Our question for this series is how should Christ followers respond to injustice? In the first part of our series, we looked at what Jesus taught, specifically during the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5. What we found is that Jesus teaches us to obey and then to go the extra mile with our obedience. It’s not rebellion and violence, but obedience and peace. In part 2, we will be looking at a time when Jesus spoke up for someone who couldn’t speak up for herself. 

“Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.” (John 8:1-3) 

The setup is unfair and unjust from the start. First of all, you cannot commit adultery by yourself, but the man she was with was nowhere to be found—only the woman was determined to be guilty. Women had virtually no rights at this time, they couldn’t even give testimony in court, so she had no way of defending herself. Notice where they took this woman and when. It wasn’t quietly in the night or privately in a home. They brought the woman and their accusations to Jesus while He was teaching a crowd. They didn’t send anyone to pull Jesus aside to deal with the matter quietly—“they put her in front of the crowd.” It was a public shaming. The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees were set to make their accusations in front of everyone, and they hoped to trap Jesus in the process.

“‘Teacher,’ they said to Jesus, ‘this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?’ They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger.” (John 8:4-6)

The accusation was made, her sin and her wrongdoing had been made public, but Jesus didn’t shout at the men. His disciples didn’t rise up and start throwing rocks at the Pharisees; no one in the crowd responded with insults or violence. When Jesus spoke He was calm and gentle, even in His rebuke of the men. At first, Jesus didn’t even speak—He knelt down and wrote in the dust. We don’t know what Jesus wrote in the dust, but many people believe Jesus was writing the sins of the men who brought the woman forward. It’s information only the Son of God would know about them, and it’s a contrast to the reaction the men had toward the woman’s sin. The religious leaders chose to make her sin public, but Jesus (if indeed He wrote out their sins) chose a less shameful and embarrassing approach.

“They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, ‘All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!’ Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.” (John 8:7-8)

Then Jesus spoke up for the woman. He didn’t yell or name-call or curse or condemn. Jesus didn’t even contradict the law of Moses—instead, He pointed out its flaw. He agreed with the law, but noted that only the one who was without sin should throw the first stone. The irony, of course, is that the only one without sin was the One who made the statement. Jesus is the only one who could have stoned this woman, but that’s not what he did.

“When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, ‘Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?’ ‘No, Lord,’ she said. And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I. Go and sin no more.’” (John 8:9-11)

Don’t miss it! Jesus spoke up for the woman who had no rights to defend herself and He did so with gentleness. He did not condemn the woman but He added something we can overlook: “Go and sin no more.” If you’ve been set free, if Jesus has said He does not condemn you, you have the same commandment: “Go and sin no more.” All too often we accept the freedom in Christ, but then we still live as if we can go on sinning and sinning. We can’t. We have been set free. We need to leave our lives of sin. When Jesus saw injustice, He spoke up for those who could not speak up for themselves and He did so with gentleness, even toward those in power. As His followers, we should do the same. Speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves, but do so with gentleness without contradicting the law.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

—Redeemed