‘The scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery…they said to Him, “Teacher,…Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?”…Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”…When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more”’ (v.3-7, 10-11 NKJV). That day Jesus demonstrated three things: 1) The hypocrisy of a double standard. The woman had been ‘caught in the very act’, so surely they knew who the man was, too. But only the woman was accused of sin. There are still lots of double standards today that look down on one group of people for their behaviour, while excusing, or even praising, another group for exactly the same actions. The Pharisees used stones, we use words, but whatever the weapon, the victim ends up wounded. 2) Who alone is qualified to judge. ‘He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.’ Who was the only sinless one among them that day? Jesus! So He alone is qualified to judge. 3) You can rise above your past. ‘Go and sin no more.’ Those words could be rephrased, ‘Go, and because you have had an encounter with Jesus, you can rise above your past.’
