Jesus and Violence

In the story of the woman caught in adultery the men caught in hypocrisy, Jesus handles the Old Testament prescription of violence with a radical new twist. The religious leaders are technically correct when they say, “Moses told us to stone women like this” (John 8:5. Here’s why:

If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death. - Leviticus 20:10

And yet there’s so much more going on. For example, where’s the man who was caught in adultery with the woman? And why were they so eager to stone her in the first place - this sure looks like some kind of test of Jesus, doesn’t it?

Jesus doesn’t take the bait. He doesn’t even engage in the conversation about how to read the Law. He doesn’t even point out their hypocrisy in only bringing out the more marginalized partner to face punishment. Instead, he goes for the heart. He upends the whole system of judgment. “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7).

Sure, Jesus could have beat them in an argument about the law and how to interpret it. Instead he engages them in the practice of connecting with their own humanity and loving their neighbor.

Are there parts of scripture you find yourself reacting to in a moralistic way instead of in a loving way? What might Jesus want to say to you about that?