This story is recorded in St. John chapter 8. Right above Have you ever wondered.

Have you ever wondered about this? Maybe Jesus wrote “you’re forgiven”. Maybe he wrote “I love you”. I think maybe Jesus wrote the sins of the men who were accusing the woman. Jesus knew everything. Maybe he wrote “Where is the guy she was with?” “What is his part in all of this?” Maybe he wrote all 613 Tzav commands from the Torah.

After all if you are guilty of one sin you are guilty of them all. That would have made all those guys standing around leave one by one. No, that would take too long.

Maybe he just wrote the 10 commandments? No, Jesus didn’t debate the sin. That would make one sin worse than another. Philippians 4:8 says, Whatever is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, good report, virtue, or praise think on these things. Jesus didn’t dwell on her sins or their sins. Jesus documented his authority, by writing his lineage. Jesus wanted to pardon the woman. The Scribes and Pharisees thought they had the authority to stone her.

Do you remember when Jesus was born? Herod had all those babies killed, because Herod and all of Jerusalem were afraid. Those guys knew there was someone out there who had more right to his position of power than Herod did. Matthew 2:3; 16 says: Jesus could have gotten an army and become King of the Jews.

So what was Jesus’ authority?

Matthew 1:1 – 16 (Jesus’s lineage through Joseph) That says he is the rightful heir to the physical throne of the Jews. If Caesar wasn’t in power, Jesus would be the earthly King. Pilate knew Jesus was the “King of the Jews”, he put a sign on the cross that said “King of the Jews” Caiaphas said, reword that. Pilate said no. John 19:19 This gives Jesus more earthly authority than them. Jesus was adopted by Joseph. This was for Jesus’s Body. This made him the Son of David.

(Jesus’s lineage through Mary- Zacharias) Luke 1:5 says; John’s father Zacharias was a Priest. Luke 1:10 says that Zacharias was the High Priest. Once a year the High Priest went into the Holy of Holies. At this time in history the incense was in the Holy of Holies. It was the time of incense, so he was the High Priest. When John was a child, Pilate appointed Caiaphas to be the High Priest. (From the Jewish Encyclopedia). John should have become High Priest at age 30, but Caiaphas was too politically entrenched. John 11:48 says “If this man continues, we will lose our position.” When John was beheaded, Jesus was next in line to be the High Priest.

(Jesus’s lineage through Mary- Elizabeth) Luke 1:36 Remember Mary went to visit Elizabeth when they were both pregnant. The Bible says they were cousins. Luke 1:5 says that Elisabeth was of the daughters of Aaron. This gives Jesus more authority in the temple, than any of the other guys. Jesus should have been the High Priest. Jesus had the authority to pardon a sinner, or condemn a sinner. John the Baptist should have been the High Priest through both his Mother and his Father. This was for Jesus Soul. This made him the Son of Man. And Jesus was the priest after the order of Melchizeadek. Hebrews 5:5; 6 & 10. This was for Jesus’s Spirit. This made him the Son of God.

So when Jesus wrote on the ground one time he wrote his lineage from Mary and one time he wrote his lineage from Joseph. When the men reading his lineage saw that Jesus had more authority than they did, they left, one at a time, as they saw Jesus’s lineage superior to their own lineage. Jesus didn’t argue about sin. He simply stated his authority. Then he began a verbal debate as to who his heavenly Father was.

Let’s read St. John chapter 8…

1. Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
2. Jesus went to the temple and he taught the people. In the temple the High Priest has all the authority.
3. The scribes and Pharisees brought him an adulterous woman.
4. They told Jesus she was taken in the very act!
5. Moses law says we should stone her. What do you say?
6. They were trying to trap Jesus. Jesus pretended that he didn’t hear them. He wrote with his finger on the ground.
7. Jesus said, he who is sinless through the first stone. (Those self righteous guys would not have admitted to a sin)

8. And he wrote some more stuff on the ground. This is the 2nd writing.
9. And the men left. One by one. Starting with the oldest to the youngest.
10. Jesus stood up, and asked the woman, Who is still condemning you?
11. She said, no one, Boss. Jesus responded, I am not condemning you. Go and sin no more.
12. Jesus said, I am the light of life. (Not death)(Not stoning)
13. (Here is the key) The Pharisees said. “Thou BEAREST record of thyself;” The Pharisees did not say “ you said”. They said you BEAR your record of yourself. When he BEAR record of himself, this is when he wrote on the ground. When they said THYSELF, Jesus was not discussing the woman or anyone’s sin. Jesus was writing about HIMSELF. And your record is not true.
14. Jesus said, is so true. I know where I came from and I know where I am going. But you don’t know where I came from or where I am going. (When he said I know where I came from, he was talking about his lineage.) I know who my Fathers are.
15. Jesus told them, you judge me because of my lineage. But I don’t.
16. But what I wrote is true. And more than that, my Father is in me. This begins the debate as to who his heavenly Father was.

17. Your law says if two men say the same thing. That makes it true.

18. I am one, and my Father is two. So there!
19. So the Pharisees asked Jesus, Where is your Father? Jesus said you don’t know me and you don’t know my Father. If you knew me you would know Him.
20. Jesus had this discussion in the temple. It wasn’t time for him to die yet. In the temple the High Priest has the authority.
21. Jesus said; I am leaving now. You will hunt for me, where I am going you can’t come. You will die in your sins. Where I am going you can’t come.
22. The Jews said,” will Jesus kill himself”? Because he said, Where I am going you cannot come.
23. Jesus said, You are from below, I am from above. (He was talking about where he was from) You are human, I am not. Now he is arguing about the fact that the Holy Spirit is his Father.
24. Jesus said you will die in your sins. Because if you don’t believe who I am, you will die in your sins.
25. They said; Who are you? Jesus said, I already told you.
26. Jesus said; I could judge you for many things. But the guy who sent me is true, and I only say what he tells me to say. (I could get you in a lot of trouble but, God my Father wouldn’t like that)
27. They did not understand that he was talking about the Father.
28. Jesus said, when you put this human man on the cross, you will know that I am the messiah, and I only say what my Father tells me to say.
29. My Father is with me and he is pleased with me.
30. Many people believed him.
31. Jesus said to the believers, If you listen to what I say, then you are my disciples
32. And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.
33. They said Abraham is our Father, and we have never been bound. How can you say we will be free?
34. Jesus said; If you commit a sin, you are in bondage to sin.
35. The servant doesn’t live in the house forever. But the Son lives in the house forever. (Here Jesus is saying that his lineage is perfect. There was no illegitimates in his lineage.)
36. The Son is the master of the house and if he makes you free, you will be free.
37. I know who your father is. It is Abraham. But you are trying to kill me, because you don’t like what I say.
38. I say what I have seen my Father say. And you do what you have seen your Father do.
39. They said,” Abraham is our Father”. Jesus said, If Abraham was your Father you would do what Abraham did.
40. But now you are trying to kill me, and I told you the truth, which God told me, Abraham didn’t do this.
41. You do what your Father did. They said we are not illegitimate. We have one Father. God.
42. Jesus said if God was your Father, you would love me.
43. You can’t understand me, because you can’t hear me.
44. Your Father is the devil. And you will do what he wants. He was a murderer from the start.(Now, Jesus is talking about the woman taken in adultery.) The devil is a liar and the father of lies.

45. And you don’t believe me.
46. Why don’t you believe me?
47. If you were of God, you would hear his words. But you don’t hear them because God is not your Father.
48. The Jews said, Hah! We said you were a Samaritan, and you have a devil.
49. Jesus said, I do not have a devil.
50. God hunts and judges, not me.
51. If you do what I say, you won’t ever die.
52. The Jews said, Oh now we know you have a devil, because Abraham and the prophets are dead. You say, that if we do what you say, we won’t die.
53. Are you greater than Abraham and the prophets? (The prophets are some of the guys in his lineage that he wrote on the ground.) They died! Who made you?
54. I am trying to honor God here. You say he is your God.
55. You don’t know him. I know him.
56. Abraham was looking forward to this time in history and he was happy when he saw it.
57. The Jews said, you aren’t even fifty years old yet. And you say you have seen Abraham?
58. Jesus said, I was in existence, before Abraham.
59. So they decided to stone Jesus, but Jesus hid and escaped.

Some key things to remember here. This happened in the temple. Jesus knelt down and wrote on the ground twice. The first time he wrote his lineage. He looked up and there was still some guys standing around. After noting who they were, he knelt down and wrote his other lineage. One lineage from Mary, and one from Joseph. Writing it made it a legal document. Jesus wrote a legal document stating his lineage which gave him more authority than anyone else, in the temple. Kind of like going to the courthouse to make a statement.

John took up the same argument. John knew his own lineage. John knew Jesus lineage.
Matthew 3:9 John says to the Pharisees and Sadducees, don’t tell me Abraham is your Father. God is able to raise up children of Abraham using these stones. I don’t care about where you came from there is one mightier than even me. Matthew 3:11. The moral here is, if someone condemns you, know that Jesus has more authority than they do. You can be condemned in your spirit or soul or body. But don’t be, because Jesus will pardon you, he has the authority to.

So let’s talk about your family tree. St. John 15:5 Jesus said, I am the vine, ye are the branches.There you have it, we are in the same family tree! You are a joint heir with Christ. He is your brother. You have been adopted, grafted in, you have the same authority as Jesus. As a King and a Priest you can condemn and kill or you can pardon and forgive and love. The choice is up to you.

Part 2

Let’s go to the outer court of the temple. Let’s go near the altar. This is where a live animal was brought and the priest would field dress it, and sacrifice it. Now if during field dressing the bladder was punctured or torn, and urine was spilt on the ground, that dirt was toxic. If you would go to another part of the outer court, say near the laver, or just somewhere out there, the dirt would not be harmful.

If a woman (or a man) was suspected of adultery, they would bring her to the High Priest. He would take water from the spring and put some wine in it. They would take the woman and sprinkle some dust from the ground in it and make her drink it. If she became sick, she was thought to be guilty. If she stayed healthy, she was innocent. I think the priest knew where to get the dirt. They brought the woman who was caught in the act of adultery to Jesus.

This act in itself says that those Pharisees acknowledged Jesus as the High Priest. They brought the woman and the cup. When Jesus knelt down on the ground, they thought He was going to scoop up some dirt and add it to the cup. But He didn’t. He simply wrote his lineage. You see they had already acknowledged that He was the High Priest. The best way for them and their positions was to walk away.

Forever in His Love,
Diane Sutton