What is Jesus writing on the ground?

[kwikphilly]

Blessings SIC,,,

Quote

At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. ³ The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group ⁴ and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. ⁵ In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” ⁶ They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.⁷ When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” ⁸ Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

⁹ At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.¹⁰ Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

¹¹ “No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

 

Now Jesus stoops down and writes twice on the ground.What exactly does He write?

This is a very interesting story & although we have no idea what Jesus did write,we can only imagine ,,,,,,of course,we can Receive Divine Revelation .....

I've thought about these these verses of Scripture often,I'll share with you some of my thoughts,which of course are just speculation ,,,,,

We see that the Teachers of the Law & the Pharisees were the adulturess's accusers,it ins Written that she was "caught in the act",,,,,,so where was her counterpart,was he not as guilty as she was,according to the Law?So why was she alone,,,,,,why did they let the man go free? Well,there are a lot of reasons,perhaps it was some pagan man,,,,,,,,,,,OR

Perhaps it was one of "them",one that stood there in the crowd amongst the Teachers of the Law ,the Pharisees or someone of high position & influence

Maybe Jesus simply wrote "names" down on the ground or just that one name,,,,,,,,If so,they would have turned away in shame knowing they too were guilty,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

There is much to be considered with the example Jesus made,it does not matter "what" or "who" he wrote down but His example was very clear,,,,,,,,Forgive as we are Forgiven because there is not one of us that do not fall short of the Glory of God,,,,,,,,,,,To God be the Glory!

                                                                                                                        With love-in Christ,Kwik

[Guest Robert]

1 hour ago, kwikphilly said:

Blessings SIC,,,

This is a very interesting story & although we have no idea what Jesus did write,we can only imagine ,,,,,,of course,we can Receive Divine Revelation .....

I've thought about these these verses of Scripture often,I'll share with you some of my thoughts,which of course are just speculation ,,,,,

We see that the Teachers of the Law & the Pharisees were the adulturess's accusers,it ins Written that she was "caught in the act",,,,,,so where was her counterpart,was he not as guilty as she was,according to the Law?So why was she alone,,,,,,why did they let the man go free? Well,there are a lot of reasons,perhaps it was some pagan man,,,,,,,,,,,OR

Perhaps it was one of "them",one that stood there in the crowd amongst the Teachers of the Law ,the Pharisees or someone of high position & influence

Maybe Jesus simply wrote "names" down on the ground or just that one name,,,,,,,,If so,they would have turned away in shame knowing they too were guilty,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

There is much to be considered with the example Jesus made,it does not matter "what" or "who" he wrote down but His example was very clear,,,,,,,,Forgive as we are Forgiven because there is not one of us that do not fall short of the Glory of God,,,,,,,,,,,To God be the Glory!

                                                                                                                        With love-in Christ,Kwik

Good point; in the Greek, John uses the word katagrapho, which means "to write against". It's entirely possible that what Jesus was writing was their sins; it would fit with Jesus saying "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”  (John 8:6b, NASB) I don't think we'll know for sure though until we see the Lord and can ask Him in person.

Edited June 25, 2016 by RobertS

[Ezra]

14 hours ago, SIC said:

Now Jesus stoops down and writes twice on the ground.What exactly does He write?

Only God knows.

[FresnoJoe]

15 hours ago, SIC said:

Now Jesus stoops down and writes twice on the ground.....
What exactly does He write....

The First Time I Saw The Finger Of God

Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein.

Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them. They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. Daniel 5:1-4

Writing On The Wall

In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another. Daniel 5:5-6

God Judged

Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written. And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.

This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old. Daniel 5:24-31

~

Praise The Name Of Jesus~!

I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. Isaiah 42:8

Glory~!

Even human wrath will praise You; You will clothe Yourself with their remaining wrath. Psalms 76:10 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)

[HAZARD]

34 minutes ago, FresnoJoe said:

The First Time I Saw The Finger Of God

Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords, and drank wine before the thousand. Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, might drink therein.

Then they brought the golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, drank in them. They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. Daniel 5:1-4

Writing On The Wall

In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another. Daniel 5:5-6

God Judged

Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written. And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.

This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. TEKEL; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.

Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old. Daniel 5:24-31

~

Praise The Name Of Jesus~!

I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images. Isaiah 42:8

Glory~!

Even human wrath will praise You; You will clothe Yourself with their remaining wrath. Psalms 76:10 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)

Thanks for this Joe, I love this.

Men saw the HAND of God with their own eyes (V. 5).Thousands saw the handwriting on the wall as visible as any other writing (V. 7-9, 16, 24-25).

(V. 7, "Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall bge clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of Gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom."

This proves that  the writing was not in the ordinary language of the lords from the empire. Had it been in Hebrew, Chaldee, or some common language of the empire many could have read and interpreted it. The original may have been a heavenly language of angels or one of any number of earthly languages not known to men in the Babylonian empire. What ever it was it took a man gifted by the Holy Spirit, one possessing the gift of interpretation, to read and interpret it. CP. 1 Cor. 12:10-11, , 11, 30; 13:1; 14:5, 12-14, 26-28. There is no indication here that Daniel could read this because he was acquainted with a particular language. This would be doing away with the supernatural element in the interpretation. It was done by the Holy Spirit as much as the previous interpretations were (2:19, 22-23, 28-30, 47; 48:8-9, 19).

The merrymaking ceased, the revelry stopped, and a deathlike silence came over the banquet hall because of the hand-writing. The Queen broke the silence by informing the king of Daniel (V. 10-12).

V.11, "There is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in  him; whom the kings Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers;

The queen said, "Now let Daniel be called, and he will shew the interpretation (V. 12). The queen had absolute faith in Daniel for he had never failed (2:19-49; 4:8-30). 

(V. 25) And this was the writing that was written MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN,

MENE, MENE, meaning numbered numbered. Repeated for the sake of emphasis. God has numbered your kingdom, and it is finished. TEKEL, meaning weighed. You are weighed in the balance and are found wanting (. 25, 27).

UPHARSIN or PHARSIN is the plural of PERES meaning division. Thy kingdom is split up and given to the Medes and Persians (V. 25. 28). Belshazzar rewarded him according to his word, but Daniel did not exercise third rulership over Babylon due to the fact that the Medes and Persians took over the kingdom that very night (V. 30). Thus ended the kingdom of Babylon after holding Israel in captivity for 70 years (Jer. 25; Dan. 9:2).

 

[other one]

On 6/24/2016 at 2:07 PM, other one said:

• We had a member post a very interesting thought process about this through the eyes of the Jewish laws and customs.  I am not home and don't have it on my tablet, but if this thread is still active I'll post it next week.

written by Kevin Cornette (kevincornette@yahoo.com)
Kevinator Cornbread   Oct 9 2004, 03:08 AM Post #1  

 

 

Group: Newbie
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Member No.: 3813

 

 Okay. First a little history. This event takes place in John 8, the day after the events that took place in Chapter 7:37 through verse 53. Let's look there first:

QUOTE  
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet.
John 7:37-40   

When Jesus stands and cries in the Temple is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful and meaningful events in the life of Messiah. In John 7:2, we read that this was during the Feast of Sukkot (Tabernacles), one of the three Feasts of Ascension (when all Jewish men from 12 years old and upward were required to be in Jerusalem).

On the last day, the great day of the Feast, is Hosannah Rabbah, and a special ceremony took place as long as the Temple of God stood. The priest would be split into three divisions and perform certain functions.

The first would stay in the Temple and prepare to shout the Hallel and glorify God (along with the Levitical Choir and musicians) when the other two groups got back from their assigned duties.

The second division of priests would go out to the Kidron valley on the north of the Temple to cut down huge (25-30 foot long) willow branches. The willow branch is a symbol of the resurrection, for when these willow branches were put into the ground, they would take root and grow into trees. These priests would bring the branches into great stands to wave them over the Altar of sacrifice to make the sound of a mighty rushing wind to commemorate the day that God lit the fire of the Altar in Solomon's Temple (2 Chronicles 7:1-4). They would enter the Temple through the Eastern Gate (where the resurrected Jesus will enter at His return) and wait til the appropriate time.

The last group accompanied the Kohen HaGaddol (High Priest) to the pool of Siloam, where he dipped a silver pitcher into the pool to draw out of the well "Living Waters". As he drew the water out, he would sing/chant chapter 12 of Isaiah:

QUOTE  
And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.   

 

(can you see the Messianic prophecy here. The underlined part reads in Hebrew "Behold, God is Y'shua. I will put my confidence in and reverence him. YAH, YHVH is my strength, my rejoicing, and has become my Y'shua" -- Y'shua is Jesus name in Hebrew! )

After the water is drawn, the Kohen HaGaddol and his company would come up to the Temple through the Water Gate and wait outside the entrance. (as a quick aside, as soon as the companies of Kohen left, everyone would bow down and wait until the ceremony began)

What these three companies were waiting for is the sound of the flute. The ceremony began with the sound of a flute playing from the pinnacle of the Temple of God. This flute was called "The Pierced One" and had five holes in it (remember Jesus had five wounds: 2 hands, 2 feet and his side!). As soon as the pierced one cried out, the ceremony began. However, in this year, while everyone is bowing and waiting for the Pierced One to cry out, Jesus STOOD and cried instead (for He truly is the Pierced One - Zechariah 12:10, Psalm 22:16, John 19:34-37 & Revelation 1:7!)! HalleluYAH!

Jesus cries out and tells them "This ceremony we have celebrated together for 1500 years, it is pointing to this: I will cause the Ruach HaKodesh [Holy Spirit] to come and dwell in you, if you will put your confidence in me, just like the Scripture said that the Kohen HaGaddol just quoted!" Many believed on Him on this day. And Jesus spoke with such power and authority that the Levitical Officers (who operated as policemen in the Temple complex and were commissioned to arrest anyone who disturbed the ceremony) could not arrest Jesus but simply said "No man ever spoke like this Man!" (John 7:46).

All of this takes place on the last day of Sukkot, the 21st day of Tishre. The following day is a minor Feast of the LORD called "Simchat Torah", or "Rejoicing with the Torah". It was supposed to be a great day of celebration and rejoicing before the LORD because God had given His people the Living Torah (who is, indeed, Jesus). Instead of rejoicing that Jesus had come bringing salvation, deliverence and the forgiveness of sin, the accusers came to bring accusation. On this day, Jesus was once again in the Temple teaching (John 8:2) -- the common Jews rejoicing with the Living Word, and the leaders bringing the accusation.

(I am sorry that this is taking so long to set up, but this information is needed to rightly divide the Word here, and have understanding of what Jesus said and did).

QUOTE  
And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, they say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.  

Now just a little more history: Whenever someone was caught in adultery, both the man and the woman would be brought to the Nicanor gates and accused. If witnesses could be gathered to confirm that adultery had indeed been committed, then there was a certain ceremony that would be done in order to bring judgment. However, in this instance they only brought the woman. This was a violation of the Oral Law of God. Strike One.

Secondly, the priest was required to then stoop down and write the law that had been broken (na'aph, or 'adultery' would be written in Hebrew), along with the name of the accused, in the dust of the floor of the Temple (which Jesus did) [actually, the priest could write the law and the names anywhere, as long as the marks were not permanent - and the dust of the floor of the Temple was the most common place]. By doing this, Jesus showed these accusers that THEY were not keeping the law, but He would anyway. Strike Two.

So these men ignored the law, brought the woman only, and then continued with accusation. So Jesus stood up (after plainly demonstrating they were violating the law themselves) said "He who is without sin among you, lem him first cast a stone at her" John 8:7). THEY did not want to cast the stone, they wanted Jesus to condemn her, so they continued accusing.

Now to get this last part, lemme throw in just a little more history. Every year on Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement), the Kohen HaGaddol would immerse up to 11 times in a Mikveh (a baptismal tank) in order to be ceremonially cleansed between each separate portion of the day's sacrifices. At the end of Yom Kippur, there was a celebration at the home of the Kohen HaGaddol, and there would be great rejoicing that God had received the sacrifice, and everyone’s sins had been rolled fore ward another year (as they were waiting on Messiah). To end the day, and announce to everyone the party was over (and it was time to go home), the Kohen HaGaddol would come out and quote Jeremiah 17:13 "'Oh YHVH, the Mikveh of Israel...' just as the mikveh cleansed me on this day, may the Holy One (Messiah), blessed be his name, cleanse all Israel when He comes".

(The KJV reads "Oh LORD the hope of Israel"... however, if you get your Strong's Concordance out, you can look up the word translated hope, and it is #4723 'mikveh' -- which is a baptismal tank).

So any religious Jewish man had heard this verse quoted by the High Priest every year since he was 12 years old. At 50, he would have heard it 39 times! (although Yom Kippur was NOT a Feast of ascension, many would come up for YOMA anyway, because of it's close relationship in time to Sukkot, when they had to be there anyway). The entire verse is as follows:

QUOTE  
O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters.
Jeremiah 17:13   

The way it reads in Hebrew is:

"Oh YHVH, the Immerser of Israel, all those who leave your way shall be put to shame (publicly embarassed), those who turn aside from my ways will have their names written in the dust and blotted out, for they have departed from YHVH, the fountain of Mayim Hayim (the waters of life).."

So Jesus gave them a chance -- they could have been just embarassed and then repented before the LORD. but instead they rejected, and in turn had their names written in the dust. This passage in Jeremiah is a Messianic prophecy of what Messiah would do when He came - and in this passage in John, we see Jesus fulfill the prophecy.

In my opinion, one og the most interesting parts is verse 9:

QUOTE  
And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.   

They heard the voice of God in their conscience, the Spirit of God bringing to their remembrance all the times they heard the Kohen HaGaddol quote the verse -- but instead of receiving the conviction and repenting, they departed from Him (just as it was prophesied!). They left from the eldest to the youngest, the older having heard the verse quoted more often (imho). And Jesus did this on the day following His announcement that HE was the fountain of living waters (John 7:37-39). Strike Three and they were out!

(as one more aside, then Jesus returns to his teaching of the multitude in the Temple, by saying "I am the light of the world"... this was the very morning that the four great lamps of the court in the Temple (which were called "The light of the world" were being extinguished after being kept lit for the entire celebration of Sukkot).

That is my take on it, and I can't wait to see the video of it in heaven.  

 

[Your closest friendnt]

Hello other one, 

I am wondering if you have gone a little bid too far.

There are factual statements in your thesis that they are not mention in the story as it is written and there is no way that you are allow to take notice and say that those facts are also included in this case and there is no any other way but this one. 

You are not neither a good defence representative nor a good prosecutor. 

I will give you the chance to figure it out on your own where you have fail the facts in this case. Then we can talk. Maybe you can figure it out. Hope that you are not going to say "we are many". 

[SIC]

8 hours ago, Your closest friendnt said:

Hello other one, 

I am wondering if you have gone a little bid too far.

There are factual statements in your thesis that they are not mention in the story as it is written and there is no way that you are allow to take notice and say that those facts are also included in this case and there is no any other way but this one. 

You are not neither a good defence representative nor a good prosecutor. 

I will give you the chance to figure it out on your own where you have fail the facts in this case. Then we can talk. Maybe you can figure it out. Hope that you are not going to say "we are many". 

I am officially lost .. Mind translating what you just said into simpler English

[DARRELX]

Translators note on this passage in most Bibles says that this passage is not found in early manuscripts. 

So its authenticity is in question but it still has a powerful lesson for us.

I think that Jesus could have written one of the passages below.

It could have been Joshua  6:17  And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.

The Hebrew Children were helped by a prostitute

Or 

Judges  16:1  Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her.

The Hero Samson slept with a prostitute. 

Or my favorite

Genesis  38:16 And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she was his daughter in law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me?

Judah slept with a prostitute but in an incredible act of hypocrisy, was going to put his daughter in law, to death for getting pregnant with his child. 

So I think that being confronted with one of these accounts from scripture, they had to walk away.

Of course this is only a guess. 

If the account is true though, we are not told what Jesus had wrote on purpose. 

Maybe so we can hypothesise as I have?

[SIC]

37 minutes ago, DARRELX said:

Translators note on this passage in most Bibles says that this passage is not found in early manuscripts. 

So its authenticity is in question but it still has a powerful lesson for us.

I think that Jesus could have written one of the passages below.

It could have been Joshua  6:17  And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.

The Hebrew Children were helped by a prostitute

Or 

Judges  16:1  Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot, and went in unto her.

The Hero Samson slept with a prostitute. 

Or my favorite

Genesis  38:16 And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she was his daughter in law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me?

Judah slept with a prostitute but in an incredible act of hypocrisy, was going to put his daughter in law, to death for getting pregnant with his child. 

So I think that being confronted with one of these accounts from scripture, they had to walk away.

Of course this is only a guess. 

If the account is true though, we are not told what Jesus had wrote on purpose. 

Maybe so we can hypothesise as I have?

I agree. We can only make guesses