Based on John 8:1-11 (New King James Version)
“But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?’ This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, ‘He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.’ And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, ‘Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.’”
It might be difficult for many to understand that there exists a being that sees and knows everything, without any limits. And I think the reason why it is hard for many to understand that is because of their own limitations. The issue is, whether people believe it or not, there is a Being that knows everything, and it’s God. And of course, since Jesus was (and is God), He of course had that same capability of knowing everything, without limits. And together with the power to know everything, His knowledge also had no limits. There is no one that can know more than God.
To start, the Lord knew that there was something wrong when they only brought the adulteress woman to be stoned. First of all, one person cannot commit adultery by themselves (because they caught her in the act). There must have been another person with her. So then, if they legitimately wanted to test Him according to the law of Moses (finally the law of God, because God gave it to Moses), they should have brought two people to be stoned, because this is what the law really commanded: “The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death.” Leviticus 20:10. So then, both parties should have been put to death. So, where was the other person? No one could have more knowledge about the Word of God than God Himself (and Jesus is God, also known as the LORD in the Old Testament). When Moses was receiving the law of the Lord, it was Jesus Himself that was dictating it to him. So, how can a human being try to test the Author Himself with His own knowledge? Absurd, right?
The other issue is that no one can know (talking about the ability to be able to see everything, even before things would happen) more than the Lord. Before they came with the woman to test Him, He already knew what was going to happen, the path they would take to get to where He was, and even the clothes they were wearing at the moment. This is what is understood of the Lord; that He knows all things because He can see them before they happen, and while they are happening. Physically, He has no limits, for it is written: “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.” Proverbs 15:3. “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” Hebrews 4:13. So then, physically, He can see things before they occur, and while they are occurring. He can see everything everywhere, without any kind of limit.
The other aspect of His omniscience is that He knew the reason why they were doing it. So then, He not only knew physically everything that was going to happen, but He also understood their reasons, even their most intimate thoughts of why they were doing it. The Word explains this to us: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.” Jeremiah 17:9-10. The Lord knows even the most intimate things of each person; their intentions, thoughts, and feelings. King David knew well the power and ability of the Most High, and he explained it this way: “O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O Lord, You know it altogether.” Psalm 139:1-4.
Now then, since we understand that the Lord knows everything, He also knew that the woman did commit adultery. Despite it being a trap, the act did occur. We don’t know what the Lord was writing on the ground while everything was happening, but we did see what He did. Even though there was sin, and He knew everything He knew, having the right and authority to punish as the Holy God He is, He acted in mercy. And here is where the great love of God comes in, the mercy of God, and the dispensation of His grace. Instead of executing judgment on all of them, on the adulteress woman and even on the evil religious people, each person was able to walk away alive from that scene. It is written: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” John 3:16-17.
But, to be able to receive God’s great mercy, there must be confession of sins before Him: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9, and also, the Lord must be believed in with all of the heart: “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:18. And like the Lord Himself told the woman: “…Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more”; something that many do not teach; that there has to be complete repentance and conversion from our past life, from sin, so that there can be eternal life. God forgives and desires to bury all of our sins, even in the depths of the ocean; but we should leave them buried also, by not going back to them.
So then, do you live your life in such a way, with the conviction that God knows everything, even what is most intimate in your heart? Lord bless! John