The Woman Who Deserved Death

Her story is told in John 8:1-11 – the woman taken in the very act of adultery.

‘An adulteress! How is she a Biblical woman of influence?’ you may ask.

Let’s imagine it together: Jesus was teaching in the temple in front of a large crowd when there’s an uproar. A woman is forcibly brought to stand in front of him by a mob. For modesty’s sake, she’s wrapped in bed linens – linens that are dirty and tangled around her feet.

“This woman was caught in the act of adultery.” the scribes and Pharisees declare. “What do you think we should do with her?” they ask.

To understand what’s happening here, we have to go back a few hundred years. Back to the time when Moses was still alive, just after the children of Israel had been delivered from the land of Egypt. They were taken from a culture where “open relationships” were the norm. It was okay for a married man to sleep with a woman other than his wife. It was accepted that sometimes a married woman would sleep with a man who was not her husband.

But God wanted His people to be different.  “You shall not commit adultery,” He tells them in Exodus 20:14. “In fact, don’t even lust after (covet) your neighbor’s wife (Exodus 20:17).”

A short time later God revisits the topic of adultery: “I don’t think I said enough about it last time.  The persons who commit adultery: the adulterer and the adulteress – both shall be put to death (Leviticus 20:10).” The death penalty at that time was executed by stoning.  Fast-forward to the woman in the temple.

Put yourself in her shoes for a moment. The words “caught in the very act” echo in her mind. “But I wasn’t alone! Where’s -? Why am I the only one who has to pay for our sin with my life?” she may have wondered.

This is why I consider her a woman of influence. From her life, we learn some major lessons about sin and some even greater ones about God.

Sin has a price.

It doesn’t matter how big or small the deed is, each person will have to answer to the Great Judge and the punishment for sin is death (Romans 6:23).

There she stood – exposed before her neighbors, her friends… forced to stand before every person who had ever criticized her or said an unkind word about her … and maybe somewhere in the audience was her rival, the woman whose husband had lain beside her but a few minutes before.

Sin exposes.

I love the way that John never tells us what she was wearing as she stood exposed before her accusers. I liken it to a man choosing to look directly in your eyes even though your cleavage in on display. Jesus did the same thing for her and for each of us. Unlike our enemy who accuses us, Jesus affords us love. He never uses our sin in a way to make us ashamed. Instead, He gently uses it to turn us away from the things that hurt us and gently towards His face.

As she stood there waiting for the first stone to hit her flesh, the best thing happened.

Grace defends.

“Let who is without sin cast the first stone (John 8:7).”

“Oh no!” she probably thought. “I’m dead for sure.”

My friend, if you are standing today before your accusers waiting for their condemnation, let me remind you that Jesus loves you. It really doesn’t matter what you have done. The debt that you and I should pay for our sins has already been settled. It was paid in full by the blood of Jesus.

“Go and sin no more.” He tells us (John 8:11). Jesus acknowledged that what she had done was a sin but instead of accusing and condemning her, he offered her freedom. Can you imagine how she must have felt? I picture a beautiful smile on her face even as her eyes well with tears. Here was the Great Teacher, the one who was able to make the blind see and the deaf hear, giving her a second chance.

As her accusers walk away, I imagine her walking slowly to join the group of people in the temple. She wants to learn more from this gentle person who let the whole town know that it was not okay to treat her as her sin deserves. As she listens, his next words bring joy to her soul. “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life (John 8:12).”

What she heard was: “Treat the outcasts among you as I do. Then people will see you as a leader and do likewise.”

Like this woman I have stood before my peers, exposed, waiting for the verdict to be passed. Ten years ago, I stood before my church board as they told me that I could no longer be a member because I had my son outside of wedlock. I know what it feels like to expect mercy, only, instead of mercy I received condemnation. The words I heard in my soul were, “You have sinned and are not good enough.”

Two years later I read about this woman and learned that there is one who loves me like no other. Like you,  like this woman I have received grace. This Biblical woman of influence reminds me that Jesus loves me regardless of my sins. My society may condemn me, my peers may condemn me, I may deserve the death penalty but nothing can separate me from the love of God. My dear friend, Jesus loves you just as much and he wants nothing more than for you to acknowledge him as Lord and Savior.

Prayer

Father, I thank you for the example of the woman caught in the act of adultery. It reminds me that you see possibility and freedom where others only see condemnation and death. Help me to walk as a woman who has been loved by an awesome God because that’s who I am in you. Thank you for the reminder that nothing can separate me from your love. In Jesus’ name, amen.

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Aminata Coote

Author at Hebrews12Endurance.com

Aminata Coote is the wife to one video-game playing husband and the mother of a boy who is passionate about animals and building things. She is the founder of the Hebrews12Endurance.com website and a full-time writer.

Aminata invites her readers to run their own race of faith – no matter what it looks like. God created unique individuals who serve Him in various ways.

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Latest posts by Aminata Coote (see all)

• The Woman Who Deserved Death - May 21, 2018