John 8:1-11
Jesus went back to Jerusalem. There he taught in the temple. One morning, the religious leaders dragged a woman before Him. She sobbed with fear. The men threw her at Jesus' feet.
"Teacher," they said, "this woman was found together with a man. He was not her husband. The laws Moses gave us say we should throw stones at her until she dies. What do You say?"
The woman did not even lift her head. She and the man she had been with had done a very bad thing. By loving someone other than their own husband and wife, they had hurt their own marriages.
Jesus bent down and wrote in the dust. "Well?" the religious leaders asked. "What do You think we should do with her?"
Jesus stood up. He said, "Let the person who has never done anything wrong be the first to throw a stone at her." Jesus was teaching them not to judge.
The people looked at each other. Everybody knew they had all done something wrong. After all, nobody is perfect. So one by one, the people shuffled away. The old people in the crowd left first. Then the young men left. Finally even the religious leaders turned and walked away. No one said a word. In the end, Jesus was left alone with the woman. She knelt in the dust beside Him.
"Woman," Jesus said, "has no one punished you?"
She raised her head and looked around. Her hair was tangled. "No one, Lord," she mumbled.
Jesus said, "Then I will not punish you, either. But make sure you never do this again. Be sorry. Go back to your husband and start again."
The woman began to cry. But this time the tears were those of joy, rather than fear.
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THE CHILDREN'S BIBLE - Old Testament, God Makes Everything
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