Would We Cast a Stone?

From John 8:

3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst,
4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.
9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.


I love this story because I think it shows Christ's love and gentleness and wisdom so well. It also teaches us to wonder whether or not we are really fit to judge others. We aren't perfect and we certainly lack perfect information.

The painting I'm including is by a Russian painter named Vassily Polenov. When I was living in St. Petersburg last summer I saw this painting at the Russian Museum. It is enormous in real life--at a very minimum it is twelve feet long. Anyway, this electronic version doesn't truly convey the effect, but I want to tell a story nonetheless. When looking at the real-life version, one approaches the painting walking from left to right. At first, it appears that the man on the donkey is heading toward the scene of scandal. However, as we pass on, the man on the donkey appears to change course and looks as though he were riding away. I had the privelege of studying art with some wonderful teachers while in Russia and they taught me a lot about this painting. We talked about how the man represents us. At first, we too may be tempted to condem the woman. But then, as we hear Christ's words we too turn away and realize that we cannot condemn her--what's more, we should do as Christ did and love her, hoping that all can improve and become better.

*The copy of the painting that I am using came from http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3050/2996135672_51c94abc17_o.jpg. However, you may also enjoy visiting the Russian Museum website here: http://www.rusmuseum.ru/eng/home/