...something i'm working on...

I couldn’t believe it. I had been caught by the religious leaders and now, I was being dragged out of the house and through the streets. I was trying so hard to cover myself up, but it was no use – they were pulling me too hard and too fast to be able to do anything about it. Then, suddenly, we came to the place they were headed, and they threw me to the ground in the midst of the crowd…in front of a man.

Then, one of the men looked at this man before me and said, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?”

He didn’t say a word. He just bent down and started writing on the ground with his finger. Didn’t he know how important his answer was? My LIFE was being placed into his hands! I know that what I had done was wrong, but I wasn’t the only one involved in the sin – this was also the sin of another!

The crowd started pushing in. I could feel them all looking at me. I could barely look up from the ground, but when I did, I could see that they were all holding stones. They were waiting on the word from this man to begin stoning me! And, this man, he was just writing in the dirt! Did he not understand that this was a life or death matter? Or, did he just not care. I could hear several from the crowd being to echo what had already been said. I wanted to grab him by the shoulders and shake some sense into him – I wanted him to see how much this decision would affect me.

“What do you think?”

“Yeah, what do you think?”

Slowly, this teacher stood up. The crowd was completely captivated by him – I was completely captivated by him. There was something about his presence that was calming and reassuring.

He said, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And then he proceeded to bend over and continue writing on the ground with his finger.

What??? He had just told them to begin throwing stones! How could this man who was so calm and reassuring allow something so horrible! I wanted to run, but my feet didn’t move. I wanted to scream, but my voice stayed silent. Then I heard it. The sound was unmistakable. Someone had thrown his stone, but it missed. I turned in the direction that the noise came from, but the stone on the ground wasn’t anywhere near me. It was near the front of the crowd, and there was the leader of this group making his way out of the crowd and hanging his head. I then heard a few more thuds – as I turned to look at those, more of these men were dropping the stones out of their hands and walking away. Soon, it was just me and this teacher surrounded by stones. I was so overcome with emotion that I could barely breathe. Not one of those men threw a stone at me. I couldn’t believe it.

Then, this teacher stood up and looked at me and said, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

Voice, don’t fail me now – I need to answer this man. After what felt like forever, my voice came, “No one, Lord.”

Little did I know that his next words would change my life forever. He said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”