March 21, 2022
“Jesus stooped down and started writing on the ground. When they persisted in questioning Him, He stood up and said to them, 'The one without sin is to cast the first stone...'”
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John 8
“Jesus stooped down and started writing on the ground. When they persisted in questioning Him, He stood up and said to them, ‘The one without sin is to cast the first stone at her.’ Then He stooped down again and continued writing on the ground. When they heard this, they left one by one, starting with the older men. Only He was left, with the woman in the center. When Jesus stood up, He said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ ‘No one, Lord,’ she answered. ‘Neither do I condemn you,’ said Jesus. ‘Go, and from now on, do not sin anymore.’ John 8:6b-11
I have heard many pastors give reasons & assumptions as to what Jesus was doing, writing in the dirt. I have yet to hear any of them quote Jeremiah. I believe that Jesus’ actions fulfilled Jeremiah’s prophecy, indicting Israel’s spiritual leaders for “spiritual adultery.” Being Torah scholars themselves, the Temple leaders eventually caught on to the significance of Jesus’ actions.
“Lord, the hope of Israel, all who abandon You will be put to shame. All who turn away from Me will be written in the dirt, for they have abandoned the fountain of living water.” Jeremiah 17:13
Jeremiah’s prophecy combines the images of the New Testament “writing in the dirt” and “woman at the well” passages. If you recall, Jesus told the woman at the well, “If you knew Who I was, you ask Me, and I would give you Living Water.” John 4:10
Both the woman at the well and the woman in today’s passage were guilty of adultery, yet they were forgiven when they believed in Messiah Jesus by faith. They are seen in sharp contrast to Israel’s spiritual leaders, who refused to acknowledge their spiritual adultery and repent.
“My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to dig cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns which cannot hold water.” Jeremiah 2:13
We are created to worship, designed for a personal spiritual relationship with God. We may reject the Lord, but we cannot abandon our created purpose. People who reject God always adopt some form of false religion, even if that form is atheism.
God is willing to forgive and restore anyone who truly repents, and He is determined to judge and punish all who reject Him. So, is your name written in the “dirt” or the Lamb’s Book of Life?
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