The Abused Woman in John 8 (Part II)

A continuation of studying John 8:2-11:
"Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, 2 but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. 3 As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. 4 “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”
 6 They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. 7 They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” 8 Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. 9 When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” 11 “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

The story of the abused woman begins while Jesus is teaching and a group of religious leaders burst onto the scene, bringing the woman and force her to stand, shamed and disgraced, in front of the entire crowd.

There is no explanation of who caught this woman, how she was seized, or where the other guilty party is.  Since the authorities are vague on how they came by this woman, bring forth no witnesses, and only arrested one of the guilty party, it is clear that they are not interested in justice.  In fact, they are violating their own laws by failing to bring forth witnesses and the other partner.  They have already passed judgment; they are clearly interested in something other justice and Jesus’ opinion on the matter.  The narrator makes it explicit when he explains that their interest is in trapping Jesus so that they may bring a charge against him.  The surrounding narrative makes clear that the ones who are supposed to be the experts in understanding the law of Moses are the ones who actually fail.  For the abusers, the law is a weapon to be used to gain power over opponents, and the woman who is used for bait is of no consequence to them.

          The Greek in this passage suggests she was snatched while in the very act of engaging in sex.  The witnesses must have seen the act itself.  This is the only way their testimony is valid.  However, no one in the scene ever specifies the identity of the witnesses.  Furthermore, no man is not brought before Jesus and accused of adultery.  Readers have been creative and constructed scenarios of why the woman’s lover is not present as well as try to attempt to answer the question of how the religious authorities got their hands on the woman. None of them are legal and none of them are fair. 

Maybe a man is asked to seduce a woman by the Pharisees and then is allowed to sneak away.  In this case, the authorities would also be guilty of sexual abuse. No background on the woman is given on how she was caught, but it is clear that the scribes and Pharisees are using her as nothing more than an instrument to arrest Jesus.  The woman is the victim of a trap. The authorities are not seeking justice; they are abusing the law and bending it to their desires.  They do not seek a trial, but a mob lynching.  A nameless woman is caught in the crossfire as the scribes and Pharisees attack Jesus.

          Before the narrator tells his audience this is a trap, the reader suspects the authorities’ of ulterior motives when they cite the law of Moses, but still ask what Jesus thinks of the matter.  Why would they ask Jesus his opinion if the law is clear on the issue?  Their minds are made up; the question is how Jesus will answer.  The religious authorities believe that Jesus will speak out against stoning this woman.  They desire to draw out an explicit statement from Jesus that values mercy over the letter of the law.  If Jesus sides against stoning her, he is guilty of breaking the law of Moses. This would cost him his credibility and many followers. Instead of answering, Jesus does something unexpected - he bends down and begins writing in the dirt.