The Woman in the Middle

The woman is in the middle. All eyes are on her.

How often are women placed in the middle, exhibited, put on display, under the spotlight, and objectified in advertising and media? It is no different for the woman in this story. Everyone stands around staring, pointing an accusing finger at her.

She is on display as they monitor every detail and observe the smallest feature in her appearance. What she has done is outrageous. It must be punished.

There is no other way. Where would we end up if we allowed her to go? They continued to pass judgment on the terrified woman in the middle.

Moses was right to regulate things like this.

Now, we only have to convince this Jesus.

If He is the Messiah, He cannot let this pass.

Adultery is the worst sin. The bystanders did not address the woman. They spoke about her without speaking to her. She felt ostracized, excluded, and condemned. Can you identify with the woman in the middle? Or have you placed someone in the middle? Talked about them instead of with them? Have you found yourself passing judgment without knowing the whole story? We are no different from the Pharisees and scribes when we act in this manner. But look at Jesus. He is completely different. In response to the insistent questions and the demands to deal with the sinner, Jesus simply bends down and begins to write in the sand. Then He says, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first” (John 8:7, NKJV). How outrageous! Why is He defending her? As the angry bystanders read Jesus’ words, one after the other, they walk away until the woman is left standing alone.

No longer surrounded by her accusers, she can now see Jesus face-to-face, and what a change. He treats her with respect and dignity. He absolves her of the death penalty, for although He alone is without sin, He forgives and does not condemn her.

A little later He will stand in the middle, surrounded by a mob of people who mock and spit. He will be scourged and condemned, crowned with a ring of thorns, and finally nailed to a cross in the middle—for her and us. Our Savior took our place and stood in the middle to save us all.

Dagmar Dorn