The account of the woman caught in adultery is recorded in John 8:1-11. Throughout time, the woman caught in adultery has been labeled as a "bad" woman because of her sins by many commentators and theologians.
While it is true that she was committing a sin, individuals don't need to jump the gun so quickly as to demonize her. Since we are living in the 21st century, we need to see a different perspective on the woman caught in adultery.
The world is still a very patriarchal society; however, there have been great strides for women and these strides also need to extend into the field of theology.
A New Perspective in Context
Many individuals have tried to claim the woman caught in adultery was a prostitute. This isn't true, as nowhere in the Bible are we told she is a prostitute. This is one of many rumors people have created about the Bible.
The Pharisees brought the woman to Jesus because they had caught her in adultery. Now when we think of the reasoning behind the Pharisees, we know they came from evil intent.
While it is true that they were familiar with the Law of Moses, they neglected mercy and peace, which God commanded the people to do.
The Pharisees wanted Jesus to condemn the woman, but what He does is radically different. Jesus bends down and writes something on the ground (John 8:6-7).
We don't know what He was writing on the ground, but what He says in reply to the Pharisees and the woman is, "Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her" (John 8:7b).
When Jesus says this, He is telling the Pharisees that if they are without sin, they can stone her. The Pharisees had previously said that in the Law of Moses, people were supposed to stone women who were caught in adultery.
In reply, Jesus doesn't endorse their thinking but rather condemns them. By telling them, "Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her" (John 8:7b), He is informing them and making them realize their own sins.
Since they are equally sinful, they cannot condemn this woman. It might be true they are not committing adultery, but each of the Pharisees would have committed their own sins. In this way, Jesus was pointing out the truth that all sin is sin, and no sin is worse than any other sin.
Even if the Pharisees were not guilty of adultery, they were still guilty of unbelief, hate, and unrighteous judgment. After Jesus makes this statement, one by one, each of the Pharisees leaves (John 8:9). The only people who are left are Jesus and the woman.
Jesus asks the woman if anyone has condemned her, and she says no (John 8:11). The Lord replies to her that He doesn't condemn her either and that she needs to leave her life of sin (John 8:11).
Looking at the Woman Caught in Adultery
As we look more into the surrounding context, we can see the Pharisees chose her because she was an easy target. She probably was known by many to be an adulteress, and through knowing her activities, the Pharisees thought they could trick Jesus and accuse Him of breaking the Law (John 8:6).
Right from the start, we see that the Pharisees don't care about this woman's sin; they care about causing issues for Jesus. Their entire mission was to destroy Jesus. Never did they listen to Jesus' message, nor did they believe in Him.
Some Pharisees believed in Him, such as Nicodemus; however, most of them did not. As we begin to notice why the Pharisees brought the woman to Jesus, we can see they were bringing her to Jesus for all the wrong reasons.
Instead of falling prey to their attack, Jesus taught them a lesson and condemned their judgment in the process. While Jesus forgives the woman and doesn't condemn her, He still tells her to leave her life of sin, which yet again shows us that Jesus forgives our sins, but He also calls us to turn away from it.
It is also important to mention that within the concept of the woman being caught in adultery, we are never told who the man was. In order for the woman to be caught in adultery, a man also would have been found guilty.
However, as it is, a man is not brought before Jesus. Behind the eyes of a 21st-century female, I often have wondered why a man isn’t brought forth. Surely the Pharisees would have known who the man was.
Unless the man who was involved in the adultery was one of the Pharisees, while this is only a theory or a suspicion, it is important to bring it to the table.
During Bible times, the culture was patriarchal, which would place women as being inferior to men. Yet in the 21st century, a new perspective on the woman caught in adultery raises the question as to where the man is.
Since the culture was patriarchal, did they believe the man wasn't guilty of his own actions of adultery, but the woman was? This can help bring insight into this account of the Bible from a more modern-day perspective.
While we might think this mentality is focused only on biblical times, it isn't. Think about when a teenage pregnancy happens. Only the girl is condemned and ridiculed. Never does the boy have to pay up for what he has done. He can leave the girl and pretend like nothing ever happened.
However, for the girl, it is up to her to undergo the hard decision of abortion or not, giving the baby up for adoption or not, or raising the baby on her own with the high possibility of giving up college because of the baby.
We are living in the 21st century and women are still being treated as second-class citizens. Men are not being held responsible for many of these actions despite being equally responsible.
As in the case of the woman being caught in adultery, the man should have been brought before Jesus also. In the same way, girls are ridiculed and hated because of teenage pregnancies, yet the boys are seen as "cool" for losing their virginity. All of these things are wrong and should not be endorsed.
Why Does This Matter?
A new perspective on the woman caught in adultery causes us to think about how far we have not come in the fair treatment of women since Bible times.
While there have been many strides made, such as women's right to vote and work, there is still much progress to be made. God created man and woman equally. Never does He say one is superior to the other.
Therefore, there needs to be a drastic shift in both the church and outside the church for fair treatment of women. Women should never be seen as second-class citizens because God loves women just as much as He loves men.
Moreover, when we look at sins such as adultery, there is never just one person guilty. There will always be two people who are guilty of adultery, and they both need to repent and turn from their ways.
It is not only the woman's sin. Rather, it is both the woman's and the man's sin because they both committed adultery.
The patriarchy that is still around today tries to tell us otherwise; however, both men and women are guilty when it comes to the matter of adultery.
The woman caught in adultery should not be condemned throughout all time just because she is a woman used as a trap set for Jesus.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin (John 8:11).
For further reading:
Why Is There a Commandment, ‘Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery’?
Who Was Mary Magdalene? And Why Do People Think She Was a Prostitute?
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