He Wrote on the Ground

(John 8:2-11 NIV) When the religious leaders brought the woman caught in adultery to Jesus, he was teaching in the temple courts. After hearing their accusation, Jesus stooped down and wrote with his finger in the dirt. We all know his reply, "Let anyone of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." Jesus wrote on the ground again as the accusers left one at a time. When there was no one left to condemn the woman, he commanded her to, "Go and leave your life of sin."

It's easy after reading that story to seek answers. Where was the man? Why was he not condemned like the woman? Obviously the Pharisees just wanted to trap Jesus. The other question that might haunt the memory is What was it the Master Teacher was writing on the ground? Were they words of wisdom, a scripture text, or time-killing doodles? There is no way of knowing, though I'm pretty sure the Lord wasn't doodling. I'm saving that last question for when I get to the Pearly Gates.

This story makes me think of a time when I drew in the dirt. Did you ever play marbles? We would draw a bull ring about 3-5 feet in diameter on the ground. Inside the ring we would scatter a designated number of marbles from each participant's drawstring bag. Positioning ourselves around the ring, we took turns using a shooter to knock marbles out. When the last marble was tapped out, we counted how many we each had knocked from the circle. The player possessing the most marbles was the winner. It was good clean fun except for the dust that ended up covering our clothes and bodies.

photo by Crissy Jarvis/Unsplash.com 

Oh, the innocence of children's games. Drawing a game board for marbles on the ground was much more frivolous than whatever Jesus was sketching with his finger in the dirt.