There’s a story in John’s gospel that doesn’t appear in the original text…but perfectly fits the context. It’s a story about Jesus and the Pharisees…and a woman who, seemingly by chance, got caught in the act of adultery. 

If we ignore the context, we come out with a mysterious situation…and one full of conjectures and a variety of interpretations. Why did the Pharisees happen to discover this sordid situation…obviously taking place behind closed doors? Why were they so keen to drag the guilty woman before Jesus but leave the equally guilty man behind! Of course, it takes two to tango!

What was their motive for setting this up, if it was a setup? Was this about the woman and her guilt…the rightness of punishing her according the law of Moses…or about something more sinister? 

In the background, another Jewish festival was in progress…the Feast of Tabernacles, the last feast of the Jewish calendar year. Jesus arrived late for the feast after a tangle with His brothers… but just in time for the closing ceremony. The high priest was pouring out a jug of water on the ground. What did this mean?

“Pouring water during the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) was a symbolic prayer and ritual asking God for rain and celebrating His spiritual and physical provision.” (Google AI)

For Jesus, water had a far greater significance. It symbolised the life  of God, in the person of His Spirit, available and given to anyone who was thirsty. So, He called out in a loud voice and made the offer to anyone who would come to Him. 

“On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.””

‭‭John‬ ‭7‬:‭37‬-‭38‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Jesus’ invitation was the culmination of centuries of Israel’s defiance. In the words of Jeremiah…

“This is what the Lord says: “What fault did your ancestors find in me, that they strayed so far from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves… “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭2‬:‭5‬, ‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“In John 7:37, the “water” or “living water” that Jesus offers symbolizes the Holy Spirit, who brings spiritual life and eternal satisfaction to believers.”

(Google AI)

Let’s watch how this scene played  out. 

Not only did the Pharisees reject Jesus’ offer of ”living water” but they also planned to arrest Him for blasphemy.  They sent the temple guards to do the job…but the guards returned empty handed. They were mesmerised by Jesus’ words. 

“Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?” “No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards replied.”

‭‭John‬ ‭7‬:‭45‬-‭46‬ ‭NIV‬‬

So, against this backdrop, the Pharisees devised a plan. 

They happened, conveniently, to find and, consequently, dragged an adulterous woman before Jesus for His verdict. Would He forgive her and in doing so, violate the law of Moses or…would He condemn her and go against His own nature?

Jesus did something else…He said nothing. Instead, He bent down and wrote on the ground.  Now, here’s the puzzle. Why did He write, with His finger, on the ground? What did He write? 

There have been many guesses at what He wrote! Amazingly enough…the Bible itself gives us the answer…and in context! Jesus knew the Word…and so did the Pharisees! After all, He is the Word! 

What Jesus wrote in the dust shocked the Pharisees so much that they quietly slunk away and left the woman at Jesus’ feet. 

“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? …Lord, you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the Lord, the spring of living water.”

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭17‬:‭9‬, ‭13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

There it is…as clear as daylight! What did Jesus write? The names of every Pharisee involved in the scam! What was Jesus saying…without saying a word?

“i know you. I know your hearts. I  know your guilt…and I know your names!”

Jesus knew that these men had rejected His offer of living water. They were bent on trapping Him…in the end, to kill Him. He knew their plot and the setup they had created…and the names of every one of them. 

So He wrote their names in the dust…as a warning…a verdict…and a sentence! 

The perpetrators were shocked…guilty, and terrified…so they quietly disappeared!

There was another spinoff of Jesus’ action. An indictment and a guilty verdict needed at least two witnesses according to Mosaic law…so He made the witnesses go away!

The witnesses gone, Jesus was exonerated. He could apply His mercy, forgive the guilty woman, and set her free.