesus recognised the sin for what it was but demanded perfect sinlessness from anyone who would condemn sin in others. He himself was sinless but did not condemn but sought to restore the woman to righteous living; "Neither do I condemn you. Now go and leave your life of sin"

In our witnessing we need to be Grace oriented, being slow to judge and seeking restitution and salvation for those we meet. It is much easier to wag a finger and condemn someone for believing the wrong things, behaving the wrong way and putting their trust in the wrong place. It is more challenging to patiently witness, not condemning but seeking salvation for others; but it is what Jesus expects of us.

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