THE WOMAN WAS SURELY TREMBLING as the men dragged her into the Temple that day. She had been caught in the act of adultery, a sin that could be punishable by death. And these men, a group of religious leaders in the community—scribes and Pharisees—had heard that a young preacher and healer, Jesus of Nazareth, was present in the temple teaching the people. They also knew that this young man was gaining followers with his gospel message—his good news that the kingdom of God was actually at hand, not remote or waiting for some future judgment day. And now these scribes and Pharisees determined to use this poor woman as a test case. They intended to see how Jesus would respond to the Mosaic law and the old theological traditions of retribution and punishment for sin.
With the woman duly shamed, standing in front of all the people—many of whom she must have known personally—the men publicly pronounce her sin. They remind Jesus that their law clearly demands that the woman should be stoned. (They really hope to catch Jesus in some technical violation of the law and thereby have a basis for sanctioning him and diminishing his influence among the people.)
Yet, at first, he seems to ignore the men's confrontation. The Bible account reports that "Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not." The scribes and Pharisees won't leave it alone, however, and they continue pressing Jesus for an answer. Finally, he stands up and addresses the men with a pointed—and surprising—rejoinder. Jesus says, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her."
