What do you wonder? I invite you to pause and think about these questions…perhaps in the wondering you will hear what Jesus is trying to say to you today.
John 8:1-12 (ESV)
but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
I Am the Light of the World
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
When I read our passage for Sunday Worship, what I noticed was: Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And then again later: “And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground.”
I wondered what he was writing. And why was he writing on the ground?
We’ll never know for sure what he wrote, and a few great theologians have speculated about why he was writing.
What I see is Jesus’ gentleness and compassion with everyone he was teaching on that day, even the scribes and the Pharisees who were challenging him. He did not confront them with scolding or unkind words. He did not embarrass them in front of the gathered crowd. After he spoke, he turned away from them; he wasn’t even looking at them.
The first time he bent down and wrote with his finger may have been a symbolic reference back to God writing the Law on stone. But by doing it a second time, after he spoke, he gave the scribes and the Pharisees time to think about what he had said and when they did that, “they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones.”
I invite you again to pause and think about what you notice and wonder…perhaps in the wondering you will hear what Jesus is trying to say to you today.
We welcome back Rev. Paul Beckingham to worship on Sunday. He will be reflecting on this story and gathering us at the Lord’s Table. I hope to see you on Sunday!
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