A Double Standard

"And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.

So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.

When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more." (John 8:3-11)

Notice the hypocrisy of the Pharisees who brought the woman to Jesus? If they were concerned about the law, what Jesus said was irrelevant. The law was to be enforced. If we lok at the law, however, we find that they were only rying to enforce a part of it. Leviticus 20:10 is very clear. "And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. "

Clearly, if they caught the woman in the very act, they also caught the man. The law demanded that both be killed. They were using a double standard. The woman was at fault in their minds, but the man was not. So often in todays world, we see the same type of double standard among so called Christians. The pastor of one of the larger local churches, in speaking about sex outside marriage, told the girls that they must keep themselves pure, but "after all, we can't expect those old rough boys to."

When Jesus said to let the man without sin cast the first stone, everyone of them knew they were guilty in this as well as other areas. We are to obey God, without playing favorites. "I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality" (I Timothy 5:21).

Galatians 3: 28 states "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." This is reinforced by Colossians 3:11, "Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all." There is no basis for preferential treatment, whether sexual, social, financial, or racial, and it is forbidden.