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?”

- John 8:2-5

Sex: our culture seems obsessed and confused by it all at once. If Christians are often accused of being hung up on sex, maybe it’s because the stories and words of Scripture expose our pain and our longing for a better way. 

On Sunday, we looked at the seventh commandment: do not commit adultery. When the Bible talks about faithfulness, it paints a picture of deep, faithful love. Marriage, in the Bible, mirrors God’s relationship with His people: a bond of promise - a covenant. When we’re faithful to our spouses, we’re reflecting God’s own steadfast love. And when that faithfulness breaks down it points to a deeper unfaithfulness towards God. So when it comes to adultery, God seems to take it personally.

Jesus takes the conversation deeper still. "But i tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matthew 5:28). He doesn’t just tighten the moral rules, but calls for a recognition of our brokenness and radical action for transformation. 

That’s why the story of the woman caught in adultery resonates so powerfully. The crowd was ready to stone her. In such an act of collective punishment, no-one could be identified as guilty for her death. Jesus turns this round, and asks if any single one of them would dare to step forward and claim the kind of moral integrity that could qualify them to execute justice. All of them turn around and walk away.

The irony is, of course, that Jesus is qualified to execute judgement. But he doesn't condemn her. Instead, he releases her and invites her into life. Such mercy doesn’t excuse sin, and it does something far more than punish it. It breaks sin's power and releases the offender from death.

This is for us too. None of us can stand without need of grace — and that grace is always ready to meet us. Jesus still stoops low, still writes in the dust, and still offers new beginnings.