HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, September 9, 2026 – One of my favourite parts of John’s gospel is the section at the start of Chapter 8 about the woman caught in adultery. In those verses, we see how Jesus dealt with her compared to how the scribes and Pharisees wanted her dealt with. You can read the verses here.

First of all, you can tell by the triumphant tone of the scribes and Pharisees that they thought the whole issue was a slam-dunk. Not only was the Commandment rock-solid that adultery was forbidden, but Jewish law stated that those who committed that sin were to be stoned to death. The woman had been caught in the act, presumably by more than one witness, and had said nothing in her own defence, which indicated that she had acknowledged her guilt. Although the verses don’t describe the woman, you can imagine the disheveled state of her hair and clothing, her tear-streaked face that she tried unsuccessfully to hide as she was dragged (paraded) through the streets. You can imagine her agonizing shame at the jeers and leers that were thrown at her, possibly even by people who knew her and/or her family. You can imagine that for the woman caught “in the very act”, this was likely the very worst moment of her life.

Enter Jesus. As was his habit, he’d been teaching in the temple, using the loose dirt on the ground as a chalkboard and his finger as chalk. He likely heard the commotion caused by the vigilantes long before he saw them, and once he did see them, he knew exactly what they were up to: They had come to tempt him.

In response, Jesus immediately steeled himself to deal with his tempters by opening an emergency prayer line to God.

After the scribes and Pharisees had presented the woman to Jesus and described her sin, Jesus appeared to ignore them. Scripture states that he leaned down and continued to finger-write on the ground as if they weren’t even there. The verse literally states that he acted “as if he heard them not”, which indicates that he not only probably hadn’t said a word to them yet, but he hadn’t reacted to them in any way.

You can imagine the accusers’ barely suppressed outrage at Jesus’ unexpected silence. You can imagine the restless quiet of the mob that had followed the posse to the temple. Perhaps the only sounds for the better part of a minute were the woman’s muffled sobs punctured by the occasional “Stone her!”… until Jesus finally emerged from his deep huddle with God, rose to his feet, and stated calmly: “He that is without sin among you, let him cast the first stone at her.”

They hadn’t expected this. They hadn’t expected their “gotcha!” moment to be thrown back in their faces. By publicly presenting the woman to Jesus, they had publicly deferred to his authority, meaning that they had to accept whatever he decreed. And what he decreed was that whoever was sinless among them—and only whoever was sinless—should begin the stoning.

Now, the scribes and Pharisees were a lot of things, but ignorant of the law was not one of them. They knew that if they presented themselves as sinless, they’d be guilty of blasphemy. The tables had been turned; the hunters were now prey. Knowing this, they had no choice but to withdraw themselves, which they did, leaving Jesus more or less alone with the woman.

The magnitude of God’s mercy is evident in the few words Jesus then exchanged with her. Jesus knew (because he knew people’s hearts) that the woman was deeply remorseful for what she’d done. He also knew that she was grateful to him for rescuing her. But sin is sin, and even when it’s resolved through God’s mercy, a finger of warning must be raised. This Jesus did by telling her not to sin again.

If I were a betting person, I’d bet that Jesus stared the woman straight in the face when he gave her the warning. I’d bet that the look in his eyes and the timbre of his voice stayed with her for the rest of her days, so that if she for even a brief moment so much as entertained a sinful thought, she’d see those eyes again and hear that voice. He gave her a second – but only a second – chance. If she sinned again, there’d be no more chances and no more mercy.

Ironically, Jesus himself could have initiated the stoning of the woman caught in adultery, since he was in fact the only one among them who was sinless. But he chose instead, under God’s guidance, to give the woman a second chance underscored by a final warning. This was mercy, yes, but not limitless mercy, not the “tolerant of sin” type of pseudo mercy that has become characteristic of so-called Christian dealings with the world. We are never to be tolerant of sin – NEVER – but we should also always be ready to extend mercy to the genuinely penitent when God indicates we should do so. We’ll know who are genuinely penitent because God will let us know, like he let Jesus know when he was seemingly off in his own little world, writing in the dirt.

Spiritually, we have all been that woman caught in adultery, in the very act. Had we not been, we wouldn’t be born again. We’ve all been given our second chance—our rebirth is our second chance—along with the warning not to sin again. Many of us have unwittingly come close to that precipice, only to be hauled back at the last second.

May we always be hauled back.