men: for our Sages have said, "The greatest of sins is this—to bring a blush upon thy neighbor's face in public." But the others thought not of this, but once more they asked him, "Rabbi, what sayest thou shall be done in this case?" Then, without raising his head, Jesus said in a low tone, "Let him among you that is without sin cast the first stone." Then we saw that his shame had been for us, and for our want of feeling in putting such a question in the very presence of her who had sinned. And in this matter we hold that sin can be in thought as well as in act, and which of us could say that we were without sin even in thought? So, in very shame, we turned and went, and left Jesus alone with the woman.
Yet, after we had come away from him, Matathias ben Meshullam said, "That is well,—we are rightly rebuked; but yet, dost thou not see that this man hath not answered our question, nor do we know, as we wished, what attitude he takes towards the carrying out of the Law? I hear that each morning he preaches to the people in the Temple. Let us now tomorrow
