7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." 8 Again, he stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.      

Notice what the law says, Leviticus 20:10 "..and the man that commiteth adultery with another man's wife, even he and the adultress shall be put to death.  Deut.  22:22 "If any man be found lying with a woman married to a husband, then they shall both of them die."

Adultery is not a solitary sin. It takes two to tango. Where was the man?  Why did they just pick on the woman?  It's the age-old problem of a double standard. It is sexism, pure and simple. There are many women who are raped and it is automatically assumed that she must have asked for it.  Why is it that many blame women and not the men?    

Jesus knew the hearts of the accusers.  Perhaps they had set up this woman with the intention of trapping Jesus. They were not following the letter of the law if that was what they were interested in doing.     

Jesus appeared to ignore their questions.  Notice by Jesus’ initial silence the point of attention is diverted from the woman to Jesus. Why won't He answer. "Come on Jesus, give us an answer."   

He got up from the ground and looked at the accusers and said, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."   The challenge was to examine their own lives and see if theirs were any better than hers. I also think there was non-verbal communication going on. Jesus gave them time to let them think.    

After He makes His statement, the focus of attention is not on Jesus any longer but on the people and their self-evaluation concerning their own sins.  Instead of passing judgment on the woman, Jesus passed judgment on the judges.

What was He wrote on the ground?  We do not know. It is believed by some that Jesus wrote on the ground the list of the secret sins these men who were accusing the woman were committing. They saw them written in public and became convicted. Maybe they were afraid that Jesus would denounce them publicly.  One by one they left Jesus’ presence.     

Romans 2:1 says ,"You therefore have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things."    

Jesus responded to their charge by challenging them to look at themselves.  The danger with accusing people of sin, is that we too are sinners in need of God's forgiveness. I remember the condemnation that Jimmy Swaggert publicly had against Jimmy Bakker and his sexual exploits. It wasn’t long that Swaggert was caught in the crime of visiting prostitutes the same time he had condemned Bakker for sexual impropriety. It was hypocritical. Ted Haggard led the Association of Evangelicals who stood against the sin of homosexuality while visiting homosexual prostitutes. There is a public role and private actions that make their piety a farce. That is why Scripture is plain, Galatians 6:1 " Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted."   

As the Holy Spirit evaluates your life, the challenge is to look at your own life and attitude that needs confession, change, and repentance.

Application:  Look at everyone through Jesus eyes of love, forgiveness and reformation.   

Prayer:  Lord, as my mind often wants to judge, let me surrender that to You as the only Judge who sees and knows all.  When I look at others, help me to remember all that you have forgiven me of and turn it into a prayer for them and praise for what You are able to  do for them and have done in me.