In recent weeks, I’ve had several people tell me that Jesus (Yeshua) broke the Old Testament law. One of the commonly cited cases is the story about the adulteress in John 8.
I did an in-depth study of this so we can compare Mainstream teaching vs. God’s word on the matter…
Here is the story from the New King James:
“Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. 3 Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, 4 they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” 6 This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.
7 So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” 8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”
11 She said, “No one, Lord.”
And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
Before we dig in to study this event, let’s try to put ourselves in this situation.
How would you react if you were placed on a jury in a death penalty case? Would you take it seriously? Would you pay close attention, take notes, review the evidence, debate it with your fellow jurors? Or would you show a lack of interest, seeming to not care very much? I think the first description would match my reaction to being on a jury for a capital punishment case.
But in this story, how does Jesus react? He seems a bit disinterested, and writes in the dirt with his finger.
Is it because he didn’t care? No.
Is it because he didn’t take it seriously? No.
The Mainstream teaching of this scripture is Jesus shows that forgiveness and love are more important than following the law to the letter, and that was why He was disinterested in these ‘proceedings’. But that doesn’t make any sense. If Jesus broke the law of Torah, then he sinned and could not be the Messiah (1John 3:4 defines sin as this: “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.”)
We are told numerous times in scripture that Jesus did not sin. Here is one of many examples:
Hebrews 4:15
For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.
So what is going on here?
First, let’s extract some facts from the scripture.
1. The woman is not just accused of adultery, but was caught in the very act. There is no question about her guilt.
2. The scribes and Pharisees were ‘testing him,’ or setting a trap, hoping He would fail.
3. Jesus ignored them, pretending not to hear. He wrote on the ground instead.
Scripture does not tell us what Jesus wrote in the dirt, but I can’t help but wonder if He wrote out Leviticus 20:10, for the Pharisees to see:
“The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death.”
Or maybe Jesus wrote Deuteronomy 17:6-7:
“Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses; he shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness. 7 The hands of the witnesses shall be the first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So you shall put away the evil from among you.”
These verses from Torah are vital to this event, and to this study. How were the Pharisees intending to trap Jesus? It is evident from the scripture that they were not following the requirements of Torah.
1. Leviticus requires both the man and the woman to be brought to justice. The Pharisees only brought the woman for these ‘proceedings’ with Jesus.
2. Deuteronomy requires two or three witnesses of the crime, and the actual witnesses must be the first to throw stones. We are not told how many were actual witnesses, but we are told this in verse 9:
Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last.
We know for a fact that Torah procedure was being violated because the man was not also brought before Jesus. We don’t know how many Pharisees were actual witnesses, but maybe we can speculate there were not two or more, as the Pharisees were not willing to throw the first stone.
Were they convicted by their conscience because they all had sin of their own? Or were they convicted because they knew they were not following Torah?
This woman (caught in the very act) was allowed to go free and avoid death. Events played out this way because at least one, and possibly two, requirements of Torah were not followed.
The Mainstream message teaches us that Jesus neglected stoning her to death out of love and mercy. But I’ll ask this question: What if the Pharisees HAD adhered to the requirements of Torah? What if the man and the woman were accused and brought to justice, as Leviticus requires? What if there were two or more eye-witnesses to the crime, and they were willing to cast the first stone?
Would Jesus have allowed their execution? Absolutely. Why? Because Jesus followed Torah instruction, always. The law given to Moses by God is His will for the people. Jesus always follows the will of the Father.
John 5:30
I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.
Again, if Jesus did not follow the requirements of Torah, it would be counted as sin, and He could not be Messiah.
Some in the Mainstream will use the story of the adulteress to say Jesus did not follow Torah because He showed that forgiveness and love are more important than the law.
Knowing the requirements of Torah allows us to study this event in scripture and see that Jesus did not condemn her BECAUSE Torah WAS followed, not because Jesus failed to follow Torah!!
On a side note, we are taught that the law was harsh. We are taught that the death penalty required by the law was a severe punishment. If you study the law, you will notice that the death penalty is never referred to as punishment. It is always described as a means ‘to purge the evil from among you.’ The death penalty is a protection for the people, not a punishment for the offenders.
