When I arrived at the hall of polished stones near the Temple, in which the Sanhedrim holds its sittings, the trial had nearly come to a conclusion. The inquiry had been made if any two credible witnesses had given the woman the preliminary caution, and none answering to the call, it remained only for the _Ab Beth Din_, the president of the court, to dismiss the prisoner with the words of caution and advice which are customary on such occasions: “My daughter, perhaps thou wert led into sin by too much wine, or by thoughtlessness, or perhaps by thy youth; perchance it was mixing in crowds, or wicked companions that led thee to sin: go, and for the sake of the great Name, do not bring it to pass that thou must be destroyed by the water of jealousy.” And with these words the court was dismissed, and several of us were appointed to take the woman to her home, and induce the man, her husband, to take her to him once again. Now, as we were passing through the courts of the Temple, we saw Jesus the Nazarene in one of the smaller courts, seated, teaching the people, some of whom sat at his feet. But it seemed to some of us a favorable opportunity to test what he would say as regards the Law of Moses relating to adultery: for if he would declare that the Law must be carried out in all its rigor, that would show that our Sages were more merciful than he; if, on the other hand, he adopted the opinion of our Sages, that would in so far commit him to support their attitude towards the Law in general. In any case, it seemed a suitable occasion to test his power of dealing with the Law, and it is customary among us to put such test cases before the younger Sages.