This great I Am, God Himself in relation to man, became the Son of Man. This is very meaningful. For Jehovah to become the Son of Man means that He had to humble Himself, to lower Himself. This was more than necessary due to all the negative problems that are in man. Sin is in man. The serpent, the devil, is also in man. Man is the focus of every problem. If God was going to solve all the basic problems of man, He had to become a man Himself. Satan knows the importance of this. Satan was not afraid of the Lord Jesus being the Son of God. He was afraid of the Lord Jesus being a man. Therefore, Jehovah God became a man.
As a man, He was willing to be lifted up (3:14) as was the brass serpent in the wilderness (Num. 21:4-9). When we say that the Lord Jesus was crucified on the cross, we mean primarily that He died there for our redemption and removed our sin. But what does the Bible mean when it says that Christ was lifted up? It mainly refers to His dealing with the serpent, the devil. When most people read the words “lifted up,” they lack the understanding of them. The Son of Man was lifted up as was the brass serpent not only to deal with sin, but also to deal with the serpent. John 12:31-32 indicates that when the Son of Man was lifted up, the ruler of this world, the devil, was judged and cast out. Christ was not only crucified—He was lifted up. In His being lifted up, the serpent was exposed, judged, and cast out. The serpent, the devil, was judged and cast out by Jesus’ being lifted up. Who was there on the pole? The serpent. In the flesh of Jesus, God put the serpent on the pole and made a universal display that all the universe might see that His enemy, the serpent, was on the pole. Thus, Jesus was lifted up for the judging and casting out of the devil.
The religionists were trying their best to find fault with the Lord Jesus. After chapters five and seven they attempted to put Jesus into a difficult situation. They caught a sinful woman and brought her to the Lord Jesus. According to the law, such a sinful woman had to be stoned to death, but the religionists did not do it. They brought her to the Lord in an attempt to trap Him. They said, “Teacher, this woman has been caught committing adultery. Moses commanded us to stone such a person. What do You say?” The religionists were quite bold. They asked the Lord a very tricky question. If He had said that they had to stone her to death, then He would have lost His position as the Savior and Redeemer. Could a Savior say that such a sinner must be stoned to death? Of course, the Lord, as the Redeemer and Savior, could not say this. But, on the other hand, if He said that they should not stone her to death, then they would have said that He was breaking the law. This question was a subtle trick of the enemy. The religionists thought that they were very wise. Actually they were stupid. They thought that the Lord Jesus would find it difficult to answer and that they had an excellent opportunity to catch Him.
When the Lord was asked this question, He did not say a word. The wisest way to answer a question is not to answer, to answer later on, or to answer slowly. The Lord’s first reaction to their question was not to answer it quickly. We also must learn this wisdom. When people come to you with an urgent question, you must learn from the Lord. He simply stooped to write on the ground. Silence cools people down, like cold water cools boiling water. When the Lord stooped to write, He was cooling down the situation. At the same time, by cooling down the hot situation, the sinful woman was comforted. I believe that by stooping to write on the ground the Lord Jesus was indicating to the religionists that they should not be so proud, that they had to humble themselves a little. They had to realize that they were as sinful as that woman.
When I was young, I tried to discover what it was that the Lord Jesus wrote on the ground. Throughout many generations no one has been able to tell what He wrote. I would guess that the Lord might have written, “Who is without sin among you?” While the Pharisees were asking what should be done with such a woman, the Lord Jesus might have written in big letters, “Who is without sin?” Everyone was staring at the Lord as He stooped to write on the ground. Then the Lord stood up and said, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her” (8:7). The Lord seemed to be saying, “You may stone her to death, but someone must take the lead. No one is qualified to take the lead in this except the one who is without sin. Let the one who is without sin among you be the first to cast a stone at her.” This word pierced their conscience. I believe that even before the Lord spoke these words, while He was still writing on the ground, their conscience was touched. What did the religionists do? Beginning with the older ones and up until the youngest, they went out one by one (8:9). The oldest, being the wisest, went away first. They knew that they were not qualified to take the lead in stoning the woman to death. But they were qualified to take the lead to run away. All the younger ones followed them.
Who is without sin? No one. Do not condemn others, for while you condemn others you are the same as they are. You are not qualified to condemn others. You are birds of the same feather. If you condemn another bird, you simply condemn yourself. Only the great I Am is without sin, and only He is qualified to condemn sin. What wisdom the Lord Jesus has! After the religionists left, notice how lovingly and gently the Lord expressed Himself to the sinful woman. He asked her if anyone condemned her, and she said, “No one, Lord.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you” (8:11). That was music to the woman’s terrified soul.
This incident manifests the Lord’s wisdom. The people came to condemn the sinful woman, but the Lord’s question convicted them of their own sinfulness. When people come to you with questions, you should be careful and turn the question upon themselves. You should answer them by asking them about themselves. Then you will strike their conscience and convince them. Eventually they will be convicted and run away.