Question: "What was Jesus writing in the dirt when the Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery?"
Answer: The story of the woman caught in adultery is found in
John 8:1-11. Briefly, the story involves the scribes and Pharisees who, in their continuing efforts to trick Jesus into saying something they could hold against Him, brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. They reminded Him that the Mosaic Law demanded her to be stoned to death. “But what do you say?”, they asked Him. At this point, Jesus stooped down and starting writing something in the dirt. When He straightened up, He said, “"If any one of you is
without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Then He stooped down and wrote again. One by one, the people left.
The Jewish leaders had already disregarded the law by arresting the woman without the man. The law required that both parties to adultery be stoned (
Leviticus 20:10;
Deuteronomy 22:22). The leaders were using the woman as a trap so they could trick Jesus. If Jesus said the woman should not be stoned, they would accuse him of violating Moses' law. If He urged them to execute her, they would report Him to the Romans, who did not permit the Jews to carry out their own executions (
John 18:31).
There is a lot of speculation, including the idea that Jesus was writing a list of the sins committed by each of the Jewish leaders present. Another theory is that since the woman was “caught in the act” of adultery, perhaps she was naked, and Jesus was writing in the dirt to avert His eyes from seeing the naked woman. Both of these ideas are possible, but there is no way to know for certain. The point of the passage is not what was being written in the dirt, but rather is a significant statement about judging others. Because Jesus upheld the legal penalty for adultery—stoning—He could not be accused of being against the Law. But by saying that only a sinless person could throw the first stone, He highlighted the fact that no one is without sin, and the importance of compassion and forgiveness.
Read more:
http://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-wr...#ixzz2QRo8Tnrw
http://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-writing-dirt.html
My question here is: Would an adulterer in the New
Testament be put to death?
Keep in mind that when Jesus gave the above laws, he gave
them during the time when he spoke highly of the Old Testament's Law:
Jesus orders Christians to follow the Old Testament's laws: "Do not think that I [Jesus] have come to abolish the Law (the Old
Testament) or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill
them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest
letter, not the least stroke or a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law
(the Old Testament) until everything is accomplished. (Matthew 5:17-18)" It is quite clear from these verses from the New Testament that
Jesus peace be upon him did honor the Old Testament and did say that every
single "letter" of it has to be honored, followed and fulfilled.
"Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 'The
teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. So you must obey them
and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not
practice what they preach.' (Matthew
23:1-3)" We clearly see
in these verses that Jesus peace be upon him did not prohibit for the Old
Testament to be followed, but only warned his followers to not follow it the way
the current religious leaders of the Law (the Jewish Rabies) were following
it.
So according to Jesus peace be upon him, the adulterer in
the New Testament must be put to death.
http://www.answering-christianity.co...e_adultery.htm
Have he ordered the stoning of the woman, he would have
been indeed a hypocrite, because people in charge of authority back then were
not following anything in the Law properly. He even called them "hypocrites" in
several occasions; see Matthew 6:2, 5, 16, Matthew
15:7, Matthew 22:18, Matthew 23:13, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29, Matthew 24:51, Mark 7:6
and Luke 13:15 in the Bible. So why punish the weakest citizen and
leave the cause of the corruption?! That was the Message that Jesus peace be
upon him gave to the people back then. Notice that John 8:6 clearly says
"They were using this question as a trap", which clearly means that the situation of John 8:1-11 was no
more than a trap to make Jesus peace be upon him make a mistake. That's why HE
DIDN'T ALLOW THEM TO OUT SMART HIM AND FORCE HIM TO GIVE ANY JUDGMENT AGAINST
THE WOMAN. Jesus peace be upon him didn't in anyway nullify the Laws of GOD
Almighty regarding punishment for adultery.
Keep in mind that Jesus spoke highly of the Old
Testament's Law:
Jesus orders Christians to follow the Old Testament's laws: "Do not think that I [Jesus] have come to abolish the Law (the Old
Testament) or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill
them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest
letter, not the least stroke or a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law
(the Old Testament) until everything is accomplished. (Matthew 5:17-18)" It is quite clear from these verses from the New Testament that
Jesus peace be upon him did honor the Old Testament and did say that every
single "letter" of it has to be honored, followed and fulfilled.
"Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 'The
teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. So you must obey them
and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not
practice what they preach.' (Matthew
23:1-3)" We clearly see
in these verses that Jesus peace be upon him did not prohibit for the Old
Testament to be followed, but only warned his followers to not follow it the way
the current religious leaders of the Law (the Jewish Rabies) were following it.
http://www.answering-christianity.com/john8_1_11.htm
What
part of the Old Testament should we take as our foundation? The Prophets? Of
course. THE LAW? YES. Perhaps you have been seriously misled about the Law:
you were told it was abolished by the New Testament? No, indeed! The
individual no longer relies upon keeping Old Testament Law for his personal
salvation. Christ bought that for him, upon the cross. Neither do you expect
to gain your salvation by obeying the laws of the United States, the State of
California, or the city in which you live. But, do you believe that these laws
serve no purpose and have been abolished? The Laws of God are still in force and
still serve the same purpose, to guide the nation, the family and the individual
to peace, prosperity and happiness. Our present troubles are caused by our
violation of God's eternal laws. Christ Himself said:
Think
not that I am come to destroy the Law or the prophets: I am not come to destroy
but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot
or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Whosoever therefore, shall break one of these least commandments and shall
teach men so, he shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whosoever
shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the Kingdom of
heaven." (Matthew 5:17-19)
It is
still true, as the prophet Hosea warned us: God says,
My
people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected
knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to Me: seeing
thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children." (Hosea
4:6)
Do you
say, "I was told that Christ abolished the Law, nailing it to His cross." then
you were told something wrong. The two verses you refer to are Colossians 2:14
and Ephesians 2:15 and both of them speak only of that part of the Law contained
in ORDINANCES. These were the rules of the religious ceremonies, pertaining to
the feast days, the sacrifices and offerings. These were done away with because
they expressed the believer's faith that Christ would come to save him sometime
in the future.
http://www.israelect.com/ChurchOfTru...et/comp14.html