Bible commentators and enthusiasts have long been puzzled about what Jesus wrote in the sand in John 8:1-11.
In this article, you’ll find the most common suggestions from commentators and our answer.
You will also learn that there is much more to this story than speculating what Jesus wrote in the sand.
Keep reading, and you’ll see.
Contents
What did Jesus write in the sand Bible verses
John 8:1-11 (ESV)
1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
Leviticus 20:10
‘The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, even he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
Deuteronomy 22:22
If a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then they shall both die, the man who lay with the woman and the woman. So you shall remove the evil from Israel.
What commentators usually say Jesus wrote in the sand?
Commentators and laymen speculate a lot about what Jesus wrote in the dirt with His finger. They usually suggest the following:
- Jesus wrote the names of the accusers in the sand.
- Jesus wrote the sins of the accusers in the sand.
Largely, these suggestions are based on Jeremiah 17:13 which we look into later.
Explanation of what Jesus wrote in the sand
John 8:1-11 depicts a scene where Jesus is teaching in the Temple, and the scribes and the Pharisees bring an adulterous woman to him. They set her in the middle of the group and tell Jesus they have caught her in the very act.
In the Law of Moses, adultery is punishable by death, and the scribes and Pharisees ask Jesus what should be done with the woman. Verse 6 says, “They said this testing him, that they might have something to accuse him of.”
They wanted to accuse Jesus of three things.
Firstly, the Law in Leviticus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 22:22 says that both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death. If Jesus would judge only the woman, He would act against the Law.
Secondly, Jewish people were under Roman rule at the time of Jesus. They didn’t have the right to execute people while under Roman occupation, John 18:31. If Jesus said it was okay to stone her, He would act against Roman Law, and the scribes and the Pharisees would report him to the Roman authorities for insubordination.
Thirdly, the scribes and the Pharisees deliberately say to Jesus, “Moses commanded us to stone such women.” If Jesus now lets her go without judging her, they can accuse Him of being a false prophet for not following the Law of Moses.
“But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with his finger.”
If the accusers caught the woman in the very act, like they claimed they did, they also knew who the man was. They know the Law, but they only bring women to Jesus. They are already in violation of the Law.
When they persist in asking Jesus, He stands up and says, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw the first stone at her.” Jesus then stoops down again and writes in the sand the second time.
The Bible doesn’t say what Jesus wrote in the sand. We guess that He wrote the commandments of Law from Leviticus 20:10 and/or Deuteronomy 22:22.
Knowing that the scribes are violating these commandments, He then says he who is without sin, let him throw the first stone. Since they don’t have the man in the scene, they are violating the Law and thus are with sin.
In the end, what Jesus wrote in the sand doesn’t matter. Since the text doesn’t mention it, it’s not that important. What’s more important is why Jesus wrote in the sand with His finger, and that is what you will learn next.
Why did Jesus write with His finger in the sand?
By using His finger to write in the sand, Jesus shows them who He is: the LORD who wrote the Law on Mt. Sinai with His finger—the very Law that they are now using to trick Him.
Exodus 31:18
When he finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, he gave Moses the two tablets of the covenant, stone tablets, written with God’s finger.
He stoops down again to write in the sand, reminding the audience that God also wrote on two sets of tablets because Moses broke the first set.
Exodus 34:1
Yahweh said to Moses, “Chisel two stone tablets like the first. I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.
The scene connects nicely with Jeremiah 17:13, as seen in the next section.
How Jesus writing in the sand connects to Jeremiah 17:13
Like always, there is more to the Biblical passages than meets the eye at first, and often, the key to the “inside information” is in the background story of the passage.
John 8:1-11 happens in the aftermath of the Feast of Sukkot, also called the Feast of Booths or the Feast of Tabernacles. During these feast days, the Jews would celebrate Simchat Beit HaShoeivah, “Rejoicing of the Water-Drawing House.”
Every day during the feast, a priest would draw water from the Pool of Siloam in the City of David. They would then bring the water to the Temple and pour it onto the altar with wine from another bowl. Each day, the Jews would sing Psalms and recite Isaiah 12:3.
Isaiah 12:3
Therefore with joy you will draw water out of the wells of salvation.
The word “salvation” is Strong’s H3444, yᵉshûwʻâh, and pronounced yesh-oo’-aw, which sounds almost the same as Jesus’ name, Yehoshua (Yeh-HO-shoo-ah) and a shorter version of Yeshua (Yeh-SHOO-ah) in Hebrew.
Therefore, Jesus says the following on the last day of the feast.
John 7:37-39
Now on the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink! He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, from within him will flow rivers of living water.” But he said this about the Spirit, which those believing in him were to receive. For the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus wasn’t yet glorified.
After Jesus said this, many people believed in Him, but many didn’t, and there was a division between them. The Pharisees wanted to arrest Jesus at this point, and because of this, they came the following day to trick Him with the adulterous woman.
With this background story in mind, you can connect Jeremiah 17:13 to John 8:1-11.
While Jesus bends down to write in the sand the second time, the accusers who are put to shame start to leave. All people abandon the scene, and only Jesus and the woman are left.
In Jeremiah 17:13, we read that all who abandon God will be put to shame, just like the accusers were put to shame because they didn’t believe Jesus. “Those who turn away will be written down” or “written in the earth,” as some translations put it.
Jeremiah 17:13 (NASB)
Lord, the hope of Israel, All who abandon You will be put to shame. Those who turn away on earth will be written down, Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, that is the Lord.
How Jesus handles the situation of the adulterous woman shows his accusers and the audience in more than one way how He is the LORD who is the fountain of the living waters.