Jesus, whilst confronted with a murderous horde prepared to execute a woman “taken in the very act of adultery,” chose to not respond to the mob’s shouted confrontations and demands for capital punishment. Instead, the Lord remained thoughtful, somber, and ultimately articulate as he subtly and silently communicated to the venomous bystanders by inscribing His commentary/invocation in the sand. While the Evangelists did not transcribe Jesus notations, His followers knew and know that he was and is the Lawgiver that carved The Law on stone tables of Mount Sinai, followed by revealed minutia that allowed subsequent prophets to continually interpret the Law. This Jesus--this Jehovah--who organized the very dust of His earth, came as the mortal personification of all the prophets and their inspired utterances and all the explanatory records thereof.
The title Bait surely suggests that the woman “taken” was primarily to capture the Savior in his radical transcendent ministry. Bruce Smith establishes a warp and weft of gesturing accusations. Smith’s Jesus found it easy to forgive. While the accusers all remain standing while accusing the woman, only Jesus kneels in empathy and proximity to her suffering. The most pronounced accusation amongst the mob is the crouched man shouting and pointing at the Savior. Jesus neutralized the hostility within the mob by inviting the purest to cast the first stone. Suddenly, only Jesus remained. No one felt capable of casting the first stone—perhaps because of the way that Jesus had shown the accusers to be flawed and hypocritical.
