Jesus Prevents Two Stonings

September 24, 2023 Background Scripture: John 8:1 - 11, 39-59 Lesson Passage: John 8:1 - 11, 56 - 59 When capital punishment was specified by the Law of Moses, it typically was administered by stoning the person to death. However, during the times of Jesus' earthly ministry, the Jews were under the political governance of the Roman Empire and not allowed to use capital punishment. They were free to judge each other on a local level, but they were not allowed under Roman law to put a person to death. It was this political dilemma the Jewish leaders hoped to use to entrap Jesus. As Jesus was teaching the people at the end of the Feast of Tabernacles, the Jewish leaders interrupted His teaching. They brought a woman amid the crowd around Jesus and leveled the accusation of adultery against her. They claimed that she was caught in the very act of adulte1Y. (It is worth noting that if they desired to do the right thing, they also should have brought the other person she was reportedly caught in the act with.) They reminded Jesus that the Law required that she be stoned to death. They asked Jesus for His opinion concerning the matter. Jesus kneeled and began to write on the ground with His finger. They continued to talk and question Him while He continued to write on the ground. The bible doesn't record what He wrote. If Jesus had answered their question, of entrapment, it would have put Him at odds with either the Law of Moses or the Roman law. Instead, Jesus responded by recommending that the one among them who was without sin should throw the first stone at her. Then He continued to write on the ground. They all left beginning with the oldest. Then Jesus addressed the woman after all her accusers were gone. He told her that He did not condemn her and for her to leave and not sin anymore. Jesus did not condemn her, nor did He condone her sin. Afterwards, Jesus got into an exchange with some Pharisees concerning God and fatherhood. They sarcastically referred to Jesus as an illegitimate person by birth. They did not understand or accept the virgin birth, but they apparently knew that Mary was pregnant with Jesus before she was married. Jesus pointed out that God is His Father. They countered that Abraham is their father. Jesus pointed out that He did the works of His Father, but they were not doing the works of Abraham. Jesus spoke of Abraham rejoicing to see His day, and that set off a storm of conversation. How could someone less than fifty years old speak of Abraham's emotions as though he was Abraham's contemporary? Jesus responded, "Before Abraham was, I Am." This response to their question about Him knowing Abraham personally was a clear indication of His deity. That "I Am" identified Jesus as the God in the burning bush Who talked with Moses. A man claiming to be God was the ultimate in blasphemy for Jews. They immediately picked up stones to stone Jesus to death. Jesus hid Himself and left out through the midst of them. The bible does not explain how He hid Himself. It seems that He did not disappear, but rather left out by going through the midst of them. Perhaps He blinded them, so they were not able to see Him. Regardless of how He did it, Jesus would not allow them to stone Him. Later, Jesus would offer His life for them, but His life would not be taken by stoning. Jesus' death required that He be attached to a tree (the cross). By doing so, He would become sin and be judged by God as a substitute for the sins of everyone who places their trust in Him. Jesus prevented two stonings. One was for the benefit of a woman allegedly caught in the act of adultery. The other was for the benefit of all of us who would otherwise perish for our sins without Jesus' death on the tree of Calvary. Robert C. Hudson September 8, 2023