stoning

[billcu1]

When the woman who was accused of adultry was brought to be stoned Jesus bent down and wrote on the ground. Does anyone know what he wrote?

 

[TwinMommy]

What I have heard the most is He started writing the names of the men there, there sin and when it was.

 

[cheezey]

When the woman who was accused of adultry was brought to be stoned Jesus bent down and wrote on the ground. Does anyone know what he wrote?

Did he not write the sins of those ready to throw the stones? Just a memory guess from me. And when they saw what He had written, knowing how sinful they were, they walked away; being sinful, they could cast no stones…

 

[J_Peterson]

I read recently (I think in my Sunday Missal) that it was a gesture of non-interest. He was the only one that was without sin and had no interest in hearing sinners condemn a sinner. It sort of makes sense, God will not listen to us or even ignore us as we judge others unjustly.

I don’t remember the details but I think that’s pretty close.

 

[Ophelia23]

There are many theories on what He wrote. Nobody knows for sure.

 

[Aloysium]

His judgement/our guilt may be like things written in the sand, in that He can wash the sin away when we repent

 

[MaryT777]

When the woman who was accused of adultry was brought to be stoned Jesus bent down and wrote on the ground. Does anyone know what he wrote?

The Bible does not state what he wrote but many do believe he wrote something to the effect of let he who is without sin cast the first stone. I also do recall it’s the only time Jesus wrote anything.

Mary

 

[SecretaryMonday]

I don’t think anyone knows what he wrote in the sand. But this might be good to think about:

When Moses went up on the mountain, the finger of God wrote the Commandments on stone tablets; and when Moses broke those tablets in anger, the finger of God wrote them a second time.

Jesus (who is God) knelt down and wrote with his finger in the sand when being questioned about the Law, not once but twice.

 

[Fidelis]

Did he not write the sins of those ready to throw the stones? Just a memory guess from me. And when they saw what He had written, knowing how sinful they were, they walked away; being sinful, they could cast no stones…

Some think is may be a reference to Jeremiah 17:13:

O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters.

This is doubly significant because not long before this, Jesus referred to himself as giving the Spirit as “the fountain of living water” in John 7:37-39:

“On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and proclaimed, “If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as * the scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, which those who believed in him were to receive; for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”

Upon seeing Jesus act out Jeremiah and remembering Jesus’ recent words, those who were ready to condemn both Jesus and the woman must have been convicted in their hearts.

 

[odhiambo]

It is not known what Jesus inscribed on the ground.

 

[Fidelis]

It is not known what Jesus inscribed on the ground.

That’s the main point to keep in mind. Some speculation is more plausible than others, and if it’s plausible, edifying and doesn’t contradict the Faith, it may be worth thinking about. However, it remains speculation and unless the Scriptures or the Church specifically defines it, no one should say this or that is what the verse means.

 

[Timothysis]

I’ve always thought that He was probably just doodling like so many of us do when we are at the beach.

 

[TimothyH]

When the woman who was accused of adultry was brought to be stoned Jesus bent down and wrote on the ground. Does anyone know what he wrote?

It is the “Writing on the wall” from Daniel 5. I’m sure Jesus wrote the words mene, tekel and peres.

It is a reference to Daniel 5, when King Belshazzar and his royal court drank from the holy vessels that were stolen from the Temple in Jerusalem and praised their gods of gold, silver, metal, stone and wood. God’s finger appeared and wrote on the wall. No one could read the words except for Daniel.

Suddenly, opposite the lampstand, the fingers of a human hand appeared, writing on the plaster of the wall in the king’s palace. When the king saw the hand that wrote, his face became pale; his thoughts terrified him, his hip joints shook, and his knees knocked. (Daniel 5:5-6)

***“This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, TEKEL, and PERES. These words mean: MENE, God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it;
TEKEL, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting; PERES, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.” *(Daniel 5:25-28)

St. John does not say what Jesus wrote in the sand, and in so doing St. John places the reader in the position of the diviners and magicians who could not interpret the words which God’s finger wrote on the wall.

God himself wrote on the wall in Daniel 5. God himself - Jesus - wrote in the sand in John 8. It is St. John’s way of telling us that Jesus is God.

We can infer from the context that Jesus is writing the same message to those who accused the adulterous woman - your have been judged, your kingdom is about to end, your authority will be given to Gentiles.

Remember that St. John’s Gospel was written to the world-wide Church, Jews and Gentiles.

-Tim-

 

[TimothyH]

I’ve always thought that He was probably just doodling like so many of us do when we are at the beach.

God doesn’t put interesting anecdotes into the Bible for little or no reason.

Every word in Sacred Scripture was put there by God for one reason - our salvation. That’s the purpose of God giving us his written word, so that our souls can be saved.

-Tim-

 

[TimothyH]

That’s the main point to keep in mind. Some speculation is more plausible than others, and if it’s plausible, edifying and doesn’t contradict the Faith, it may be worth thinking about. However, it remains speculation and unless the Scriptures or the Church specifically defines it, no one should say this or that is what the verse means.

I take issue with statements like this, that we can never come to an interpretation of Scripture on our own.

The Church provides a framework for understanding and intepreting scripture, which when used properly allows us to approach scripture with great confidence and learn from it. This framework also keeps us from falling into error.

We can, and absolutely must interpret scripture, but we must do it in within the framework of the Church. My post about the writing in the sand as a reference to the writing on the wall in Daniel 5 is a good example, if I do say so myself. No one taught me that. After many years of reading Sacred Scripture with the Heart and Mind of the Church, utilizing the Church’s framework for understanding and intepreting Scripture, I have become quite good at recognizing Jesus’ references to the Old Testament and thereby understanding what Jesus is trying to teach.

In face, I teach a class titled, “Reading Sacred Scripture with the Heart and Mind of the Church” for RCIA.

A book like “The Bible Compass” by Dr. Edward Sri explains this framework very well.

-Tim-

 

[Timothysis]

My post about the writing in the sand as a reference to the writing on the wall in Daniel 5 is a good example, if I do say so myself. No one taught me that.

Do you have an authoritative Church teaching that validates your opinion on the matter or is this just your personal speculation?

 

[Timothysis]

God doesn’t put interesting anecdotes into the Bible for little or no reason.

Every word in Sacred Scripture was put there by God for one reason - our salvation. That’s the purpose of God giving us his written word, so that our souls can be saved.

The Haydock commentary of John VIII v. 6 reads, “Wrote with his finger, as one that was musing about something else.”

There is no mention of the book of Daniel.

 

[Timothysis]

We can infer from the context that Jesus is writing the same message to those who accused the adulterous woman - your have been judged, your kingdom is about to end, your authority will be given to Gentiles.

I have read enough commentaries on John 8 v. 6 in the past hour to say that not one of them agree with your conclusion, including the opinions of Sts. Jerome and Ambrose.

The consensus seems to be that Jesus’ stooping and writing on the ground was an act to ignore the priests and the question they posed while avoiding the catch 22 with which they were trying to ensnare Him. Some even echo my opinion about Him simply doodling, though all are in agreement that, this side of heaven, we don’t know and will never know for certain. The parallels of the finger of God in Exodus and Daniel are mentioned, too, but stop short of actually declaring anything with certainty.

 

[billcu1]

I have read enough commentaries on John 8 v. 6 in the past hour to say that not one of them agree with your conclusion, including the opinions of Sts. Jerome and Ambrose.

The consensus seems to be that Jesus’ stooping and writing on the ground was an act to ignore the priests and the question they posed while avoiding the catch 22 with which they were trying to ensnare Him. Some even echo my opinion about Him simply doodling, though all are in agreement that, this side of heaven, we don’t know and will never know for certain. The parallels of the finger of God in Exodus and Daniel are mentioned, too, but stop short of actually declaring anything with certainty.

SO the tradition says nothing the oral tradition that is concerning what was written then?

 

[Fidelis]

I take issue with statements like this, that we can never come to an interpretation of Scripture on our own.

The Church provides a framework for understanding and intepreting scripture, which when used properly allows us to approach scripture with great confidence and learn from it. This framework also keeps us from falling into error.

We can, and absolutely must interpret scripture, but we must do it in within the framework of the Church.

That’s what I referring to above when I said that speculation about the meaning of the text cannot be in contradiction to the Faith. And no matter how good one thinks one’s personal interpretation of Scripture is, nobody (except the Magisterium) can say “THIS is the definitive interpretation of this text.”