For your reading pleasure/displeasure. -In re-reading John chapter 8 in preparation for that particular Bible study I was reminded of an essay I wrote some time ago. So I figured I'd pull it out of the archives and post it here.
It's titled 'Sand Writing', ©Harold M. Paxton, III:
Just what did Jesus Christ write in the sand? The Pharisees brought the adulteress to Him on the temple steps. Maybe they sought to probe His knowledge of the Law of Moses with the hope to entrap and accuse Him of some wrong before His followers. Perhaps some even questioned how far the forgiveness He spoke of went. Surely they were seeking to tarnish the image that the masses had of Him. Instead of answering quickly, Jesus knelt down and just wrote in the sand.
Just what did Jesus Christ write in the sand? A crowd of people most likely surrounded Jesus, pressing in trying to witness another confrontation between Him and the Pharisees. Standing before Jesus, in the middle of the crowd, the woman probably stared down at her dusty feet wishing she could vanish from the face of the earth. I imagine that when Jesus finally stood up after listening to all the taunts and questions, and after He pronounced, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her,” that the woman fell to her knees in desperation. Again, He likely crouched before the temple and continued His writing in the sand. While Christ wrote, stones fell from dirty hands and people slowly departed. Eventually, Jesus was left alone with the adulteress on the temple steps.
Just what did Jesus Christ write in the sand? Perhaps no one saw the writing in the sand, perhaps only the woman could see the writing, or perhaps Christ only doodled. Personally, I think everyone caught a glimpse of what He wrote and it shocked everyone so much, that combined with His judgment, all were shamed when the light of that sand writing exposed their own guilt. Whatever He wrote, it had a profound effect because it's hard to believe that His statement alone would drive the self-righteous, pompous, white washed Pharisees away. In truth, these people were no different than us today.
Just what did Jesus Christ write in the sand? The adulteress stayed, back on her feet, probably in a state of shocked disbelief, looking at Christ writing in the sand. When He finally stood, He looked about and asked, “Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?” She muttered in reply, “No man, Lord.” And Jesus declared, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” Strange, Christ, the only person there without sin, would have been justified under the law to stone her. Instead, He forgave her. Why?
I think He forgave her because Christ sees the person first and the sin second. He sees beneath the actions to the heart and He knows the heart's worth. Why else would He be willing to suffer and die on the cross for the purpose of reuniting man with God? Man must be worth something great and unfathomable. It's difficult for me to comprehend such love, but somehow I’ve gained an inkling of it, a blurred image in a mirror. However, it must not be forgotten that Christ did not just forgive her, but that He also gave her the command to leave her life of sin. Christ gives that command to us too. Paul addressed this in more depth in Romans 6:15-16, “What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”
Just what did Jesus Christ write in the sand? Something, that when combined with His statement, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her,” I turned, dropped my rock, and left my wicked life forever.
And Jesus, with His hands, erased those sins in the sand.
Read the full account Biblical account of this event in John chapter 8.
