John 8:1-11 Jesus in the dirt

 "Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives but early the next morning he was back again at the temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. As he was speaking, the teachers of the religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. 'Teacher,' they said to Jesus, 'this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?' They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, 'All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!' Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, [...] until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, "Where are your accusers? Didn't even one of them condemn you?' 'No Lord," she said. And Jesus said, "Neither do I. Go and sin no more."
- John 8:1-11

This is one of my favorites. This is one out of the three times God had his hands in the dirt. This reveals so much of Jesus' character. Jesus did not condemn her. Jesus was the only one who could, and he didn't. I can't even imagine the woman in this scene. (Dirty? Sweaty? Half-naked? Ashamed? Scared?) This was early in the morning. She could have very well just been dragged from her bed since being caught in the act. (Where was her lover? He's not mentioned.) She was right in front of Christ. Right in the spotlight. She couldn't hide. She couldn't leave. She was being used by the Pharisees for their own ploy. They didn't care about her- they wanted Jesus. This woman doesn't say a word to her defense. I think she knew what sin she committed and I think she knew the punishment- being stoned to death. (Did the Pharisees already have the stones in their fists?). The only thing that she said (when answering Jesus) was "Lord". She recognized Jesus as the Lord. Jesus removed her accusers (much like he did in the book of Zechariah: God rebuked satan, the Accuser, and cleansed Jeshua). Jesus didn't condemn the world, he came to save it. He came to heal and bandage the brokenhearted and the crushed spirit. He came to save the lost. Jesus showed this woman GRACE and MERCY in its purest form.