This is written with some imagination applied to the text, not to offend anyone but to show how Jesus fulfills the law with grace, especially as he applies it to the outcasts in his society.
Not supposed to be
John 7:53-8:11 Numbers 5
Some bibles have footnotes that say the earliest and most reliable manuscripts do not have this story in John 7. Some scholars claim that it is not supposed to be in the bible. But Jesus seems to work his best when faced with a “not supposed to be” He is up for the challenges of straightening out our “not supposed to be”
Jesus is up all night in prayer with God on the Mount of Olives, rehearsing and preparing for the “not supposed to be” challenge coming the next day. Early in the morning he can be found in the temple, teaching those gathered around him. Meanwhile the official teachers of the law are disturbing the class, preparing a trap for him. They claim to have caught a woman in the act of adultery and this allows them to kill her by throwing rocks. On top of that they challenge Jesus by telling him they are in full accordance with laws of Moses. Does Jesus really believe their accusations against her or is this also part of the trap? In any case, Jesus also knows the rules and applies a law which states that a woman suspected of adultery but not caught in the act must go through a trial by curse. This is the more gracious of the two laws and Jesus knows when it is needed.
Silently he stands in the temple courts and then he stoops to write the curses of the law in the dust on the ground. Meanwhile the law teachers, those with all the answers, are impatiently pestering him with questions. “Are you going to uphold the laws of Moses or not?” “Who of us gets to throw the first stone?” Then Jesus straightens up and facing them gives an answer that rocks their world. “If you have not sinned, cast the first stone.” he orders. This answer can make a mockery of the rules or fulfill them all. They must now decide which and so find out how grace really works.
Again Jesus writes on the ground with his finger. A new law is applied, overtop of the curses wiping them away. “Jesus loves you” it now says. The teachers of the law cannot condemn but they cannot believe it either. This is not supposed to be. They turn and slowly walk away, one at a time, the wisest ones first. Jesus alone has the power to condemn but will not. And the woman still stands, her life saved by the law of grace.