[Sown Sexuality, Reaping Power] Chapter 5: Jesus' Rebellion and Its Institutionalization — The Liberation of Love and the Doors Closed Once More
Why are we so eager to judge the sexuality of others?
Open social media, and someone's affair is going up in flames. Past sexual scandals of celebrities are dug up, and a storm of cancellation blows through. The comment sections are filled with words of justice, and everyone becomes a judge, ready to cast stones.
What has changed since Jerusalem 2,000 years ago?
The woman dragged into the temple courtyard that morning was exposed to the same kind of gaze. A woman caught in the act of adultery. The crowd stood ready with stones in their hands, waiting to execute justice. Everyone believed they had the right to cast a stone.
However, one man shattered that conviction.
Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.
These words of Jesus are not merely a beautiful story of forgiveness. This was one of the most revolutionary questions in human history. Who has the right to judge sexuality? Where does the boundary between the sinner and the righteous lie?
Let us begin a 2,000-year journey in search of that answer.
The morning the hands holding stones trembled
The question posed by the scribes was a trap.
This woman was caught in the act of adultery. The Law commands us to stone her. What do you say?
If he denied the Law, it would be a rebellion against Moses; if he affirmed it, it would be a violation of Roman law. Either way, they calculated that they could corner this preacher from Nazareth.
However, Jesus began to write something on the ground. Then, standing up quietly, he uttered the words that would change history.
Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.
The hands holding the stones were lowered, one by one. Starting with the elders, eventually, no one was left. All that remained were the trembling woman and Jesus.
Neither do I condemn you. Go your way. From now on, do not sin again.
What happened in this moment?
The episode of the woman caught in adultery — A challenge to sexual asymmetry
There is an important point often overlooked in this story recorded in the Gospel of John, Chapter 8.
The man who was the partner in the adultery is not there.
The Law (Leviticus 20:10) stipulates that both the man and the woman who commit adultery shall be put to death. However, here, only the woman was exposed to public shame. This is no coincidence. Throughout history and across cultures, sexual 'sin' has been imposed more heavily upon women.
What were the words Jesus wrote on the ground? There are various theories, but one interpretation is intriguing. It suggests he wrote the hidden sins of the accusers—prostitution, adultery, violence. 'Last week, on that street, you...' 'What your wife doesn't know is...'
The truth is unknown. But what is certain is that Jesus treated the woman not as a 'sinner,' but as a human being.
'Neither do I condemn you.'
This was a rejection of condemnation by religious authority and a fundamental questioning of humans judging other humans.
Mary Magdalene—The Female Leader Turned Prostitute
No figure has been as misunderstood as Mary Magdalene.
The Gospel accounts are clear. She was a woman from whom 'seven demons had been cast out,' who financially supported Jesus' ministry, remained at the foot of the cross until the end, and became the first witness to the resurrection.
There is no mention of her being a 'prostitute' anywhere.
Then why has she been depicted as a 'repentant prostitute' for 1,400 years?
In the 6th century, Pope Gregory I conflated three different women:
The 'sinful woman' in Luke 7
Mary of Bethany (sister of Martha)
Mary Magdalene
This 'mistake' was not accidental. It was convenient for the church to portray a woman who possessed independent financial power and exercised leadership among a group of men as a 'former prostitute.'
'No matter how fallen a woman may be, she can be saved if she follows the teachings of the church.'
This narrative functioned as a mechanism to deny women's agency and reinforce the authority of the church. In 1969, the Catholic Church officially acknowledged this error, but the image remains deeply rooted.
Jesus' Celibacy—A Quiet Rebellion Against the Family System
In the Jewish society of that time, it was almost unheard of for a man over 30 to be unmarried. 'Be fruitful and multiply' was a religious duty.
Yet, Jesus did not marry.
This carries a meaning beyond a personal choice. Jesus said:
"Who is my mother, and who are my brothers? ... For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother" (Matthew 12:48-50).
From a family based on blood ties to a community based on love. Jesus quietly rejected the foundations of patriarchy: the inheritance of lineage, the succession of property, and the maintenance of honor.
Even more significant is that Jesus treated women not as sexual objects, but as equal disciples. At the home of Martha and Mary, he allowed Mary to listen to his teachings just as the men did. He also engaged in theological dialogue as equals with the Samaritan woman—a woman who had had five husbands.
Paul's Reversal — From Love to Asceticism
Paul, who made Christianity a world religion after Jesus' death. However, he steered the ship in a direction completely different from Jesus.
"I wish that all of you were as I am" (1 Corinthians 7:7).
Jesus' celibacy was a resistance against patriarchy, but Paul's celibacy was an escape from the flesh.
"An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord's affairs—how he can please the Lord. But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife—and his interests are divided" (1 Corinthians 7:32-33).
Marriage was downgraded to a "method for dealing with lust":
"But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion" (1 Corinthians 7:9).
Why did such an extreme shift occur?
Paul believed that the end of the world was near. "The time is short." If the apocalypse were to come tomorrow, he thought, one should devote oneself to faith rather than marriage or childbirth.
However, the apocalypse did not come. And so, a provisional teaching became a permanent doctrine.
Augustine's Curse — The "Original Sin" of Sexual Desire
The 4th-century theologian Augustine. He is the very person who planted "guilt toward sex" in Western civilization.
In his youth, Augustine was what we would call a "sex addict." He took a mistress at 15 and even fathered a child. Even after that, he could not break off his sexual relationships and continued to suffer.
After his dramatic conversion at age 32, he swung to the opposite extreme like a pendulum. He came to believe that the sexual desire that tormented him was proof of human depravity.
His theory is as follows:
In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve's genitals could be controlled by their will, just like their hands and feet. However, the moment they ate the forbidden fruit, their genitals began to erect against their will.
"Erections that cannot be controlled by reason are the proof of original sin."
This may sound ridiculous to modern people. However, this theory dominated the West for over a thousand years.
Sex, even between spouses, was a sin unless for the purpose of procreation. If one felt pleasure, it was the temptation of the devil. Women, as descendants of the temptress Eve, were viewed as particularly dangerous.
This "Augustinian curse" still remains in the depths of Western civilization.
The chains of institutions—why do teachings become distorted?
Jesus opened the door. However, his successors chained it shut one after another.
6th century: Gregory I frames Mary Magdalene as a "prostitute"
11th century: Total ban on clerical marriage (Gregorian Reform)
12th century: Premarital sex defined as a mortal sin
13th century: Mendicant orders spread extreme asceticism
Why does it end up like this?
Revolutionary teachings begin to change the moment one tries to preserve them. To convey the simple teaching of "love" to everyone, an organization is needed. To maintain an organization, rules are needed. To enforce rules, punishment is needed.
Thus, the religion of love returns to a religion of law.
Moreover, the management of sexuality becomes a source of power. Who one marries, when one has sex, what sexual positions are permitted—by managing these, the church can control the lives of the believers.
The medieval confession system was the pinnacle of this. Believers had to regularly confess their sexual sins to a priest. In exchange for granting absolution, the priest gained absolute authority.
A 2,000-year-old question for those living in the modern age
In the 21st century, we think we are sexually liberated. But is that really the case?
#MeToo was an important accusation. But at the same time, it also became a new arena for "stone-throwing." People have their past mistakes dug up, are condemned without context, and are socially erased.
Dating apps have "streamlined" meeting people. But at the same time, they have created a culture of swiping and consuming humans like commodities.
Sexual consent apps have made agreement "visible." But is reducing love to checkboxes and electronic signatures the real solution?
We may be returning to the legalism that Jesus criticized, now dressed in the garb of technology.
"Let the one among you who has never sinned be the first to throw a stone."
This question remains valid even 2,000 years later.
Before you denounce someone on social media, take a look back at your own search history.
Before you condemn adultery, take a look inside your own heart.
Before you judge someone's sexual orientation, think about who decided what is 'normal' for you.
The door that Jesus opened is still open.
The question is whether we have the courage to walk through it.
Poetic Fragments
He liberated love, but his disciples forged chains once again.
The chains rusted over time and snapped in places.
Yet new chains are being wrapped around us, more cleverly and in more invisible ways.
Digital chains, cages of algorithms, stones cast by hashtags.
Even so, love continues to sprout through the gaps in the chains.
Jesus' questioning continues to test us for eternity.
Copyright © 2025, Tomoyuki Kano <verses-closers4u_AT_icloud.com>
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
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