I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness. The Gospel reading for today follows the account of the woman caught in adultery who was then brought to Jesus so that he could “rubberstamp” her sentencing (cf. John 8:1-11). The scribes and Pharisees who brought her to Jesus had invoked the authority of Moses in passing the guilty verdict upon the woman. The implication was that what they were asking Jesus to join them in doing had been sanctioned by the law and if Jesus was the rabbi he was claiming to be, then he would have no problem upholding the law. They had Moses and tradition on their side and as such Jesus needed not to have any problem approving what they were asking him to do. However, Jesus refused to join them in their attempts to have the woman stoned to death. He refused to blindly follow the crowd and their interpretation of the law.
Despite the scribes and the Pharisees presenting a supposed “strong case” against the woman (including invoking the authority of Moses), Jesus refused to see things from their point of view. He was not simply trying to be the woman’s defense attorney or a cautious judge who needed proof beyond reasonable doubt before sending the poor woman to the gallows. He agreed with them that the woman was guilty of whatever charges they were drumming up against her. But he was not going to allow them to continue with their abuse and misinterpretation of the law. Not on his watch. For although the community prided itself in having the law by their side, the people were living as though they didn’t have the law. Led by its religious leaders, the community had stripped the law of its reconciliatory and rehabilitative functions and turned it into a death trap. There was no contesting the fact that the woman was guilty of transgressing against a set law and perhaps deserved to be punished. However, Jesus understood that any punishment or penalty must have as its goal the rehabilitation of the offender, and most importantly, his/her reconciliation with the society and with God. Capital penalties such as was prescribed for the woman’s offence certainly failed to meet such criteria. The fact that such penalties were meted out because they were backed by tradition showed the failure by the community to understand the role of law in its life. It is a failure that only served to plunge them into darkness of self-righteousness, condemnation of others, and passing judgment. It is out of this kind of darkness that Jesus came to lead the world.
Jesus, as the light of the world, is the correct interpretation of the law. By his words and actions, Jesus shows what the laws should be essentially about: life. Any law that does not have as its aim the preservation of life is not a law. When God issued the Ten Commandments via Moses, he intended them to safeguard the wellbeing of the community that was being re-constituted in the desert. The commandments were to act as guidelines that would ensure that their march towards the fullness of life (Promised Land) was attained. Any interpretation of the commandments of God that seeks to harm rather than nurture life misses the mark and should be revisited. This was the point that Jesus subtly passed across when he refused to condemn the adulterous woman to her death.