Required reading John 8:1-11

In John 8, the beloved disciple paints a vivid scene for his readers.  The scene comes at the end of a lengthy narrative in chapter 7, where Jesus is shown to be the source great contention among the Pharisees, chief priests, and people. The crux of this division centered on the authority and identity of Jesus versus the vicious ruling leaders, who claimed the Law of Moses as their authority. The opening of chapter 8 acts as the climax of this growing tension where the cauldron reaches its boiling point.

The scene opens with a refreshed Jesus coming to the Temple precincts early in the morning after a time away on the Mount of Olives, one of His favorite places to pray and commune with the Father. Upon arrival, John tells us that “all the people came to him, and He sat down and taught them.” This setting would be familiar to a first century Jew because it shows us that Jesus is acting with all of the custom and authority of a Rabbi, as He is sitting while teaching the Scriptures to the people. 

No sooner is John’s idyllic Temple setting painted for us, than it is besieged by the ugly incursion of the scribes and Pharisees. This vile brood brings in a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery and places her in the midst of the crowd where Jesus sat teaching. Without any shame to their great trespass of ritually defiling the Temple precincts with a known sinner, without any shame to shattering the spiritual sanctity of the teaching session, and without any shame to besmirching the dignity of the accused woman, they launch immediately into their hasty ordeal in the sight of all. They are indignant and brutal, like a pack of yapping coyotes around a hapless bunny. They bring forward no witnesses. They do not permit the accused to speak on her own behalf. And, they do not lay out a thoughtful or well-ordered legal presentation. Rather, they pounce! 

“Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women.  So what do YOU say?”

This is nothing more than an ambush, and John even tells us so, “this they said to test Him, that they might have some charge to bring against Him.” In demanding an answer concerning the Law, they completely ignore all the procedure, the decorum, the wisdom, the mercy, and the spirituality of the Law. They are seeking to accuse both the woman and Jesus to death!

What happens next has been the source of much speculation and debate among Christian thinkers over the centuries because of what John leaves unwritten.   But, it is precisely here that John shows us that Jesus is acting in the capacity of The Prophet and The Christ, who was disputed over in chapter 7.  The contest hinges both on the nonverbal sign-acts of Jesus, as a Prophet, and what He writes authoritatively in the dust, as the Christ, in order to decisively settle the dispute and render a legal verdict.

The first observation we have is Jesus bending down in the midst of the crowd to write with his finger on the ground. Like many of the prophets before Him, Jesus is acting out the spiritual meaning being communicated (e.g. Isaiah 20; Ezekiel 4; Hosea 3). Before we make an educated deduction as to what Jesus wrote, we must first consider the act of writing on the ground. First, writing on the ground with one’s finger requires a loose granular surface such as fine gravel, dust, or sand. Second, it is very difficult to write a lengthy message in this medium, because it requires a lot of space, since the lettering is oversized and awkward.   (I would encourage the reader to try this.) 

Consequently, it is doubtful that Jesus would have had the room to write a whole passage of the Law, or the names and sins of the accusers, or even some other Scripture portion. Given the tight press of the crowd and the limited room around Jesus, the logistics of the setting would have demanded that Jesus’ message remain succinct enough to bend down and stand up. And yet, the message had to pack a massively powerful punch. Before offering a possible solution, let us further consider the nonverbal sign-acts of Jesus to discern more clues. 

In this scene, Jesus is acting out the imagery of the test for adultery (see Numbers 5:11-28). See Him using His finger on the ground to mix the dust of the Temple with the living water of the written Word. He has already been declared the source of this spiritual water (John 4:13-14, 7:37-38).  Jesus is answering the demand of the lawyers by fulfilling the very imagery of the Law for cases of adultery. In using his finger to answer the Law, Jesus is also showing that He is the true “Finger Writer” of Sinai and the incarnate fulfillment of the Word/Torah in their midst (Exodus 31:18), who came to set sinners free from the bondage and condemnation of the Law of Moses (Galatians 4:4).

In addition to this imagery, Jesus is also acting out a Bible story that would have been patently obvious to any Jew who grew up from a child hearing the stories of their Patriarch forefathers out of the scroll of Genesis. John gives us this clue by telling us that Jesus bent down and wrote on the ground, not once but twice.  This is important. Add this fact with the other known details, namely an unfaithful/adulterous person and the connotation of a stone, in the context of judgment where the offender is presented as guilty and deserving death. This is no mere false accusation, or else Jesus would have immediately called their bluff.  This is a clever trap by the Law crowd. It demanded a real answer by Jesus, and one in keeping with the Word. It had to be powerful enough to send these coyotes away shamefully and authoritatively, silenced by the very Torah of Moses they were unlawfully wielding.

Let us now thread the clues together to form a Scripturally-reasoned answer. We are presented with an unfaithful party who deserved judgment on account of her deceptive actions. We have One who is wrestling on the ground, not once but twice. We have the connotation of a stone in connection to this narrative. And, we know that Jesus’ response after the second time brings full deliverance and forgiveness to the woman. So whose story is Jesus acting out? If you know the name, you also know what Jesus wrote on the ground, as he wrestled with God and with men for a blessing, and prevailed.

In the first instance, Jesus bent down on the ground and wrote the name: JACOB.  

(see Genesis 28:10-22: ground, promise, stone – “I will not leave you until I have done what I promised you.”)

In the second instance, Jesus bent down and struck out JACOB and wrote the name: ISRAEL!

(see Genesis 32:22-32: ground wrestling, deliverance – “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”)

The massive force of this Word hit the accusers like a mighty Stone. They instantly knew. They immediately understood. God’s mercy and covenantal promise prevailed in the face of much deserved judgment. The best sermon Jesus never preached was one hidden in the dirt, in the divine power and glory of the written Word. Jesus, who wrestled for a blessing, let the woman go free while He went willingly and lovingly all the way to the Cross, in her place. He was the Stone struck, once for all.  Amen!

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John, a resident of Niagara, Ontario, Canada, has devoted many years to the study of the Greater Exodus and the profound truths of the New Covenant established by Jesus Christ. As a theologian and teacher, his doctrinal research and passion for Scripture have blessed countless individuals, inspiring a deeper understanding of God’s redemptive plan and equipping believers to live in the fullness of their identity in Christ.