In St John’s Gospel, we hear how Jesus was teaching in the Temple when some Pharisees thrust a young girl in front of him and accused her of adultery. They challenged Jesus to confirm the sentence of death prescribed by the Law of Moses, but Jesus, apparently not hearing them, occupied himself in writing with his finger in the sand.

The Pharisees persisted in their demands for a judgement, so at length Jesus broke off from his writing and invited any man without sin to start the execution. To their credit, one by one the woman’s accusers turned away, until she was left alone with Jesus. He then dismissed her, with a gentle reminder not to cross the line again.

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