Jesus Writes in the Dust
He leads me …
We should be familiar with the story of the woman who had been caught in adultery and was bought to Jesus to see how He would judge her.
During this story Jesus bends over and writes in the dust with His finger. Have we ever wondered what Jesus was writing? It must have been significant because when those around Jesus saw what was written they quietly went away, starting with the eldest, and there is no account of what was printed in the dust.
To clarify here is what the account says in John’s gospel -
And early in the morning He came again into the temple area, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began teaching them. Now the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in the act of adultery, and after placing her in the center of the courtyard, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” Now they were saying this to test Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. When they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Now when they heard this, they began leaving, one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman where she was, in the center of the courtyard. And straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on do not sin any longer” (John 8:2-11 NASB).
Notice, that while the scribes and Pharisees bought the woman to be judged by Jesus, they did not bring the man, although they said the woman was caught in the very act. This is strange as the law is very clear about what should happen. Deuteronomy 22:22 says -
If a man is found sleeping with a married woman, then both of them shall die, the man who slept with the woman, and the woman; so you shall eliminate the evil from Israel. (NASB).
Leviticus 20:10 says much the same thing.
Although Jesus is repeatedly asked to bring His judgement, He acted as though He had not heard them and then wrote in the dust instead. If He had said to stone her, they would have charged Him with hypocrisy, because He was always teaching about mercy. If He said not to stone her, they would have charged Him with breaking the Mosaic Law.
Jesus knew that the people and especially the elders along with the scribes and Pharisees would have memorized and studied the scriptures and they would therefore know about any biblical references relating to adultery and stoning. Yet they were breaking the very law that they were quoting. They had not brought the man who was caught in the act, as the scripture required they should. And they had not provided two or three witnesses, as the law also said they should.
Effectively Jesus was saying to them ‘You have forsaken God. You do not practice what you preach. You are trying to trap Me, and you want to see this woman stoned to death. Well if that is what you want, then you do it! If you are without sin innocent and you were the witness, cast the first stone! But know for sure that you have forsaken God and your name is going to be written in the dust.
The basis of what Jesus was saying is found in Jeremiah 17:13, where it reads, ‘Lord, the hope of Israel, All who abandon You will be put to shame. Those who turn away on earth will be written down, Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, that is the Lord’ (NASB).
Those watching would have known this scripture and they would see their names that Jesus was writing in the earth. He revealed their sin. ‘And they that depart from Me shall be written in the earth’,
What Jesus was writing in the dust was a remez. A hint of a deeper meaning in the Word of God. Notice it was the eldest that left first. Because they were elders, they knew clearly from their memorization and study of the scriptures what Jesus was hinting at. And because they were elders they were ashamed of having been caught out and everyone who was watching being able to read their names in the dust.
How did Jesus know their names? We know that Jesus only did what His Father wanted Him to do (John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38; 12:49; 14:31; 15:10; Hebrews 10:5-9). So, the Father could give Jesus the names of those who were challenging Him. Alternatively, the chief priests and elders were quite public in their opposition to Jesus’ teaching, and so they would be most likely be known personally to Jesus.
Either way, the chief priests and elders would read their names and realize that they were guilty. They were convicted by Jesus’ teaching. By writing in the dust Jesus implied that those who were named were refusing mercy, and so they would not receive mercy themselves (James 2:12-13). Jesus had also taught, ‘Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful’ (Luke 6:36). He also said, ‘Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you’ (Matthew 7:1-2).
Jesus does not ban the judgment of others. He simply requires that our judgment is totally fair, and that we only judge others by the same standard that we would want to be judged by.
When our judgment of others is wrong, it is often because we are hypocritical in how we apply the standard we are enforcing by ignoring the same standard in our own life.
A good example of this kind of hypocrisy was David’s reaction to Nathan’s story about a man who wrongfully stole and killed another man’s lamb. David quickly criticized the man, but could not see his own sin which was much greater (2 Samuel 12).
So, did the elders, scribes and Pharisees understand what Jesus was doing by writing their names in the dust?? Yes, they did. Notice what happens next. John 8:9 effectively says -
Then those who heard Jesus’ challenge to throw the first stone if they had no sin, were convicted by their conscience, and left one at a time starting with the oldest, until Jesus was left alone with the woman.
The woman had given up. She thought she was hopelessly trapped on account of her sin. As she saw it, God could never love her. And God could never forgive her either.
Both the woman and her accusers needed forgiveness, restoration and hope. Jesus offered all three.
‘Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.’[1]
Dear Reader – If you have found some value in this blog, please feel free to send a copy on to your family and friends. Kind regards, John
[1] Jesus writes in the dust, Jeffrey Unsworth, Teleios Bible Blogs;
https://jeffreyunsworth.wixsite.com/teleiosbibleblogs/124-jesus-writes-in-the-dust
What Did Jesus Write on the Ground? Dr. David Kyle Foste, Crosswalk.com;
https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/bible-study/what-did-jesus-write-on-the-ground.html
Matthew 7 – The Sermon on The Mount (Continued), David Guzik, Enduring Word;
