They were disgusted with her. They had known about the affair for months now, but the two fornicators had eluded being seen together. That is, until today. Today they caught her in the act. They hauled her out, in a state of some undress. They looked at Jesus and said, “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?” You could probably imagine her sobs in the background.
What does Jesus say? Does He ignore her very real sin that was probably ripping a family apart someplace? Does He turn His back on her in indignation and disgust for her inability to keep her hormones in check? Does He point out the obvious neglect on the part of her accusers, that if she was indeed “caught in the act” that there should be a male counterpart there answering for his part in this crime? None of the above.
Instead Jesus simply says, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”
The sounds of her sobbing are still there, but they are joined by another sound. Thud. Thud. Thud. Damp rocks dropping from sweaty palms that had clutched them in righteous anger.
What rocks are you clutching today? What very real sins in the lives of other people are you rightfully and righteously disgusted with? What very real sins do you see destroying the lives of the people around you? What rocks would you throw if it would mean eliminating those sins?
Are those sins any worse than yours? Did Jesus die any less for those sins than He did for yours?
Yes, the sins of other people are real. But so are yours.
Most of the time we miss out on the repentance in this story. No, not of the woman. Not her repentance. But the repentance of the men who dropped the stones. They dropped stones of idolatry, stones that told them they were in the place of God. They repented when they dropped their stones. You can too.
Look around, who is left to condemn you and your rock holding? Neither does He condemn you. Go and sin no more.