Jn 8:1-11 

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 

But early in the morning he arrived again in the temple area, 

and all the people started coming to him, 

and he sat down and taught them. 

Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman 

who had been caught in adultery 

and made her stand in the middle. 

They said to him, 

“Teacher, this woman was caught 

in the very act of committing adultery. 

Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. 

So what do you say?” 

They said this to test him, 

so that they could have some charge to bring against him. 

Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. 

But when they continued asking him, 

he straightened up and said to them, 

“Let the one among you who is without sin 

be the first to throw a stone at her.” 

Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. 

And in response, they went away one by one, 

beginning with the elders. 

So he was left alone with the woman before him. 

Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, 

“Woman, where are they? 

Has no one condemned you?” 

She replied, “No one, sir.” 

Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”

THE JOURNEY OF MERCY 

As Jesus journeys to the cross he faces increasing threats. We can look at this confrontation between Jesus and the scribes and Pharisees as a trap closing around him, but it is also part of the Father’s plan of mercy for all people. 

The woman who is caught in adultery is in a miserable state. At the moment she is dragged before Jesus, she is facing death. She has also destroyed her life with her family, by betraying her husband in adultery. She is facing the shame and condemnation of the authorities who are judging her according to the Law. According to them she deserves death by stoning. 

How does Jesus see this woman? He sees a beloved daughter of God, made in God’s image. Jesus also knows the truth about her adultery, he does not pretend that she is innocent. How will Jesus show respect for the Law while fulfilling his mission of mercy? 

Before we can answer this question, we may want to see this woman as representing all of us. We are all separated by sin from God. All of us face accusers, inner and outer, how want our harm. We are without any way of getting out of this predicament. Try as we might we are as desperate as the woman in this incident. 

It is only God who has the power to set us free. And that is the basis for Jesus’s response. First, he challenges the accusers, reminding them that they are all sinners. None of them are pure enough to stand in judgement over the woman. Then, after they leave, Jesus turns to her with mercy. He refuses to condemn her – He who is judge of the living and the dead. Finally, Jesus sends her on her way, telling her not to sin again. She is free. She has experienced God’s mercy. 

But for Jesus the journey continues. The trap which would have destroyed the woman has been foiled. But Jesus’s journey to the cross continues. This time, he will pay the price with his life. He will redeem us and set us free. He will show us God’s mercy.

How amazing the love of God. May all of us whose lives have been transformed by His mercy, share freely the divine gift of salvation with each burdened, trapped person whom we also meet on the journey.