Welcome to the Anonymous online Bible study as we discuss week five. In this study we have learned about the women named judged, hurting, ordinary, or shame. None were anonymous to God and all had a spiritual testimony to tell. Maybe you have a story too!

According to Cindi Wood, “The Pharisees taught about God, but they didn’t seem to love God.” As I thought about this I believe they were spiritually immature. Perhaps that does not imply a lack of love for God. They were intellectuals and perfectionists and had a zealous drive to please Him. My prayer is that we also desire to please God but we do this out of love and not pride.

Many theologians have pondered the story of the Pharisees and the adulterous woman. We often wonder why Pharisees bought the adulteress, and not the adulterer, to Jesus. Perhaps, as some scholars have suggested this was a highly esteemed man. Or a religious man. Maybe he was a politician, and there was some Old Testament corruption or shenigaginas behind the story. What is important as Bible students is that we look ONLY at the biblical text. Let’s not make assumptions and turn these into unproven facts.

Sometimes we are called to discipline others. Taking a hardline approach to doing things right might cause us to dismiss compassion. We probably have stories and regrets where compassion was overshadowed by our negative emotions. We saw this week how “The enemy of God likes to keep a forgiven sin streaming across our minds” (Cindi Wood). Christian therapy, excellent counselors, and intentional healing help us revist these thoughts in a therapeutic setting.

Open to Bible to John 8:6. Jesus wrote on the ground as if He did not hear the Pharisees. This is one of the great mysteries of the Bible. Most theologians have been unable to agree about what Jesus wrote. In historical context, who was able to read words and letters? Was this a graphic doodle? Was it an arrow? A symbol the Pharisees would know? Or the name of a man everyone knew.

The Bible does not answer this question. We can determine from the response of the Pharisees that the message on the ground was effective. Those men saw it and left.

Turn your Bible to Matthew 15:19 NIV: For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. NIV

Here we can see that hearts are deceitful. When someone is judged and accused, this might be character assassination, false testimony, or slander. As listeners…we must guard our minds against drawing conclusions and joining the crowd of accusers. Let Jesus judge because He knows the heart.

According to Cindi Wood, “The accusers who dragged the woman to Jesus did her a favor.”  Well, she met Jesus and became part of history. What a story!

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Christine Abraham writes for the Bible Cafe™ community. Learn about living by the Fruit of the Spirit as you enjoy her online Bible studies. Join Christine at the Bible Cafe™ University for weekly Bible teaching.