John 8:3-11 (NIV): The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.
When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.
Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
Sometimes you have to know when to NOT engage in an argument or discussion. You have to know when to focus on the most important thing and to let the distractions go by. The point is that these people were not sincerely asking their question – they were actively trying to trap Jesus into making a judgment that they could use against Him. Anything He decided in this case would have fed them ammunition, and possibly alienated many of those whom He was teaching. And so He refused to engage. He studiously ignored them and wrote on the ground. When they wouldn’t desist, He threw the decision right back in their faces – they could stone her if they wanted, but the one who had never sinned should throw the first stone. Then He occupied Himself again unitl His words had caused them to assess their own hearts, and for each one, the older ones first, to realize that HE could not meet those criteria, and walk away from what they now realized was a no-win situation for them. Many people get hung up in conjecture over what Jesus wrote on the ground, but if that was important to the event, if His writing was what convicted the people, God would have had John include it, and not had him write that “those who HEARD (not READ) began to go away.” One of the most vital lesson for God’s people in this event (though by no means the only one) is that sometimes it is best NOT to engage in a discussion or argument, especially when the situation is designed as a setup (which Jesus knew in this event), and when there is no rationality in the accusers, only blood lust. In those cases, we need to leave lots of room for GOD to work.
Father, this is good advice. Help me to live it out whenever the need arises, so I can always focus on the most important things. Amen.