Blog:Separation from God: free will, sin and willful damnation
Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She replied, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, from now on do not sin any more.” (Jn 8:11)
As across Salvation History, here we have the blessing and the correction -- called a "curse" in the Old Testament: "Go, from now on do not sin any more."
There has been much wonder and academic debate over this passage. Some scholars say it was added to the Gospel of John well after its writing, and is thus inauthentic. Others say it was in the original manuscripts but dropped for a time for fear that the passage legimized adultery. The NAB (Revised), a Catholic Bible, notes that the passage was likely inserted into Latin versions of the Bible, presumably, then, in the Vulgate translation started by St. Jerome in 382 (see footnote on Jn. 8:1). Scholars note that the text is reads more like Luke than John, but was inserted into John Chapter 8 in order to align with Jesus' admonition to the pharisees Jn 8:15, "You judge by appearances but I do not judge anyone." (as well as for the allusion within the story in Jn 8:6 to Jer 17:13, "they have forsaken the LORD, source of living waters"). We'll go here with the end of the 8:1 footnote 's clarification, "The Catholic Church accepts this passage as canonical scripture." Indeed, there is no mistaking that the passage reflects the authentic Christ: repent, and believe (Mk 1:15)
"Sin no more"
The Evangelist John called the miracles of Jesus "signs", as he performed the miracles to instill or affirm belief, not to show off his power. Faith, then, is the salvific act here, and forgiveness of sin is the miracle that instilled it.
Equally miraculous is the power of the Word itself. Her accusers back away from Jesus' impeccable but shocking logic,
"Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her" (Jn 8:7)
And the woman is left alone, standing before Christ, who was still writing something on the ground -- her life literally saved.
Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? (Jn 8:10)
"No one, sir," she replies. What a beautiful expression: factual, yet inquisitive, humble, yet sure. Jesus then invokes the greatest miracle of all: God's redemption of fallen man:
Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, [and] from now on do not sin any more. (Jn. 8:11)
His interactions that build faith without an outright miracle are more powerful for it. Jesus knew his audience, and he knew who needed what and when, as when he told Thomas:
Blessed are those who have not seen yet believe.(Jn 20:29)
A Johannian technique
I don't know the Greek text, nor can I speak for this passage's distinct word choice and style that has convinced scholars of a non-Johnanian origin. But I know John. I know that even an accomplished Lector can easily stumble over John's circular text, such as at our Mass this past Sunday, the Sixth Sunday of Easter (B calendar):
As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love.(Jn 15:9-10)
(And Lectors worry about genaologies.)
Perhaps the language of John 8:1-11 is less elliptical, more narrative like Luke, but the details are pure John:
Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger. (Jn 8:6)
Similarly, in the Samaritan Woman at the well, the detail speaks with a quiet intensity:
The woman left her water jar and went into the town and said to the people... (Jn 4:28)
The literal is all we need: she she traded the water jar for the "living water" of Christ. It just strikes me as quite the same manner of telling as that of Jesus writing something on the ground, a detail that has perplexed scholars. The NAB here mentions Jeremiah 17:13, "Those who turn away from thee shall be written in the earth", thus suggesting he was condeming the accusers, or writing accusations of them (see John 8 | Lumina (netbible.org), which suggests that but concludes, "there is no clue as to the actual content of what he wrote").
Jesus elsewhere tells us that he does not judge, we just ourselves, so I am dubious of that connection. Besides, if John wanted us to know what he had written, he'd have told us. It's a marvelous detail: the Lord writing. And, yes, he could have been writing out the sins of the accusers, or, as goes my pet theory, he was simply playing Tic-tac-toe, waiting for their next move, then, after they left, drawing a line across "three in a row."
But let's stick to the literal:
They said this to test him, so that they could have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger.
But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. (Jn 8:6-8)
He wrote while they threw at him their hypocritical accusations of the woman, and upon discharging them with his logic, he continued to write until they had all left. Such a marvelous defusing of the situation: they go blah blah blah, which he ignores while writing something on the ground, and when they don't let up, he stands, dismisses them, drops the mic, and returns to writing away on the ground. That completed, he stands and gives the woman the most precious words, "Neither do I condemn you. Go, and form now on do not sin any more."
As with other saving encounters with the living Christ, we cannot help but wonder what happened to this woman afterward. Like the Leper, the Woman at the Well, the Tax Collector, we can only hope and pray they sinned no more - which together with withholding judgment is the lesson for us today:
"do not sin any more"
- Michael