Neither Do I Condemn You
They see clearly the sin in others, but are blind to the sin in themselves.
While Leviticus 20 and Deuteronomy 22 both declare adultery to be a capital offense punishable by death, due to the severity of the sentence, there were safeguards to protect the innocent. That is, there could be no doubt about any of the details. The evidence had to be conclusive and unmistakable. In fact, there had to be a number of witnesses to the actual act of immorality. And their stories had to collaborate perfectly. History tells us that one couple was set free simply because the witnesses who observed their adulterous act couldn’t name the tree under which it took place. Consequently, the Jewish historian Josephus tells us adultery would be punished on the average of only once every seven years
If Jesus said, “Stone her,” He would jeopardize His position as Friend of Sinners. Prostitutes and publicans, tax collectors and street people would no longer feel comfortable around Him, knowing He had sentenced one of their own to death. If, on the other hand, He said, “Let her go,” He would be dishonoring the very Word of God He had come to fulfill (Matthew 5:17).
It was the finger of God that wrote, “Thou shalt not commit adultery” in tablets of stone (see Exodus 31:18). Two thousand years later, we see the finger of God once more—this time on the hand of Jesus Christ, writing in the dust of the earth.
There was a wonderful gentleness that shone out preeminently in Jesus.