Biblical Law and the Woman Caught in Adultery

Many of us have been told that when the Messiah let the woman who was caught in adultery go free, instead of being stoned to death, he changed Biblical law. Is that what happened?

This story comes to us from John 8. You're probably familiar with it. Jewish leaders brought a woman who had been caught in adultery before the Messiah. They said that in the Torah, Moses commanded that adulterers be stoned. What did Yahusha say about this?

They were looking for a way to trap him theologically. They wanted him to disagree with Moses. Keep in mind that they were not coming to him for advice or because it was required of them. They were experts in Biblical law and they had the authority to carry it out. This was either a trap or a test. He could have dazzled them with his wisdom, as he had before. But what did he do? He stooped down, and used his finger to write in the dirt like he didn't hear them. (John 8:6)

The Bible doesn't say exactly how long the Messiah wrote in the dirt, or what words he put down. Did he write out the passage they were referring to? Did he reference another part of Scripture? Did he write their names or sins? Did he write Psalms of repentance or about the hope of forgiveness through him? Did he write the truth about this situation?

They kept questioning him, and eventually he stood up and said one of his more famous phrases. "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." (John 8:7)

He stooped back down and went back to his writing. One by one the accusers and crowd went away, from oldest to youngest. After that he spoke to the accused woman. She told him that no one had condemned her. "Neither do I," he said to her. "Go and sin no more." (John 8:11)

Does this prove that the Messiah is altering Biblical law?

Deuteronomy 22:22 does say that adultery is a sin punishable by death:

"When a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then both of them shall die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman. Thus you shall purge the evil from Israel."

Biblical law says she deserves death. But not so fast. It also says here that both the man and the woman involved are to be put to death. Where is the man? If the religious leaders were so concerned with rightly dealing with sin, why didn't they bring him to the Messiah? There is no way for the woman to be "caught in" adultery, but not the man. It's not like they didn't know who he was. This seems to imply that something fishy is going on...did they lure her into a trap? Did someone come to them and accuse her falsely? Had she committed adultery with one of the accusing religious leaders and now they were hoping to do away with her while avoiding their own punishment?

Biblical law also says that someone can't be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. It would require two or three. While this passage of Scripture makes it sound like a fairly sizable group was present (she was brought by both scribes and Pharisees, both plural), it would seem extremely suspicious if everyone in this group was a firsthand witness to this sin. This indicates that many people present were accusing her on hearsay alone, which would be wrong and unfair. Since Scripture doesn't tell us that she was caught by at least two or three witnesses, we can't be 100% sure that there were enough witnesses to justify stoning. That means we can't be certain that the Bible truly calls for her to be stoned here.

Deuteronomy 17:7 says that the witnesses who caught her would be required to throw the first stones at her. I believe this was intentional by YHWH to prevent deaths unfairly...if you were going to accuse someone of a weighty sin, then you had to be ready to have their blood on your hands. This means it would be a sin to throw the first stones at someone caught in adultery, if you were not one of at least two witnesses to this sin. Scripture does not definitively say that the witnesses were present in John 8. If they weren't, it would have been wrong to stone her.

The man was not present, and it's not clear if there were first-hand witnesses present. This would make it against Biblical law to stone her, even if she truly had been caught in adultery. Would it be just to put someone to death on hearsay when the other alleged perpetrator of the crime is not even charged? It would not be, according to the laws given in the Torah.

Yahusha followed Biblical law by not stoning her. As a result it was a beautiful foreshadow of his taking the punishment that we all deserve for our sins. His death doesn't mean that adultery or breaking other Biblical commandments is now okay, but it means that forgiveness and redemption are possible when we repent of our mistakes.

"Go and sin no more," doesn't mean what she did was permissible. The Messiah calling it sin tells us it was definitely sin. By telling her not to sin, he was telling her not to break Biblical law. Even as this woman receives mercy and redemption, the Savior calls her to uphold the commandments of Scripture.

Related posts:
Commandments or Traditions - Understanding the New Testament
Stoning in the Bible
How the Bible Defines Sin

Here's When the Biblical Holidays Happen in 2022

The Biblical holidays are significant times for believers. The Creator set these times apart and throughout history he has used these feasts and holidays in big ways, from the Messiah being killed at Passover to the Holy Spirit being given at Shavuot, and we should expect him to continue that trend. Let's pay attention to when these special times are and take part in them like Scripture says we should!

Leviticus 23 tells us when these happen, but since the Gregorian calendar doesn't match up with the Creator's calendar the dates land a little bit differently each year. There are also a few different ways to calculate the start of the year and because of that there are several different calendars that believers go by. What I'm sharing here is the one that is mostly commonly used. Whether you go by this calendar or another, mark your calendars for these set apart times!

When do the Biblical holidays happen in 2022?

Passover - April 15-16

Unleavened Bread - April 16-23

First Fruits - April 23-24

Shavuot - June 4-6

Feast of Trumpets - September 25-27

Yom Kippur - October 4-5

Feast of Tabernacles - October 9-17

A couple of things about this. According to this calendar, days start in the evening at sundown. This means that Passover starts on the evening of April 15 and goes through the evening of the 16th. This calendar also gives an extra day to both the Feast of Trumpets and Shavuot, even though in the Bible they are both just one day events.

It's also important to note that while all of these are special times, some of these are also considered Sabbath days which means we shouldn't work on them. These Sabbath days are the first and last days of Unleavened Bread, Shavuot, the Feast of Trumpets, Yom Kippur, and the first and last days of Tabernacles.

More on the Biblical holidays:
Why I Started Celebrating the Biblical Feasts
Reasons Why Believers Should Keep the Biblical Holidays
The Beginner's Guide to the Biblical Holidays

What Scripture Says Not To Eat (Leviticus 11)

This post is to enumerate the things that are forbidden for us to consume. Let's note that the Bible does not consider these things foods. While there are a few things on this list that are commonly eaten in our culture, this is not what the Living God intended. See Leviticus 11 for more on unclean animals.

What Scripture tells us not to eat:

Cats - housecats, cheetahs, leopards, panthers, tigers, lions.

Dogs - wolfs, coyote, fox, hyenas, etc.

Rabbits.

Equine animals - horses, donkeys, mules, zebra.

Flying animals such as eagles, crows, flamingos, ostriches, penguins, parrots, pelicans, bats, hawks, buzzards, and owls.

Insects - except for locusts, crickets, and grasshoppers.

Snails.

Pigs - including boar. This includes all pig products such as pork, ham, bacon, pork sausage, pepperoni, lard, and porcine gelatin.

Sea mammals - whales, dolphins, seals, otters, porpoises, walrus, etc.

Shellfish - shrimp, scallops, clams, mussels, sea urchin, crab, crayfish, crawfish, lobster, calamari, and so forth.

Fish without fins and scales - swordfish, catfish, marlin, sturgeon, eel, shark, squid, jellyfish, octopus, cuttlefish, etc.

Miscellaneous animals - gorillas, monkeys, elephants, camels, llamas, badgers, rodents, raccoons, possums, kangaroos, wolverines, squirrels, earth worms, hippos, groundhogs, alligators, crocodiles, snakes, and so on.

Any kind of blood.

Reading through that list is extremely unappetizing. Who wants to eat worms or racoons or a housecat? And wouldn't it be sad to eat beautiful animals we see in the wild or at zoos like zebras, penguins, and dolphins? That is how the Creator feels about everything on the list...even what is commonly consumed in our culture.

More on what Scripture says about what we eat:
Ten Times the Bible Talks About Clean Eating
Understanding Mark 7 and the Messiah Declaring All Foods Clean
How to Eat Biblically Clean
Understanding Peter's Vision

The Faith of the Bible

What faith does Scripture teach?

Seriously, stop and think about that for a moment... Is it Judaism? Is it Christianity? Is it some sort of hybrid?

Let's clear something up: Scripture does not advocate for a Jewish faith or for modern Christianity. While they are both based on certain portions of Scripture, neither is the faith taught by the Bible.

I know that sounds hard to believe and really harsh. But YHWH does not call his people "Christians," and he does not call them "Jews." He calls his people Hebrews and he calls them Israel.

Please note: I am not saying that if you identify as Christian or Jewish your faith is not sincere or that you are not saved, etc. Your salvation is between you and YHWH. I don't believe any of us have perfect theology and don't see that as a prerequisite for eternal life. 

In the "Hebrew roots" movement, there is often an emphasis on restoring the 'Jewishness of Jesus.' As you may know, what people typically mean by that is observing the Sabbath day and feasts, as well as not eating pigs or shellfish, and maybe even learning a few Hebrew words. And those are all great things! But saying that the Messiah did these things only because he was 'Jewish' creates a lot of confusion.

Have you ever thought about keeping the Sabbath or another Biblical instruction and then written off doing it because you aren't Jewish? Have you ever shared with someone about following Scripture's instructions and have them reply that they aren't Jewish so they don't have to do that? The misconception that these are "Jewish" things comes from this misnomer of the 'Jewishness of Jesus.' He was from the tribe of Judah, yes, but he is a Hebrew! 

It's important to realize that literally every instruction given to the tribe of Judah was given to all the other tribes of Israel as well. The Bible does not have different commands for different ancestry or family background. (Although many of the commands were given in regards to the Levitical priesthood, which was comprised of only members of the tribe of Levi, specifically of Aaron's family.) So all the tribes of Israel are called to the Scripture's instructions for the set apart times, the Sabbath, clean eating, etc. We also need to note that even if you aren't from the tribes of Israel or don't have family history going back far enough to know that, you are still called to keep the commandments. See Exodus 12:49, and Romans 11 where it talks about being grafted into YHWH's people.

Judaism rose from the Old Testament of Scripture and was in full swing by the time of the Messiah's life. Throughout the Gospels he frequently confronted theological issues he had with Jewish leaders. Though the practice of Judaism has changed somewhat (or a lot, depending on the sect) today from Bible times, Judaism's teachings continue to conflict with what the Bible says in many ways. Obviously with the rejection of Messiah, but also in adding literally thousands of laws that aren't found in Scripture, and often claiming that they are. An example of this would be the traditional Shabbat ritual of lighting candles while saying a blessing that says that God commands this. He does not. There is no verse in Scripture that instructs us to light candles at the start of the Sabbath. It's not wrong to do so, but it is wrong to teach that this is a commandment when it isn't. There are many examples like this. Some proponents of Judaism say that if you tear toilet paper off the role on the Sabbath day it's sin. Does Scripture teach that? Nope. Certain sects of Judaism teach its followers to swing a chicken over their heads on Yom Kippur. Again, does Scripture give this instruction? It does not. Many elements and practices of Judaism not found in Scripture.

Now please hear me: I am not saying that those in Judaism aren't sincere in their faith. I am not saying that every single Jewish person abides by the entire Talmud. I am not passing judgment on anyone's sincerity or relationship with God. But I am not going to turn a blind eye to contradictions between this faith system and what Scripture teaches. It is incorrect to say that Judaism is just the faith of the Old Testament still waiting for the Messiah, when so much has been added to it. It is worth noting that Yahusha never once described himself as Jewish, and that Apostle Paul described Judaism as his former way of life (Galatians 1:13). 

While Judaism tends to add things to Scripture, Christianity often takes things away. Not necessarily by actually removing verses from Bibles (Though that is a problem, and versions of Scripture are actually printed now that have removed all verses on homosexuality, for example.), but by a wholesale writing off of much of what Scripture teaches. Mainstream Christianity teaches that we shouldn't keep many of the commandments found in Scripture, including: not bringing YHWH's name to nothingness, honoring the Sabbath, instructions for how we should eat, laws related to hygiene, and celebrating the set apart times. I understand the argument against these things (and believed it myself for much of my life), but that simply doesn't hold up with a deep examination of Scripture. Furthermore, nowhere in Scripture are we given license to disregard the instructions on how to live.

I attended a Bible study with a couple who were adamantly against the instructions being for today. They believed the commandments are no longer for those who serve the Living God and that the Old Testament is just a history book with a few inspirational stories. They were also convinced that the Holy Spirit was only for those in the book of Acts. Their belief was that God is no longer interested in doing miracles or tangibly expressing his love to his people. It never made sense to me why they would bother bringing a Bible to study, as they believed so little of it. They had every excuse in the world for why 99% of Scripture wasn't applicable to them. They were nice people but they believed the full expression of faith was to ask Jesus into your heart and be somewhat friendly in public.

The Hebrew faith is so much more than this! I wouldn't begrudge anyone of the first small steps of faith, but I promise wherever your faith is right now YHWH has more for you! More learning and an abundant life through his instructions. A better understanding of who he is and what his word says. I can tell you from personal experience in my life and what I've seen from others who have also embraced the Hebrew faith that it brings significantly more fruit of the Spirit to your life! Again, many Christians and Jews are wonderful people and genuine in their faith. I am not passing judgment on them. I'm not writing to try and offend or upset anyone. It's not for me to judge your relationship with the Living God. But it is so important that we get the faith of the Bible right! The Hebrew faith is not a mixture of Judaism and Christianity, because both are flawed. The Hebrew faith is the accurate understanding of the entirety of the word of YHWH.

The Hebrew faith is different from both Christianity and Judaism. It's where we take the whole of Scripture seriously, without adding to it. We need to divide it rightly so that we understand what the faith of the Bible really is. While there is common ground to Christianity and Judaism, our faith shouldn't be a hybrid of two flawed religious systems. 

Related posts:
Commandments or Traditions - Understanding the New Testament

Is it Possible to Keep the Torah?

What is a Hebrew?