John 7:53-8:6a
” Then they all went home, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?’ They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.”
Imagine going to work in the morning knowing that you will be publicly challenged by the boss, the bosses’ boss, the police, and the city council, and also knowing that their intentions are to humiliate and ridicule you before your friends and coworkers. Imagine also that you know that they would really, really like to see you dead. Do you go to work anyway? You do if you are the Son of God!
When Jesus begins teaching he is rudely interrupted. The question wasn’t a polite question, nor was it a sincere question. It was a trap. It was a question designed to embarrass Jesus and force him into either contradicting the Covenant Law given by Moses or if he affirmed the Covenant Law, advocating stoning which had been outlawed by the Roman government.
There was no escaping the question. The guilt of the woman was beyond question. It was attested to by the Jewish leaders themselves. (How they knew she was an adulteress was conveniently glossed over…) Jesus was surrounded by disciples and those who wanted to hear him teach. What was he to do?
Q: Have you ever been ambushed like Jesus was? How did you deal with it?