As Jesus was debating with the scribes and Pharisees in Jerusalem, they brought before him an adulterous woman. Hoping to incite him to violence, they declared that if Jesus followed the law of Moses, he should order her to be stoned to death. Jesus responded, “Let whichever of you is without sin cast the first stone.” Then he began to write with his finger on the ground, and each of the men saw a description of his own sins. The two men in the bottom corner of the painting clutch stones with expressions of doubt, fear, and disgust. The adulteress in the red dress holds out her hands in supplication.