Doodling in the Dust

Last Friday evening, the full moon was beautiful. I stared at it the entire way to church for Bible study. Some notes on what we read that night, John 8:1-11:

This passage is known for being one of those stories with a disclaimer slipped in before it- in the "earliest and most reliable" manuscripts, it is not included. Why? Well, maybe it was made up and slipped in later. Or maybe it was part of the original but taken out early, and put back in after. Or maybe the "most reliable" manuscripts aren't that reliable! Whatever the case, it's certain that the story puts a somewhat different spin on the Jesus we know.

This is the story of the adulterous woman who was caught red-handed in the act of adultery (how embarrassing) during or right after the important Jewish holiday, the Feast of Tabernacles. The Pharisees, all in a rage (and simultaneously plotting against Jesus), drag her to the temple courts where Jesus is calmly teaching a crowd and ask him, point-blank, "Well, what do you think, Jesus? The law says that we should stone her. What's your opinion?"

Think about it for a second. Here's Jesus, not the most popular guy with the head honchos but doing nothing to rile them up for once, sitting peaceably in his Father's house, where people come to learn and to worship. To be holy. And then here come the Pharisees, in all their anger and ultra-righteousness, utterly desecrating the sanctity of the place because they have no intent to worship, only to trap Jesus with an admittedly sticky situation. If he orders them not to stone the woman, he is defying the law (in God's temple!), but if he goes with the law, he will shatter his image as a compassionate teacher.

So what is his answer? "But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger." Uh... what? Did he even hear them? Come on, Jesus, pull out some witty response or a shocking, I-didn't-think-of-that truth. You're God. You're smart! What are you doodling in the dust for?

Nobody knows what Jesus was writing. Scholars speculate that he may have been 1) buying time to think about what to do and/or pray, 2) just passing time to annoy the Pharisees, or 3) actually writing down the names of every sinner present in the audience, including the accusers. The last one is a particularly juicy hypothesis, the favorite of many. And to think, as the Pharisees continue to pester him, he then gets up and looks them straight in the eye, saying, "If any of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." ZING!

Jesus could have written down their names and then humiliated them all by exposing them for their hypocrisy. But a sadistic Jesus does not seem as likely to me as a patient, matter-of-fact, and maybe quirky Jesus. I like to think that he was just doodling, or taking the time to pray to ask God what he should do. And that serves as an example to us all: when confronted with difficult situations with only difficult decisions to make, the first thing we should do is pray. Jesus and the apostles prayed in every circumstance, and Paul encouraged us to never cease to pray.

And in the resolution of the story, we see the accusers silently leaving the scene (the eldest first, who are probably the wisest), convicted because they realize none of them has the authority of condemn anyone else, least of all in the presence of Jesus. Eventually, Jesus is alone with the adulterous woman, who is probably bewildered and thanking her lucky stars. Jesus is the only one who hasn't left, because he is the only one without sin. In fact, Jesus could have picked up a pebble and tossed it in her direction at that moment. But he doesn't. He pulls the guilt card, but his preferred method of chastisement is full of grace. "Oh, they all decided to bounce? That's cool; I drop all charges, too. Go now and leave your life of sin," he tells her.

Only Jesus can judge the sinners, but when he does the sentence always has a caveat: If you repent and believe in me, you will be free- forever. At least, this is how it will work until the end of days, after everyone has had a chance at grace. But a more present-oriented point is that we, as Christians, cannot possibly have the gall to lord our righteousness over anyone else and think we're doing them good. All of us are sinners, and thank God all of us can be forgiven of it.

- - -

Hey all,

A prayer request! I'm leaving for Taiwan tomorrow (early Thursday morning). I will be there for six weeks, the first four to take Chinese classes, and the last two for a missions-oriented English camp at a Taiwanese university. Rebekah and I both did this camp last year. If you'd like me to send you a prayer letter, let me know! Or maybe I'll send one to all of you regardless. But please pray for me for these six weeks. I have had... some tough times so far this summer spiritually, and I don't want any of it to carry over to Taiwan. Or, if it does, then may it be that God shows me something great as a result of the struggle. The shadow proves the sunshine, after all.

Thanks!
Peace,
Andrew