First, stoning enables the entire community to participate in the killing. Second, stoning allows the individual to exonerate himself. Everyone throws a rock, so everyone participates. But the individual is allowed to tell himself, “It wasn’t me who killed; I just threw one rock.” In other words, stoning is a way for the community to participate in collective murder and lie to itself about it. And there you have it. Collective murder and the lies we tells ourselves about it—this is the context for what Jesus has to say about truth and freedom!
