The gospel for the 5th Sunday in Lent, lectionary cycle C, is the story of the woman caught in adultery. The placement of this pericope falls between Jesus’ contentious encounter with religious leadership during the Festival of Tabernacles and  Jesus’ dialogue that begins, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12) – which begins another contentious encounter. As many commentators have noted, the John 7 dialogue seems to flow more smoothly into the “Light of the World” discourse than the story of the woman caught in adultery. More on this later.

In any event, our gospel is another point of contention with the religious authorities in Jerusalem. Jesus has already sensed that “some” meant to kill him (Jn7:12) which to be the rumor on the street (v.25). The Pharisees, concerned about the rumbling of the crowds, send guards to arrest Jesus (v.32). Failing on that point, they will seek to engage him on other matters and at other times.

In the background of the story is the question of Jesus’ identity – which is exactly the question at the end of John 7: “Some in the crowd who heard these words said, ‘This is truly the Prophet.’ Others said, “This is the Messiah.” But others said, ‘The Messiah will not come from Galilee, will he? Does not scripture say that the Messiah will be of David’s family and come from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?’ So a division occurred in the crowd because of him.” (Jn 7:40-43). The concern of the religious authorities is that Jesus is another “messiah-wanna’be” which only leads to problems with the Roman authorities. Their question is whether he is authentically a man of God in the tradition of the great prophet Moses.

The Law of Moses is quite clear as regards adultery:

“If a man commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death.” (Lev 20:10)

“If a man is discovered having relations with a woman who is married to another, both the man and the woman with whom he has had relations shall die. Thus shall you purge the evil from your midst.” (Dt 22:22)

As the scene begins the temple area is filled with people, “Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle.” (Jn 8:3). 

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Image Credit: Detail of “Christ and the Adulteress” Rembrandt, 1644 | National Gallery London | PD-US