0316 THE FIRST TRAP

THE FIRST TRAP

Yesterday, while Jesus and the twelve had been traveling toward Jerusalem, there had been quite the debate raging in the temple courts about whether He might be the Messiah or just a man. The Jewish leadership council was very divided on the matter, but it didn’t seem to be garnering too much momentum among the masses.

Early the next morning, Jesus comes to the temple and sits down and begins to teach those who were gathering. It was quite a crowd. It was, after all, the Feast of Booths, and thousands of zealous believers are already milling about the temple area, eager to talk about the things of the God of Israel and to worship in the temple. Every day during the feast, dozens of rabbis station themselves at one of the rabbi benches set around the courtyard, and folks congregate around them and participate in the discussions.

But today, some days into the feast, there is only one rabbi drawing a crowd. Though Jesus had come quietly and without fanfare, it turns out he didn’t need one. Hundreds of people drift over to just one of the benches to hear Rabbi Jesus speak, and eventually the other rabbis themselves give up and join in on the center of attention, the curious itinerant preacher from Galilee.

Apparently, whatever doubts the leaders had been trying to stir up yesterday had yielded the opposite results from what they had intended. More and more people pack into the courtyard to get a glimpse and hear a sample of the Nazarene.

It was time for those scribes and Pharisees to set their first trap with a bold move, guaranteed to split the crowd and dissolve the popularity of this young upstart rabbi.

Suddenly, there’s a bustle-and-noise from behind the crowd, and a whole mob of Pharisees and other religious leaders comes muscling into the middle of the group, half-dragging a woman behind them. She is sobbing and moaning, and is almost completely naked. Her hair is all astrewn like a stork’s nest, and what little clothes she had on had been torn. She had dirt on her face and tear streaks making tracks down her cheeks. Looks like she had been treated pretty badly by somebody. Anyone can guess who.

The teachers of the Law push her to the center, forcing her to stand there, sobbing and ashamed, trying to cover herself until she crumbles into a ball on the floor, struggling to make herself disappear. Then one of the Pharisees shouts the challenge: “Jesus, this woman was caught in the very act of adultery just now. Moses commands us to stone such a woman. What do You say?”

The crowd is stunned into an awkward silence. Looks like the trap has been set, and Jesus is caught in it. No matter what He says, He loses. He either takes a side against Moses and the Law itself, or He condemns a woman at her most vulnerable. The Jewish leaders are standing in a semi-circle around her, facing Jesus, with fists clenched and shaky breathing. They have brought a wall of angry energy designed to draw Jesus into a shouting match.

But Jesus says nothing. Slowly, deliberately, He stands and walks to the woman, to put himself between her and the angry mob of men. Then, just as slowly and deliberately, Jesus removes his outer cloak and drapes it over the woman. Her sobbing stops, and she huddles beneath the protection of His gift. Then He slowly bends down and starts drawing with his finger in the dirt.

After a while of this silence, the leader of the Pharisees can’t stand it any more. “Should she be stoned, or should she not?”

Jesus is in a real pickle now. Looks like this is the end of the line for His popularity, no matter what He says. A slight shifting begins in the back of the crowd as people wait to hear his answer. The opinion of the majority of the men has become one of holy indignation.

Some of the Pharisees lean forward to see what Jesus is writing there in the dirt. “other gods” “graven images” “name in vain” “Sabbath holy.” “father and mother.” “murder.” “adultery.” “steal.” “lie.” “covet.”

“Hey, you self-proclaimed hillbilly prophet! Does she die or does she live?” The mob of men begin picking up rocks, ready to show their love for God by carrying out His vengeance on this sinful lawbreaker before them. The only question is whether to throw them at the woman, or maybe at Jesus. The disciples scoot around to get out of the line of fire, just to be on the safe side.

Finally, Jesus straightens up. He makes careful eye contact with several of the men, and the mob grows quiet again. Jesus says, “If she’s guilty, then stone her, as the law says. But how about this idea: We let the man with no sin throw that first stone?”

Then He stoops down and starts to writing again. It soon becomes clear that He is adding to His list: “lust.” “greed.” “pride.” “judgmental.” The men in the crowd sort of glance sideways at one another and shift uncomfortably in place.

Then in big letters, Jesus writes a name: “Joshua” As He’s finishing the last letter, one of the young men gasps and drops his rock. Several men around him nervously glance over at Joshua, and one at a time it dawns on them what just happened. 

Then He starts writing down some women’s names: “Abigail.” There’s a sudden look of surprise on the face of the oldest man there. He drops his rock right there and slinks away. As Jesus continues to write, more and more men give up and silently leave. Before long, it’s just the twelve and Jesus there with this adulterous woman.

Jesus is kneeling down, half naked in the dusty courtyard. He stands up and turns to the woman, who’s still in a heap, with tears and snot just running down her face. Jesus gently places a hand on his cloak covering her back, and he walks around and squats to look her in the eye. He whispers, “Hey, lady, isn’t there anyone left to condemn you?”

She turns around and looks. “No . . . No one, sir!”

He looks her long in the eye so she grasps all that’s happening right now. Then He whispers, “well, then, I don’t condemn you, either. Now go on your way, and stop sinning.”

She stops crying. No, actually, she keeps crying, but it’s a whole different kind of crying, as you can imagine. She stands, gives Jesus a long and grateful hug, gives Jesus back His cloak, goes back to blubbering, and runs off a different way from the way she came.

Different.

Yep. A completely different way.