John 8:7 What Did Jesus Write?

There has been much speculation about what Jesus wrote in the dirt when a bunch of Pharisees brought to him a woman who was caught in an act of sexual sin.  The law called for her to be stoned – killed by them throwing stones at her until she died.  They wanted Jesus to condemn her so that they could blame him for her death.

He silently began writing in the dirt with his finger.  Then He looked up and said that whoever was without sin should throw the first stone.  This caught them off guard, for none of them could claim to be without sin.  Starting with the oldest ones, these men walked away. 

This had obviously been a set-up to trap Jesus.  For one thing, the man who had been involved in the sexual sin was not brought – only the woman.  The woman must have been shaking in fear, knowing that she very well could be killed and that the Pharisees were bent on getting Jesus to speak words of condemnation to her.

In John 8:7, we see His silence.  He did not speak her death sentence.  Perhaps he was only making marks on the ground.  But it’s quite possible that he was writing a list of sins that the accusers had committed.  Or perhaps he was even writing their names and the names of women with whom they had committed sexual sin.  We are not told and can only imagine.  But the result was that the woman was left there with Jesus, and the accusers were gone.

Jesus’ simple words to her were, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

She answered, “No one.” 

Jesus’s great compassion and mercy showed as he said, “Then neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin.”

The awesome thing is that He’ll say those words to us too if we come to Him to ask forgiveness.  No matter what sin, mistakes, rebellion, and unbelief we’ve had, those simple words will set us free.  He will enable us to leave our lives of sin and become new people who walk in the joy of knowing Him.

Women, Bible People SeriesBible People will help you to discover information and reflect on insights relating to important figures in the Bible. Its Bible Discovery Method will guide you in searching Bible texts and using Bible reference tools. Each of the seven sessions in each volume will look at a different person. This volume looks at: Mary, the Mother of Jesus; Ruth & Naomi; Rahab; Elizabeth; Bathsheba; Elizabeth; Rebekah; and The Woman Caught In Adultery.