The woman who wouldn't be stoned

At dawn Jesus appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

“No one, sir,” she said.

            “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

(John 8:2-11, New International Version)

Sundays this month I have been posting stories of the encounters which Jesus had with women in the Bible. I think all of them are the most fascinating stories. In this one, I can picture the look on Jesus’ face when He’s talking to this woman’s accusers and then when He talks to her. He’s so calm and cool. So very on the edge of almost being sarcastic. Almost close to being smug, while being humble at the same time.

But here’s the big question – what is He writing on the ground?