[AndyTheBear]

Did God instruct Jews to stone them and adulterers?

3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 “No one, sir,” she said.

--John 8:3-11 NIV

I sometimes wonder what he was writing in the dirt....

[HiTech RedNeck]

Warnings about false witness? A list of their illicit lovers and who the witnesses to the acts would be?

It might be moot because there were vulnerabilities in a number of ways so the exact way didn’t matter.

[FateAmenableToChange]

I sometimes wonder what he was writing in the dirt....

I suspect that today the translation would be something like:

#theseareyoursins

To make the entire crowd melt away to the last person, it had to be a message that spoke to each person and condemned each person individually. I suspect it may have been akin to the pentecost where each person heard their own language, but in this case each person may have seen their own secret sins written in the dirt.

[huldah1776]

That portion of the New Testament was not included in the oldest manuscripts so it may have happened but is used so often (maybe I just remember it because I know it was added later) that I think it settles us down a bit and allows the Holy Spirit to speak to us.

[IYAS9YAS]

I sometimes wonder what he was writing in the dirt....

You forgot the last part of it. "And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.”

This is the part it seems everyone forgets about. While he would not have her stoned to death for her sin, he also told her to go and sin no more. There are two parts to the lesson, not just one.

[JimRed]

I sometimes wonder what he was writing in the dirt....

I think each of the accusers saw their own sins written on the ground.