ur story takes place in the Temple on the eighth day of the Festival of Tabernacles--the day marked out to be a "holy convocation." God commanded that no customary work be done on this day.

The religious leaders upheld this commandment--at least technically. Attempting to entrap Jesus and using a vulnerable victim to accomplish the task is no customary work. They thought they were protecting their nation and their law from the deception of a man who couldn't possibly be the Messiah--He didn't have the proper credentials. It didn't matter what means they used to accomplish their task; only the end result mattered--the entrapment of Jesus. No, although the religious leaders were not engaging in customary work that day, working they were. But whose work?

Woman Caught in Adultery
"Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, 'Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act'" (John 8:2-4, NKJV).*

Jesus was in the Temple, seated and teaching the people, when these religious leaders brought the woman to Him. Actually, they dragged her. They dragged her from her bed to parade her through the streets as an example of what happens to those who transgress God's commandments. And I'm sure they thought it their duty to humiliate her, spit on her, and have mothers explain to their young daughters as she passed by what they didn't want to be when they grew up.

But she deserved it, didn't she? She was a prostitute.

As she stood in front of the crowd of people in the Temple, her accusers approached Jesus and questioned, "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?" (verses 4, 5).

They were correct--almost.

The law states that if a man is found sleeping with another man's wife, or if the woman is a betrothed virgin, the woman is to be stoned (Deut. 22:22-24; Lev. 20:10). Here's what the accusers failed to recognize and admit: 1. This woman was unmarried. 2. The law stated that both the woman and the man who committed the adultery were to be stoned. Where was the man? 3. The law required witnesses who had seen the act. How long did the accusers stand around to confirm what was really taking place?

The accusers stood, waiting, confident that they had Jesus right where they wanted Him. If He said, "Let her go," He would be accused of not upholding the law. If He said, "Stone her," He would be accused of placing His own authority above the Romans, who did not allow the Jews to carry out their own death sentences.

Jesus said nothing. He began writing on the ground with His finger. The accusers, growing impatient, moved toward Jesus. Yet as they did, their eyes fell to the ground, and they were horror-stricken. There, traced before them in the dust, were the guilty secrets of their own lives. How did this teacher know the dark recesses of their souls? They had them hidden so well with their brilliant robes and finely crafted reputations.

Jesus then said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her" (John 8:7).

The accusers were speechless. This wasn't the response they expected. Now they had become the ones on trial. If they threw a stone, they would be saying that they were sinless. The accusers--humiliated, shamed, naked before the crowd--rushed away, no longer able to bear the presence of one who knew their every thought.

The Accuser of the Brethren
In the Hebrew language the name Satan means "accuser." Scripture refers to Satan as the accuser of the brethren. It was Satan who was in the garden, accusing God of lying. It was Satan who stood before the council of God and accused Job of serving God merely for what he could get out of it. It is Satan who accuses you and me of being so worthless that it would be impossible for God to accept us.

These men, acting as accusers against the woman, were acting as agents of Satan. Anytime we stand as accusers of others, we are allowing the spirit of Satan to work through us. We are doing Satan's work.

But wait! That woman deserved it. She was a prostitute! Of course, I wouldn't parade her through the streets. But I sure would let her know that I think it's just terrible what she's doing. I might invite her to church, but I would definitely make sure she knew exactly how to dress and behave.

It may not even be a woman of the streets we're dealing with. "Did you hear about Johnny? I can't believe he calls himself an Adventist Christian and . . ." "I don't mean to be talking about Dona, but somebody's got to uphold the standards."

Unfortunately, at one time or another all of us have acted the part of an accuser. It's a role that comes quite easily to us humans. Yet God takes it quite seriously.

Questions for sharing: 1. What was Jesus' attitude toward the woman caught in adultery? 2. How can we neither condemn nor condone? 3. What are some ways we can strengthen our brothers and sisters in Christ who are struggling?

Ellen White states, "It is the work of Satan to seek some stain upon the character of Christ's followers, to talk of their faults, and magnify their errors. Satan is the accuser of the brethren, and all who engage in this work show that they are actuated by the same spirit."†

We are in a war, brothers and sisters. The accuser of the brethren is fighting for his last breath. He is prepared to take as many people with him as possible. If we are to win this war, we must stop turning our weapons on each other and shooting our own wounded. We must be careful how we treat each other, and in humility come to each other when we have wronged them. Revelation 12:11, 12--considered by some theologians as the climax of John's revelation--tells us that we will defeat Satan, the accuser, by the power of Jesus and the sharing of our stories--not by accusing our brothers and sisters.

For most people I know who leave the Adventist Church, their reasons have nothing to do with the doctrines. They leave because they have been wounded by the criticism and condemnation of others. Yet while we cannot be responsible for the choices people make to leave our church, we can still strive to be more Christlike--to neither condemn nor condone.

Jesus' Response
When the woman's accusers left the Temple that morning, she was cowering with fear. She had expected the pain of stones being thrown at her to engulf her at any moment. Yet as the last of her accusers were leaving, Jesus rose from stooping in the dust and, with compassion in His voice, said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" (John 8:10).

The woman arose slowly, saw that her accusers had left, and in disbelief replied, "No one, sir" (verse 11).

Jesus, being the sinless Son of God, could have cast that first stone. Jesus had every right to enumerate for Mary every sin she had ever committed. Why didn't He? This was His chance to impress upon her the seriousness of her disobeying the law. Instead, He chose grace.

"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin" (verse 11).

To Neither Condemn nor Condone
Why did Jesus pass up this golden opportunity to talk some sense into this woman? By not casting judgment on her actions, wasn't Jesus condoning them?

After Adam and Eve had sinned, they hid. With sin comes fear and shame. And we hide. No one need call attention to our sin. We realize it all too readily. Satan has captured us. The accuser condemns us. Who needs more?

This woman knew her sin. The fear, shame, and isolation held her tightly in their grip. She knew what it meant to hide--hide from God, from family, from herself. Jesus' words of pardon freed her from the bondage of fear and shame. Jesus offered grace to her that day. Freedom. And that freedom came through the power of unconditional love.

If the sinless Son of God could offer pardon instead of punishment, grace instead of disgrace, who are we to do less?

Through the power of grace, Jesus sought to bring her into relationship with Him. She no longer had to hide. He then called her to obey His word for her life. He offered to not only be her Savior, but to be her Lord. Yes, we are called to walk in obedience to His word, but we walk in obedience because we have received and are continually receiving that noncondemning love. We do not obey in order to receive that love.

It is the grace of Christ that gives us the power to obey, and it is our love, not our condemnation, that will strengthen our brothers and sisters in Christ.

The Real Work
Are you up for the job? Do you want to join God in His work of grace--in bringing down the accuser of the brethren by building each other up? It's no regular work, to be sure. But the means to accomplish this work has been supplied. It was supplied when the writing in the dust was blown away for us by the one who knows our every thought--and loves us still.

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*Unless otherwise noted, Bible references in this article are from the New International Version.
† In Review and Herald, Nov. 6, 1883.

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Bonita Joyner Shields is an assistant editor of the Adventist Review.