'those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth'

O LORD, the hope of Israel,
all who forsake you shall be put to shame;
those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth,
for they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living water. (Jeremiah 17:13 ESV)

During this morning's sermon, the episode of Jesus writing in the sand in John 8:6 came up. It's more than just Jesus disarming a crowd bent on Pharisaical justice, it's a blink-or-you-may-miss-it mini-sermon on Law and Gospel! (And I've always wondered about what Jesus was scribbling-- I'd assumed it was the names of the woman's accusers.)

In the 2010 book Martin Luther's Understanding of God's Two Kingdoms (by William J. Wright and Richard Muller), the authors point out that in his commentary on John 8:6-8 [Luther’s Works Vol. 23], Luther used the two-kingdoms view in order to clarify the distinction between the law and the gospel. The purpose of telling the story of the harlot "was to show the clear distinction between the law and Gospel, or between the kingdom of Christ and that of the world." It was only in Christ's realm that there was no punishment, but rather mercy and forgiveness of sins. By contrast, in "the realm of Moses and the world there is no forgiveness of sins, but only wrath and punishment." In the worldly realm, death and stoning were quite proper. Even if the judge was also guilty, "it does not affect or alter the case." God ordered all such “ordinances, law, office, sword, gallows and wheel.” But the jurisdiction and office of such "rogues and rascals" (i.e., corrupt officials) will not protect them in Christ's kingdom- where they will be "condemned to Hell."  The difference between the kingdom of Christ and that of the world was that Christ "reduces all men to sinners, but then absolves them." Again and again, it is apparent that Luther used the idea of the two kingdoms to teach about salvation and the kingdom of heaven, or Christ's kingdom.

The end of this incident is the Gospel message expressed in these words of forgiveness to the accused woman: “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” But, as it should, the Law, which the Pharisees and scribes knew all too well, and which convicts every sinner, accused every person intent on seeing the woman stoned to death. According to Leviticus 20, a couple accused and convicted (by the Old Testament rule of at least two witnesses-- and there's no mention an accusing husband) during a ceremony officiated and judged by a priest, the names of the condemned would be temporarily written in the dust on the floor. So Jesus, it seems, was turning the Law back against those who brandished it hypocritically as their source of righteousness-- He really was writing their names in the sand! (See Jeremiah 17:13 above.)

I found a very insightful exposition of this vignette from John's Gospel, written by Julie Barrier (CEO of the Christian leaders resource Preachit, Teachit): What Did Jesus REALLY Write in the Sand in John 8? 

Well, no matter the exact interpretation, I see in this story the hand of God-- literally (more specifically, the finger of God)-- writing in the sand to make a point, not so much with the Jewish religious establishment, but with the accused woman. In fact, the Law of Moses, may have saved her; this whole incident was a test to see if Jesus would go along with what amounted to lack of due process, the very violation that underscores His writing names in the sand. But the Gospel message here is awesome!  God's Grace is evident in Jesus' interaction with the woman; it is God in Christ that rescues and forgives...

...then forgets.  :)