Given the circumstances of no witness-accuser who possessed a desire for righteous judgment – the only one who could have put the woman to death and satisfied the intention of the law both in letter and spirit would have been God himself. Accordingly, one without sin may have thrown the first stone! By handling the difficult providence as he did, Jesus upheld the law pertaining to a proper accuser’s spirit, yet without compromising the law’s demand for justice.
To confuse absolution with civil justice is a menace to society and the church. Both must be maintained in their proper place, for the law is the backdrop for grace.* (Joshua 7:20,25; Galatians 2:1)
Antinomians and Roman Catholics can be quick to point to the woman caught in adultery (recorded for us in John 8) as “proof” that the general equity of Old Testament (OT) civil law for adultery (if not by extension the essential entailments of all OT civil laws) is no longer applicable today. In this context, my position is a modest one. If the equity of the laws’ demands have been abolished, we may not point to Jesus’ handling of the matter to prove the point. We must find abrogation elsewhere.**
Leviticus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 22:22 require that both guilty parties are to receive the same civil sanction for adultery. Although that is the requirement of the law, for some reason the mob was uninterested in following God’s prescription even on that essential point. Rather, the Jews substituted God’s law with their own standard by not bringing to Jesus the man who sinned. More than an unjust concealment of truth, John 8 explicitly states that the mob’s intention was to test Jesus in order to accuse him. Consequently, not only was the report false by the standard of the ninth commandant, it was malicious toward Jesus having not been accompanied by a sincere desire for justice. Therefore, had Jesus partaken of their misuse of the law, he would have violated God’s law:
You shall not bear a false report nor join your hand with a wicked man to be a malicious witness, nor follow the masses in doing evil nor pervert justice.
Exodus 23:1-2
In passing we might also observe that since the woman was caught in the act, it is probable that her habits were well known, making her an easy prey for entrapment. Such would only lend credence to the malicious intent of the scheme while also implicating the mob for not being lovingly concerned with the woman’s licentious behavior until such time that it could be used for evil rather than good. Yes, just penalties are intrinsically good but the design for good is eclipsed when not carried out by lawful and lowly servants.
Submission to God’s Providential Infliction of Unruly Government
Romans 13 teaches that we are not to take the law into our own hands but submit to God’s providentially ordained government, even when that government is pluralistic. This principle of lawful-order was to be followed during Jesus’ earthly ministry and the Jews knew it all too well:
So Pilate said to them, ‘Take Him yourselves, and judge Him according to your law.’ The Jews said to him, ‘We are not permitted to put anyone to death’”
John 18:31
Yet the Jews were not interested in obeying the precept of submitting to God ordained Roman rule when it did not suit them:
Is it lawful to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not? Shall we pay or shall we not pay?’ But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, ‘Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to look at.’ They brought one. And He said to them, ‘Whose likeness and inscription is this?’ And they said to Him, ‘Caesar’s.’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ And they were amazed at Him.”
Mark 12: 15-17
With respect to John 8, it was unlawful under those particular circumstances for the law of Moses to be implemented by the Jews; yet that would not seem to be the only impetus behind Jesus’ behavior not to call for immediate justice.
Applying Principles to the State of Affairs
The intention of the mob was the entrapment of Jesus and whether a life was callously taken in the process was of no consequence to these conspirators. Accordingly, had Jesus acquiesced to their plea by condemning the woman to death on their terms, he would have partaken in their scheming and wickedness according to Exodus 23:1-4.