Continuation of (Caught Part 1).

The woman caught in adultery is in such a moment before Jesus. I imagine her with disheveled clothes. Her hair is a mess. Her heart is likely broken. Now her fear of being caught is gone, for it is now a reality; shame is screaming accusations in her mind. Her face is certainly downcast. And there sits Jesus.

“’In the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such a woman. Now what do you say?’ They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing Him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with His finger. 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.’ Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 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” – John 8:5-9.

Before we discuss what Jesus did, let’s look at what He didn’t do. He did not rescue her. He could have whisked her away from all of her accusers, but He did not.  He would not allow her to hide. He caused her to face her fear of people and her desire to please men. He allowed her to stand before the group as they all looked at her truth.

He also did not excuse her behavior. He could have said,”Anyone who had a childhood such as that of this woman would be confused and lonely. It is not her fault that she is living this way.” He didn’t. Adultery is a sin; there is no denying that.

He also did not condemn her. After all, she had been caught in the act of adultery. Stoning was the punishment under Old Testament law.

Instead, Jesus simply bent down and began to write in the dirt. While no one knows exactly what Christ wrote in the dirt that day, one thing is certain: He removed the masks from everyone in the crowd that morning, and all her accusers were exposed to a little of their own “truth.” Scripture tells us they went away one at a time. Jesus caused them to look at their own sin.

What Jesus did so effectively was to remove everyone except the woman. The woman and Jesus were left to do business together. When the mighty finger of God stopped moving, there was no one standing before Him but a broken, hurting, sinful, downcast woman.

“Jesus straightened up and asked her, ’Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ ‘No one, sir,’ she said. ‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.’”

Do you know that when you’ve been living in sin, the best place to be is “caught”?

I don’t know where you might be in your life. I don’t know how you became involved with this study. But if you are finally “caught,” I rejoice for you–because change can begin here. When you are finally alone with your Father, He can do business with you.

All you have to do is say, “I am so sorry–I am wrong. Lord, I cannot do this without you. I need you, Jesus. Please forgive me.”

He will begin to wipe the dirty tears from your face, and He will say, “Child, go now and leave your life of sin.”

I know you undoubtedly never purposed to be where you are now in your life. You were deceived and trapped. But, I also know there is only one way out. You must look at your ugly truth, and that means people around you will have to look at it, too. But you will be able to breathe again. All will be in the open–no more fear or shame.

You see, caught is so good, because on the other side of caught is freedom, peace, joy, restored relationships and hope.

My love,