She’d slept with the wrong person, and now she was about to die. Only one man, a stranger to her, could save her. But to do it, he might have to break the law, risking his own freedom. The clock was ticking. Would he save her?

No, it’s not the trailer for a new summer blockbuster. It’s a recap of a story in the Bible’s book of John (see 8:3–11). Religious officials had brought to Christ Jesus a woman who had been caught committing adultery, telling him that she should be stoned. Their purpose was to entrap him in a violation of Mosaic law, which dictated that adulterers be put to death. If he tried to save her, they could accuse him of refusing to obey the law, potentially resulting in his arrest or, at a minimum, discrediting this man whose teachings about God were becoming highly popular.

But Jesus didn’t argue with them about the law. He asked them to look into their own hearts. “He that is without sin among you,” he said, “let him first cast a stone at her.” None of them could make that claim. They walked away, letting the woman live.