This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. John 8:6
Fifty years ago, we lived in a society where everyone did what felt right to them. But we are fast moving from a permissive culture to a prescriptive culture, which is a culture where everyone is under pressure to think and act the same. If someone does not conform, then they will be roundly condemned and shamed for not conforming.
The story of the woman caught in adultery takes place in a culture of condemnation, which is a type of prescriptive society that divides people into the accusers and the accused. It’s a story about taking sides and the demand for justice.
Justice is the prevailing interest of our times. Here, we have a story about people who feel passionately about justice, and they want to know if Jesus is with them.
The story took place “early in the morning” (8:2), when Jesus was teaching in the temple. A large crowd gathered around Him and “all the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them” (8:2). The scribes and Pharisees interrupted the teaching of Jesus and presented a woman who they had caught in the act of adultery, “placing her in the midst” (8:3).
Picture this woman, surrounded by scribes and Pharisees, trapped in a circle of condemnation. The leaders are clearly using this woman. Why did they not interrogate her in private? Why had they not arrested the man? The answer is that they are using this woman to promote their own agenda, bringing her forth as a test case. It’s pure politics.
Their goal was very simple: they wanted to test Jesus “that they might have some charge to bring against Him” (8:6). The first interest of these scribes and Pharisees was not with the woman and it was not even with the law. Their first interest was to bring “some charge” against Jesus.
Condemnation is not mainly about the other person, but about the heart of the one who condemns. What does your condemnation of others reveal about your relationship with God?
