When I was a theology student, I learned about how Jesus used to teach in the temple. During
one of his teachings, Jesus was faced with the hardest decision of his ministry after he was
brought a woman that had sinned and was required to pass judgment. However, being full of
wisdom and knowledge, Jesus bent over and wrote something in the sand before facing those
who had brought in the woman. As a student of the Bible, I remember asking my teacher,
“what did Jesus write in the sand?”
In this article, I will discuss what Jesus said to the adulterous woman and why the adulterous
woman was brought to Jesus. Join me as we examine this topic and discover what religious
scholars speculate Jesus wrote in the sand. Stick around for more!
What did Jesus say to the adulterous woman?
According to John 8:10, after the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law had brought to him a woman who had been caught committing adultery, Jesus stood, faced the woman, and asked her where the people had gone to, as he wondered why there was none left to condemn her. “He straightened himself up and said to her, “where are they? Is there no one left to condemn you?” the above statement is the first one that Jesus said to the adulterous woman to show that, indeed, everyone in the multitude had sinned one way or another and did not have the power or the authority to judge the woman.
John 8:11 goes on to say, “No one, sir,” she answered. “Well, then,” Jesus said, “I do not condemn you either. Go, but do not sin again.” This scripture shows that Jesus does what he usually preached: forgiveness. Additionally, Jesus let go of the woman as he knew that the people that had brought in the woman were not seeking fair justice, and the scripture required them to seek sincere justice. Deuteronomy 16:20 says, “Always be fair and just, so that you will occupy the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you will continue to live there.”
Why was the adulterous woman brought to Jesus?
According to the scripture in John 8:4-5, the adulterous woman was brought to Jesus so that he could pass his judgment on her. “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. In our Law, Moses commanded that such a woman be stoned to death. Now, what do you say?”
We cannot fully conclude if the accusations made towards the woman were true or false, as the teachers of the Law and Pharisees had been previously caught lying about Jesus. Also, if it is true that the woman had been caught committing adultery, Jesus was supposed to pass his judgment on two people, the man and the woman, and not the woman alone. Some bible scholars also suggest that it was safe for the Pharisees and teachers of the Law to bring this kind of case to Jesus, as it was likely to contradict his judgment, as he had to uphold the Law of Moses, and at the same time practicing forgiveness he preached about.
If Jesus had acted faster on his judgment and ordered the woman to be stoned to death as the Law of Moses required in Leviticus 20:10, “If a man commits adultery with the wife of a fellow Israelite, both he and the woman shall be put to death,” he would have been accused of breaking the Roman Law, as the Jews were not allowed to pass physical punishment to people. This could have given the teachers of Law and the Pharisees a reason to hand Jesus over to the Roman government.
On the other hand, if Jesus had forgiven the adulterous woman, he could have been accused of disregarding the Law of Moses. He could lose a massive following of the Jews listening to his preachings. Jesus handled the matter at hand by preserving both the Laws of Moses and the Romans while practicing forgiveness, an act that he greatly talked about.
What do religious scholars speculate Jesus wrote in the sand?
Since no scripture has told us the exact words that Jesus wrote in the sand except that he did the writings twice, most religious scholars have gone ahead and speculated what Jesus wrote in the sand, judging from the people that brought the woman to him, what the Law required him to do and why the woman was brought to him alone and not the man.
Most theologians and religious scholars suggest that Jesus wrote the names of all present at the temple and the sins they had committed before facing them. They state that this was the main reason they all left, from the oldest to the youngest, as they were too stunned and ashamed that Jesus knew them so much more than they had imagined. John 8:8-9 “Then he bent over again and wrote on the ground. When they heard this, they all left, one by one, the older ones first. Jesus was left alone, with the woman still standing there.”
Another exciting speculation is that unlike the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees that had brought the adulterous woman before Jesus without the man, he was upholding the Law by first writing down the name of the accused and the sentence he was to pass on her.
This speculation can be looked at from several points, the first being that Jesus wanted to uphold the Law before speaking to the prosecutors. According to Hebrew history, witnesses had to confirm that the accusations were true whenever people were caught committing adultery. A particular ceremony would be carried out that would produce the judgment of the accused.
Then, the High Priest was required to write down the name of those accused and the sins they had committed before passing judgment. Through this, Jesus wanted to trick the Pharisees into thinking that he was about to give his judgment and that he would not be accused of not following the proper procedures of passing judgment on a sinner according to the Hebrews law.
Some religious scholars have also speculated that Jesus did not write anything in the sand. This is interesting because, unlike other scholars who strongly believe Jesus must have written in the sand, some think otherwise. In their argument, these scholars insist that Jesus had no intention of bending down the temple to write, but he was scribbling on the temple floor to give the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law enough time to think through what he had just told them.
We see in John 8:8 Jesus bent down again and wrote something on the ground for the second time after giving his first response. The scholars imply that he only bent down the second time to allow the people to understand what he had just told them, which led them to leave the temple one after the other.
Another speculation that religious scholars have made over the years is that perhaps the adulterous woman had been brought to the temple while still naked, and Jesus wrote in the sand to avoid seeing her. We cannot conclude that one speculation is more intense than the other, as no one truly knows what Jesus’s exact writings in the sand were.
The last speculation scholars have come up with over the years is that Jesus did not want the adulterous woman to feel alone, as she was being humiliated, which made him bend down as a sign of not judging the woman. When we imagine the scene in the temple that day, it is clear that everyone else stood up, ready to stone the woman, without considering if the accusation was true. Jesus bent down to show the woman that he would not judge her directly like other people in the temple. We cannot conclude that one speculation is more intense than the other, as no one truly knows what Jesus’s exact writings in the sand were.
As a devout Christian, I have always been passionate about the Christian faith. This inspired me to pursue a degree in Religious studies and a Masters in Theology in college. I have also been privileged to teach 4 Christian courses in a college and university. Since I am dedicated to spreading the word of God, I am actively involved in the Church. Additionally, I share his word online and cover diverse topics on the Christian faith through my platform. You can read more about me on the about us page.
