When She Truly Repented

By Mary Vee
John 8 

Peter

Photo by Mary Vee. View from the Mount of Olives facing
the Temple area

My name is Peter, I am a disciple of Jesus.

Photo by Mary Vee, The top of
the Mount of Olives today.

Last time I wrote, I told about the first day we spent with Jesus in the Temple for the Feast of Tabernacles. Jesus taught, answered questions, and, of course, dealt with the Pharisees. At the end of the day, the crowd and Pharisees returned to their homes or inns. 

Jesus didn't have a place to rest that night. No one who was at the Temple followed the custom to invite travelers, in this case, Jesus, into their home for rest.

Jesus walked up a steep road to the Mount of Olives for the evening, the same place where  he taught us how to pray. The next morning he rose early, walked back down the mountain, across the field and into the Temple for another day of the Feast of the Tabernacles.

Many men arrived at the early morning hour for the celebration. They gathered around Jesus. Quiet a few of these people lived far away and seemed interested in hearing Jesus teach one more time before they returned home.

Jesus sat down and prepared to teach. He hadn't spoken long before a group of Pharisees and teachers of the law dragged a woman through the crowd. They forced her to stand before the group then faced Jesus. "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law, Moses commanded us to stone a woman guilty of such a crime. What do you say?" 

The Pharisees scowled while roughly dealing with the woman. Clearly they brought her before Jesus and this crowd to discredit Jesus. 

The crowd watched Jesus, but he didn't look at them, nor the Pharisees. He bent low to the ground and wrote in the dirt with his finger.

The Pharisees asked him again, "What do you say?" They badgered him, refusing to stop pressing him for an answer.

After a few minutes, Jesus stood and faced the Pharisees. He said, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." When finishing these words, Jesus stooped down and wrote again in the dirt. 

Photo by Mary Vee
On top of the Mount of Olives,
the Disciples Prayer is
posted in many languages.

I learned later that Jesus knew what evil the Pharisees had done only the night before. Their sin was greater that the woman's and yet they accused her, and made a show of their superiority in front of the crowds. None of them could stay and punish the woman, and they knew it.

There is only one person who could stay. Only one who had never sinned. The Son of God. And so Jesus looked and saw the accusers had all left, leaving him and the woman. He stood and asked her, "Woman, where are those who accused you? Has no one remained to condemn you?"

She raised her eyes toward him. "No one, sir."

Photo by Mary Vee
This very old olive tree
stands on the Mount of Olives

It was during one of the private times later, when Jesus explained and answered our questions that we learned he saw true repentence in the woman. As God's Son, he had he power to forgive true repentance rather than condemn and make a spectacle of her as the evil Pharisees planned. 

Jesus said, "Then neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin."

What happened next? Next week I will tell you more. 

 Come back to read the next story.

*Author of blog's note: If you have questions, please feel free to leave them in the comment section. I will see them and will answer as best I can or direct you to a source.


*********************************************************************************************

sources: 
*A Harmony of the Gospels for Historical Study, An Analytical Synopsis of the Four Gospels by William Arnold Stevens and Ernest DeWitt Burton, Charles Scribner's Sons, New York 1932
*New International Version, New King James Version. 
*My Bible College training.
*My notes and walk through classes I've taught in Children's church. Answers to student questions, etc.
*Pastoral sermons on this time
*Matthew Henry Commentary
*F. LaGard Smith Commentary
*My notes from my trip to Israel.
*Photos from my trip to Israel.