Lecture 1 — The woman caught in adultery

^8:1^ And Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. [n. 1119]

^8:2^ And early in the morning he came again into the temple. All the people came to him, and sitting down, he taught them. [n. 1120]

^8:3^ And the scribes and the Pharisees brought to him a woman caught in adultery, and they set her in the midst. [n. 1123]

^8:4^ And said to him: Master, this woman was just now caught in adultery. [n. 1125]

^8:5^ Now Moses commanded us in the law to stone such a woman. But what do you say? [n. 1127]

^8:6^ And they said this tempting him, that they might accuse him. But Jesus, bending down, wrote with his finger on the ground. [n. 1130]

^8:7^ When they continued asking him, he lifted himself up and said to them: he who is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. [n. 1132]

^8:8^ And again bending down, he wrote on the ground. [n. 1134]

^8:9^ But hearing this, they left one by one, beginning with the eldest. And Jesus alone remained, and the woman standing in the midst. [n. 1135]

^8:10^ Then Jesus, lifting himself up, said to her: woman, where are they who accused you? Has no man condemned you? [n. 1136]

^8:11^ She said: no one, Lord. And Jesus said: neither will I condemn you. Go, and sin no more. [n. 1138]

1118. After having treated of the origin of the doctrine of Christ, the Evangelist here considers its power. Now the doctrine of Christ has the power both to enlighten and to give life, because his words are spirit and life.

So first, he treats of the power of Christ’s doctrine to enlighten;

second, of its power to give life: amen, amen I say to you: he who does not enter by the door into the sheepfold but climbs in another way is a thief and a robber (John 10:1).

He shows the power of Christ’s doctrine to enlighten, first by words; and

second, by a miracle: and Jesus, passing by, saw a man blind from birth (John 9:1).

As to the first, he does two things:

first, he presents the teaching of Christ;

second, he shows the power of his teaching, at Jesus spoke to them again (John 8:12).

There are two things that pertain to the office of a teacher: to instruct the devout or sincere, and to repel opponents.

So first, Christ instructs those who are sincere; and

second, he repels his opponents, at and the scribes and Pharisees brought to him a woman caught in adultery.

The Evangelist does three things with respect to the first: first, he mentions the place where this teaching takes place; second, he mentions those who listened to it; and third, the teacher.

This teaching took place in the temple; so he first mentions that Jesus left the temple, and then that he returned.

1119. He mentions that Jesus left the temple when he says, and Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. For our Lord made it his practice, when he was at Jerusalem on the festival days, to preach in the temple and to work miracles and signs during the day, and when evening came, he would return to Bethany, which was on the Mount of Olives as the guest of Lazarus’ sisters, Martha and Mary. With this in mind, the Evangelist says that since Jesus had remained in the temple and preached on the last day of the great feast, in the evening, and Jesus went to the Mount of Olives, where Bethany was located.

And this is appropriate to a mystery: for as Augustine says, where was it appropriate for Christ to teach and show his mercy, if not on the Mount of Olives, the mount of anointing and of grace. The olive signifies mercy; so also in Greek, oleos is the same as mercy. And we are told that the Samaritan applied oil and wine, which correspond to mercy and the stringency of judgment (Luke 10:24). Again, oil is healing: wounds and bruises and swelling sores are not bandaged or dressed, or soothed with oil (Isa 1:6). It also signifies the medicine of spiritual grace which has been transmitted to us by Christ: God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows (Ps 44:8); and again, like the precious ointment on the head which ran down upon the beard (Ps 132:2).

1120. Christ’s return to the temple is described as being early; thus he says, and early in the morning he came again into the temple. This signifies that he was about to impart knowledge and manifest his grace in his temple, that is, in his believers: we have received your mercy, O God, in the middle of your temple (Ps 47:10).

The fact that he returned early in the morning signifies the rising light of new grace: his going forth is as sure as the dawn (Hos 6:3).

1121. Those who listened to his teaching were the sincere among the people; thus he says, all the people came to him: the assembly of the people will surround you (Ps 7:8).

1122. Their teacher is presented as seated, and sitting down, that is, going down to their level, so that his teaching would be more easily understood. His sitting down signifies the humility of his incarnation: you knew when I sat down, and when I rose (Ps 138:1). Because it was through the human nature that our Lord assumed that he became visible, we began to be instructed in the divine matters more easily. So he says, sitting down, he taught them, that is, the simple, and those who respected his teaching: he will teach his ways to the gentle, and will guide the mild in judgment (Ps 24:9); he will teach us his ways (Isa 2:3).

1123. Then, at and the scribes and Pharisees brought to him a woman caught in adultery, our Lord wards off his opponents.

First, we see him tested, so that he can then be accused; and

second, he checks his accusers, at but Jesus, bending down, wrote with his finger on the ground.

As to the first, the Evangelist does three things:

first, he mentions the occasion for the test;

second, he describes the test itself, at and said to him: Master, this woman was just now caught in adultery;

and third, the purpose of those who were testing our Lord, at and they said this tempting him.

1124. The occasion for the test is a woman’s adultery. And so first, her accusers detail the crime; and also exhibit the sinner.

As to the first, the Evangelist says, then the scribes and Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. As Augustine says, three things were noteworthy about Christ: his truth, his gentleness, and his justice. Indeed, it was predicted about him: Go forth and reign, because of truth, gentleness, and justice (Ps 44:5). For he set forth the truth as a teacher; and the Pharisees and scribes noticed this while he was teaching: if I say the truth to you, why do you not believe me? (John 8:46). Since they could find nothing false in his words or his teachings, they had ceased their accusations on that score.

He showed his gentleness as a liberator or savior; and they saw this when he could not be provoked against his enemies and persecutors: when he was reviled, he did not revile (1 Pet 2:23). Thus: learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart (Matt 11:29). Thus they did not accuse him on this point.

And he exercised justice as its advocate; he did this because it was not yet known among the Jews, especially in legal proceedings. It was on this point that they wanted to test him, to see if he would abandon justice for the sake of mercy. So they present him with a known crime, deserving denunciation, adultery: every woman who is a harlot will be walked on like dung on the road (Sir 9:10). Then they present the sinner in person to further influence him: and they set her in the midst. This woman will be brought into the assembly, and among the sons of God (Sir 23:24).

1125. The Evangelist, at and said to him: Master, this woman was just now caught in adultery, shows them proceeding with their test.

First, they point out the woman’s fault;

second, they state the justice of the case according to the law;

third, they ask him for his verdict.

1126. They point out the woman’s fault when they say this woman was just now caught in adultery. They detail her fault in three ways, calculated to deflect Christ from his gentle manner. First, they mention the freshness of her fault, saying just now; for an old fault does not affect us so much, because the person might have made amends.

Second, they note its certainty, saying, caught, so that she could not excuse herself. This is characteristic of women: she wipes her mouth and says: I have done no evil (Prov 30:20).

Third, they point out that her fault is great, in adultery, which is a serious crime and the cause of many evils*. Every woman who is adulterous will sin* (Sir 9), and first of all against the law of her God.

1127. They appeal to the justice contained in the law when they remark, in the law, that is, in Leviticus (Lev 20:10) and in Deuteronomy (Deut 22:21), Moses commanded us to stone such a woman.

1128. They ask Jesus for his verdict when they say, but what do you say? Their question is a trap, for they are saying in effect: if he decides that she should be let go, he will not be acting according to justice, yet he cannot condemn her because he came to seek and to save those who are lost: for God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him (John 3:17). Now the law could not command anything unjust. Thus, Jesus does not say, let her go, lest he seem to be acting in violation of the law.

1129. The Evangelist reveals the malicious intention behind those who were questioning Jesus when he says, they said this tempting him, that they might accuse him. For they thought that Christ would say that she should be let go, so as not to be acting contrary to his gentle manner; and then they would accuse him of acting in violation of the law: let us not test Christ as they did (1 Cor 10:9).

1130. Then, at but Jesus, bending down, wrote with his finger on the ground, Jesus checks his enemies by his wisdom. The Pharisees were testing him on two points: his justice and his mercy. But Jesus preserved both in his answer.

First, the Evangelist shows how Jesus kept to what was just; and

second, that he did not abandon mercy, at he lifted himself up and said to them.

As to the first, he does two things:

first, he mentions the sentence in accordance with justice;

second the effect of this sentence, at but hearing this, they left one by one.

About the first he does three things:

first, we see Jesus writing his sentence;

then pronouncing it; and

third, continuing again to write it down.

1131. Jesus wrote his sentence on the earth with his finger: but Jesus, bending down, wrote with his finger on the ground. Some say that he wrote the words: O earth, earth, listen . . . write down this man as sterile (Jer 22:29). According to others, and this is the better opinion, Jesus wrote down the very words he spoke, that is, he who is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. However, neither of these opinions is certain.

Jesus wrote on the earth for three reasons. First, according to Augustine, to show that those who were testing him would be written on the earth: O Lord, all who leave you will be written on the earth (Jer 17:13). But those who are just and the disciples who follow him are written in heaven: rejoice, because your names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20). Second, he wrote on earth to show that he would perform signs on earth, for he who writes make signs. Thus, to write on the earth is to make signs. And so he says that Jesus was bending down, by the mystery of the incarnation, by means of which he performed miracles in the flesh he had assumed. Third, he wrote on the earth because the old law was written on tablets of stone (Exod 31; 2 Cor 3), which signify its harshness: a man who violates the law of Moses dies without mercy (Heb 10:28). But the earth is soft. And so Jesus wrote on the earth to show the sweetness and the softness of the new law that he gave to us.

We can see from this that there are three things to be considered in giving sentences. First, there should be kindness in lowering oneself before those to be punished; and so he says, Jesus, bending down: there is judgment without mercy to him who does not have mercy (Jas 2:13); if a man is overtaken in any fault, you who are spiritual instruct him in a spirit of mildness (Gal 6:1). Second, there should be discretion in determining the judgment and so he says that Jesus wrote with his finger, which because of its flexibility signifies discretion: the fingers of a man’s hand appeared, writing (Dan 5:5). Third, there should be certitude about the sentence given; and so he says, Jesus wrote.

1132. It was at their insistence that Jesus gave his sentence; and so the Evangelist says, when they continued asking him, he lifted himself up and said to them: he who is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. The Pharisees were violators of the law; and yet they tried to accuse Christ of violating the law and were attempting to make him condemn the woman. So Christ proposes a sentence in accord with justice, saying, he who is without sin. He is saying in effect: let the sinner be punished, but not by sinners; let the law be accomplished, but not by those who break it, because when you judge another you condemn yourself (Rom 2:1). Therefore, either let this woman go, or suffer the penalty of the law with her.

1133. Here the question arises as to whether a sinful judge sins by passing sentence against another person who has committed the same sin. It is obvious that if the judge who passes sentence is a public sinner, he sins by giving scandal. Yet, this seems to be true also if his sin is hidden, for we read: when you judge another you condemn yourself (Rom 2:1). However, it is clear that no one condemns himself except by sinning. And thus it seems that he sins by judging another.

My answer to this is that two distinctions have to be made. For the judge is either continuing in his determination to sin, or he has repented of his sins; and again, he is either punishing as a minister of the law or on his own initiative. Now if he has repented of his sin, he is no longer a sinner, and so he can pass sentence without sinning. But if he continues in his determination to sin, he does not sin in passing sentence if he does this as a minister of the law; although he would be sinning by doing the very things for which he deserves a similar sentence. But if he passes sentence on his own authority, then I say that he sins in justice, but from some evil root; otherwise he would first punish in himself what he notices in someone else, because a just person is the first to accuse himself (Prov 18:17).

1134. Jesus continued to write, and again bending down, he wrote. He did this, first, to show the firmness of his sentence, God is not like a man, who may lie, or like a son of man, so that he may change (Num 23:19).

Second, he did it to show that they were not worthy to look at him. Because he had disturbed them with his zeal for justice, he did not think it fit to look at them, but turned from their sight.

Third, he did this out of consideration for their embarrassment, to give them complete freedom to leave.

1135. The effect of his justice is their embarrassment, but hearing this, they left one by one, both because they had been involved in more serious sins and their conscience gnawed them more: iniquity came out from the elder judges who were seen to rule the people (Dan 13:5), and because they better realized the fairness of the sentence he gave: I will go therefore to the great men and speak to them: for they have known the way of the Lord and the judgment of their God (Jer 5:5). And Jesus alone remained, and the woman standing in the midst, that is, mercy and misery. Jesus alone remained because he alone was without sin; as the Psalm says: there is no one who does what is good not even one, except Christ (Ps 13:1). So perhaps this woman was afraid, and thought she would be punished by him.

If only Jesus remained, why does it say that the woman was standing there in the midst? I answer that the woman was standing in the center of the disciples, and so the word alone excludes outsiders, not the disciples. Or, we could say, in the midst, that is, in doubt whether she would be forgiven or condemned. And so it is clear that our Lord’s answer preserved justice.

1136. Then, at then Jesus lifting himself up, said to her, he shows that Jesus did not abandon mercy, but gave a merciful sentence.

First, Jesus questions the woman;

then forgives her;

and finally, cautions her.

1137. Jesus questioned her about her accusers; thus he says that Jesus, lifting himself up, that is, turning from the ground on which he was writing and looking at the woman, said to her: woman, where are they who accused you? He asks about her condemnation saying, has no man condemned you? And she answers, no one, Lord.

1138. Jesus forgives her; and so it says, then Jesus said: neither will I condemn you, I who perhaps you feared would condemn you, because you saw that I was without sin. This should not surprise us for God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him (John 3:17); I do not desire the death of the sinner (Ezek 18:23).

And he forgave her sin without imposing any penance on her because since he made her inwardly just by outwardly forgiving her, he was well able to change her so much within by sufficient sorrow for her sins that she would be made free from any penance. This should not be taken as a precedent for anyone to forgive another without confession and the assigning of a penance on the ground of Christ’s example, for Christ has power over the sacraments, and could confer the effect without the sacrament. No mere man can do this.

1139. Finally, Jesus cautions her when he says, go, and sin no more. There were two things in that woman: her nature and her sin. Our Lord could have condemned both. For example, he could have condemned her nature if he had ordered them to stone her, and he could have condemned her sin if he had not forgiven her. He was also able to absolve each. For example, if he had given her license to sin, saying: go, live as you wish, and put your hope in my freeing you. No matter how much you sin, I will free you even from Gehenna and from the tortures of hell. But our Lord does not love sin, and does not favor wrongdoing, and so he condemned her sin but not her nature, saying, go, and sin no more. We see here how kind our Lord is because of his gentleness, and how just he is because of his truth.