Beginning with the Older Ones

Age makes one read things differently.

This morning I was reading the very familiar passage regarding the woman caught in adultery from John 8 and noticed something I had never seen before.

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.

Why was it the older ones who seemingly were the most reticent to take action against the woman? Had age given them a more realistic perspective on their own sin? I wonder.

Among men I know, those who are older tend to be more mellow in their assessment of right and wrong. Things which once were clearly black and white tend to fade to gray with advancing years. And clearly, the older I get the more I understand about the fundamental corruption of my own heart.

I can’t say what was going on in the hearts of these men, or why John chose to note the age progression. But doesn’t it seem curious?