It has only been a few years since people began to hear about a man named Jesus. He appeared on the scene around the age of thirty, and one day, made a dramatic entrance by overturning the tables of the money changers and those selling animals for sacrifices in the temple. At that time, he said, “Don’t make my Father’s house a marketplace.” This seemed like the act of someone zealously devoted to God, but it also appeared to be a challenge to the priests who had seized control of the temple’s authority. Perhaps because of this, Nicodemus, my friend and fellow council member, became interested in him.
From that day forward, Jesus began to captivate people’s hearts by teaching many lessons and performing signs. After the festival ended, he took his disciples to the Jordan River to baptize people. There were even rumors that he baptized more disciples than John the Baptist. After John was arrested, those rumors faded, and instead, news spread that Jesus was teaching in Galilee and healing the sick. Those who disliked him mocked that he had fled to Galilee out of fear of being arrested like John the Baptist, but the town where he stayed, Capernaum, was very close to Tiberias, the capital of Galilee, so it could be said that he had actually gone into the heart of the enemy.
As the number of people following him grew, the Pharisees tried to discern what kind of person he really was. But this mostly ended in conflict, because he often challenged us Pharisees. Although he never acted aggressively toward us, he constantly questioned the issues we considered important, so we saw him as an adversary.
Especially regarding the Sabbath and various purity laws, we often argued with Jesus, but there was no way to find common ground. He believed that saving a person was right even on the Sabbath, while we thought, “Why do something on the Sabbath that could be done on another day and thus break the Sabbath?” There was no way for us and Jesus to agree on this issue. After similar incidents repeated, some among the Pharisees even came to want to kill him.
The Sadducees, including the high priest, did not hate him as much as we did. Because rumors about him were so widespread, they once sent people with us to ask him to show a sign from heaven. He said that “there will be no sign given to it, except the sign of the prophet Jonah,” and then he left them. After that incident, the Sadducees regarded him as nothing more than a man surrounded by rumors and not worth their attention, and they lost interest.
Although his teachings differed greatly from those of the Sadducees in doctrinal matters, the Sadducees had been disputing doctrine with us Pharisees for over a hundred years, so they did not care much about differences in doctrine. They said there was no resurrection or angels and did not believe in God’s predestination, placing great importance on human choice and action. Even matters that clearly seemed to be God’s work, they judged with human reasoning, explaining them as mere coincidence or cause and effect.
Unless there was significant evidence that would shake their doctrine, the Sadducees would try to overlook doctrinal issues, thinking, “Let’s just keep the peace.” They already had power; why stir up trouble? Instead, the Sadducees were sensitive about matters concerning the temple and politics. If someone threatened the sanctity of the temple or incited the people during festivals, provoking the Romans, they would certainly punish that person. Leaving such a person alone would endanger their power.
Because of these complex reasons, during this Feast of Tabernacles, the temple guards from the tribe of Levi went to arrest him. The guards were so amazed by what he said that they returned without arresting him, and this attempt failed. But this incident clearly meant the Sadducees would take renewed interest in him, though not as intensely as the Pharisees.
Some Pharisees who led this incident confronted the temple guards, accusing them, “You aren’t also led astray, are you?” At that time, my friend Nicodemus tried to defend him, saying, “Does our law judge a man, unless it first hears from him personally and knows what he does?” I knew about what happened between him and Nicodemus, so I let it pass. But those who hated him were offended and responded harshly:
“Are you also from Galilee? Search, and see that no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.”
It was Nicodemus who, in standing up for him, was suddenly subjected to their harsh rebuke.
* * *
“Joseph! Joseph!”
Urgent knocking sounded at the door. Joseph of Arimathea paused his breakfast and went outside. There stood Nicodemus, his face pale with shock and urgency.
“This is serious. Some Pharisees and scribes have brought a woman caught in the act of adultery to the temple.”
“What does that mean all of a sudden?”
“Right now, he is teaching people in the temple, and they are trying to use this woman as a pretext to accuse him.”
Since Nicodemus first met Jesus, he had deeply sympathized with his thoughts and teachings. Though he kept silent in the council to avoid the harsh criticism faced previously, it was clear that he held a favorable view of Jesus. Joseph of Arimathea did not expect Nicodemus to react so sensitively to the idea of making an accusation against Jesus. It was puzzling why he was so obsessed to this extent.
“Hurry, we must go quickly. Every moment counts.”
“All right.”
Knowing it was useless to persuade Nicodemus now, Joseph quickly put on his outer garment and followed him, running. He wondered if Jesus was really worth all this, but at least for his friend’s sake, he tried to think of a way to save him.
According to the law, both the man and woman caught in adultery must be put to death, but nowadays, people often use divorce certificates to legally end their marriage instead. Of course, many still insisted on strictly following the law, and in some provinces, stoning still occurred. The problem, however, was that the Jews had no official authority to sentence and carry out executions publicly. If this happened somewhere beyond Roman control, those involved could just deny it, and there would be no proof. But here, in Jerusalem, where Roman troops were always stationed, and in the temple where all eyes were watching, it could not go unnoticed. Could anyone really order her death under such circumstances?
Furthermore, Jesus always taught forgiveness. If he ordered the woman caught in adultery to be stoned to death according to the law, he would contradict his own teaching. But if he said to forgive and not kill her, he would be breaking the law and giving them grounds to accuse him. What could he possibly answer in such a situation?
Joseph thought that if he were in Jesus’ place, he would have no answer either, as he entered the temple. From afar, a noisy crowd was visible near the offering box. As he drew closer, he saw Jesus, the woman, and the people gathered around them. As feared, the atmosphere was tense and heated. The people who had brought the woman surrounded her, pressing Jesus to decide what to do. The woman in the middle, trembling like a leaf, was barely covered with an outer garment, as if she had been caught right at the scene.
Then, Jesus suddenly bent down and began writing something on the ground. Eager to know what Jesus was writing, Joseph moved his head from side to side, but the crowd made it hard for him to see. After a while, Jesus straightened up and said loudly enough for everyone to hear:
“He who is without sin among you, let him throw the first stone at her.”
Then he bent down again, continuing to write on the ground. Judging by the gradually quieting voices of the accusers, what he wrote must have pierced their consciences. The longer he wrote, the more people lowered their heads and left. One by one, starting with the elders, the accusers all disappeared. Only the onlookers remained, watching what would happen next.
Jesus stood up and spoke to the woman, who was still trembling with fear:
“Woman, where are your accusers? Did no one condemn you?”
“No one, Lord.”
“Neither do I condemn you. Go your way. From now on, sin no more.”
Joseph was taken aback by the words: “Sin no more.” Up until that moment, his mind had been preoccupied with questions about how Jesus would handle the crisis and what he would do next. He suddenly realized that he had never once spared a thought for the woman herself—how terrified and broken she must have felt, or what would become of her after all this. To him, she had simply been a sinner deserving death. But Jesus, in that brief moment, showed concern not only for her present, but also for her future.
Jesus did not leave her to die for a crime punishable by death, nor did he tell her it was okay to keep sinning. He saved a life today and changed its future. The Pharisees could only think, “A sinner must die, but since we fear Rome’s eyes and cannot kill her, let’s use this opportunity to test this man called Jesus.” But his view of the world was completely different.
What are Pharisees and scribes? They are teachers meant to guide people on the right path, not to kill them. Yet they were leading people down the path of death, not the right way. And if they truly wanted to judge adultery, it would have been proper to bring the man caught with the woman to stand there as well. But they did not. They brought only the woman. From the start, they had no intention of judging adultery. They used the poor woman and God’s law only as tools to test Jesus. Though they claimed to teach righteousness, their hearts were filled with evil instead. Joseph thought, “So what about me? Am I truly guiding people on the right path?”
“He who hates disguises it with his lips, but he harbors deceit within himself. When he speaks graciously, don’t believe him, for there are seven abominations in his heart. His malice may be concealed by deception, but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly. Whoever digs a pit shall fall into it. Whoever rolls a stone, it will come back on him. A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin.”
Joseph of Arimathea could not help but painfully recognize that these words from Solomon’s Proverbs applied not only to the Pharisees and scribes who had come to accuse the woman, but also to himself. At that moment, he heard again the voice of Jesus:
“I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”
He said he was the light of the world—a light that shines into the darkness of this age, exposing the evil in people’s hearts.
Yet those who still failed to understand shouted at him,
“You testify about yourself. Your testimony is not valid.”
“Even if I testify about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from, and where I am going; but you don’t know where I came from, or where I am going. You judge according to the flesh. I judge no one. Even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent me. It’s also written in your law that the testimony of two people is valid. I am one who testifies about myself, and the Father who sent me testifies about me.”
“Where is your Father?”
“You know neither me, nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”
He paused for a moment, his gaze moving over the crowd, then spoke again.
“I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sins. Where I go, you can’t come.”
Some scoffed,
“Will he kill himself, because he says, ‘Where I am going, you can’t come’?”
Joseph, however, did not fully understand Jesus’ words, but he listened intently, determined not to miss a single word.
“You are from beneath. I am from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world. I said therefore to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that ‘I am he’, you will die in your sins.”
At that moment, a single word echoed in Joseph of Arimathea’s ears: “I am.”
It was a word so ordinary, used by everyone in daily life. Yet, strangely, when he heard Jesus say it, a scene from Exodus suddenly came to Joseph’s mind.
“God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And he said, ‘You shall tell the children of Israel this: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
It was the very answer God gave Moses so that, when the Israelites asked for the name of the God who sent him, he would know what to say.
Why did that passage come to mind at this moment? Joseph, whose heart had been slowly opening, now found himself once again thrown into confusion.
Was he alone in thinking this way? No. Several others, well-versed in the Scriptures, also grew serious and asked,
“Who are you?”
“Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you. However, he who sent me is true; and the things which I heard from him, these I say to the world.”
The murmurs grew louder.
“When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and I do nothing of myself, but as my Father taught me, I say these things. He who sent me is with me. The Father hasn’t left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.”
Though many were plunged into deeper confusion, others began to believe.
“We believe in you.”
Seeing this, Jesus said:
“If you remain in my word, then you are truly my disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”
Those who took their first steps toward understanding the truth welcomed these words. But those who remained confused grew increasingly angry.
“We are Abraham’s offspring, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How do you say, ‘You will be made free’?”
“Most certainly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is the bondservant of sin. A bondservant doesn’t live in the house forever. A son remains forever. If therefore the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham’s offspring, yet you seek to kill me, because my word finds no place in you. I say the things which I have seen with my Father; and you also do the things which you have seen with your father.”
They said in anger,
“Our father is Abraham.”
“If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham didn’t do this. You do the works of your father.”
The cries of anger swelled even more loudly.
“We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father, God.”
“If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came out and have come from God. For I haven’t come of myself, but he sent me. Why don’t you understand my speech? Because you can’t hear my word. You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn’t stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own; for he is a liar, and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you don’t believe me. Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? He who is of God hears the words of God. For this cause you don’t hear, because you are not of God.”
“Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?”
“I don’t have a demon, but I honor my Father, and you dishonor me. But I don’t seek my own glory. There is one who seeks and judges. Most certainly, I tell you, if a person keeps my word, he will never see death.”
“Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, as did the prophets; and you say, ‘If a man keeps my word, he will never taste of death.’ Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died. Who do you make yourself out to be?”
“If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say that he is our God. You have not known him, but I know him. If I said, ‘I don’t know him,’ I would be like you, a liar. But I know him and keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it, and was glad.”
“You are not yet fifty years old! Have you seen Abraham?”
Jesus said to them,
“Most certainly, I tell you, before Abraham came into existence, I AM.”
As if waiting for it, questions burst out from all directions, and Jesus answered them in a firmer tone. Watching him stand confidently amid the world’s anger, Joseph of Arimathea could not discern whether the path of light Jesus spoke of was the right way or the wrong one. Nicodemus, standing beside him, was equally confused, so this stumbling block was not one that Joseph alone had to overcome.
Those who already believed in Jesus, those who had just come to faith, those who hated him, and even those whose hatred had grown into outright hostility—all were united in confusion. Seizing this moment, some people lifted stones intending to strike him, but Jesus avoided them and moved away toward the outside of the temple.
The passages from Exodus 3:14, Proverbs 26:24-28, John 7:47-52, 8:7-58 quoted in this narrative are taken directly from the World English Bible (WEB) translation.
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