John 7:51- John 8:11
The woman caught in adultery
The placement of John 8- there is nothing that would tell us not to make use of this passage. I think it is placed perfectly between John 7 and John 9 light of the world and after this passage we learn tonight we will see that he is just that.
In life there are times when we feel that we have seen all there is to see Watching the news is a clear reminder that humanity in its depravity can never possibly get any worse. Just when we feel that there is nothing that will shock us beyond belief something pops up that would make us say NOW I have seen it all!
Unfortunately as horrible as the adultery is, that is not the wretched sin we encounter this passage and the adulteress is not the one that makes us say “now we’ve seen it all” but the religious leaders themselves.
Adultery is a great evil, the Ten commandments condemn it, even those who have no belief in God want nothing to do with adultery. Most unbelieving men will brag about adultery until they find out there wife is commiting it.
Adultery tears family’s apart, leaves children without parents and brings disease and guilt.
Adultery however is not the sin I am speaking of but the malice of these religious leaders. Let me read the verse slowly for you so that we can be on the same page here.
1. Jesus was at the temple
2. Jesus is a rabbi, the purest of all rabbis
3. There are crowds of people present listening to Jesus teach
V3- The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and placing her in the midst
Here is the context (John 5:18) reminds us that the religious leaders so hated Jesus at this point they “tried harder to kill him”.
1. The hatred has been heightening to what will eventually reach a fever pitch
2. The Pharisees send guards to arrest Jesus but they refuse because “no man has spoken words like this).
3. So here we have the intro- Men who are the leaders of Israel, who know the law, who practice the law, who are the mediators between God and the
4. people, here they drag this woman and throw her in the midst of the crowds
The plan is to publically disgrace Jesus, not the woman.
1. Here are some key factors that come into play
This is a set up, When it comes to the law the lawmakers were extremely careful as to gather all the evidence in the case. This case, which was punishable by execution is no small matter according to Jewish law. Without all the details involved it is almost impossible to secure a conviction.
Deuteronomy 22:22 as well as Leviticus 20 made adultery punishable by death. The law states that two people must be caught engaging in intercourse, not just in a bad situation.
In the apocryphal book of Susanna a woman caught in adultery is acquitted because the witnesses cannot agree on what type of tree she committed adultery beneath.
2. The Pharisees only dragged the woman forward, more than likely they baited her and used her in order to present before Jesus.
3. It appears that this vulnerable woman was baited into this sin with no regard that this may cost her her life and her family’s reputation. All they wanted was to humiliate Jesus.
4. The scribes and Pharisees refer to him as Teacher
5. They use the law as a grounds of disgrace and humiliation , a very real tool of satan, to manipulate and twist scripture for his distorted purpose.
6. Men of God would have wanted to prevent the execution rather than to exploit it. Lets not forget this is a person with a soul standing still in the midst of these people.
V 4-
V5- So what do you say
Lets pause here and look closely at this woman situation.
1. She had been either in a marriage that led her to commit adultery or set up by the religious men of Israel.
2. She is a pawn in a wicked scheme, used, humiliated and now caught !
3. She is dragged out threw the city in front of all the townspeople, many of them perhaps her relatives and thrown in the midst of not just anybody, she is thrown in the midst of God, but in this context here the #1 rabbi in all of Israel.
4. She is condemned by the law already, she is utterly and excruciatingly humiliated and there is a question that was just asked
5. What do you say?
Its almost as if time stops here, she is in the desert, sand blowing by, people all around , people screaming back and forth and then there’s the question that determines her fate, as soon as he stoops down, perhaps to look her in the face, her life is on the line, who is this man and what is he about to say?
– What do you say?
– Stop and ask yourself what do you say?
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Consider the options presented to Jesus here
1. Extending grace and forgiveness here sets aside the law and undermines it in a very real way.
2. Condemning this woman on the other hand undermines his teachings of grace and radically hurts John 3:17 “For I did not come into this world to condemn but to save”
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Who would come to Jesus if he condemns this woman. What redemption could we be sure of in him if she is put to death by the words of Jesus?
V6- This they said to test him that they might have a charge to bring against him
Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground
1. There has been much speculation on what exactly Jesus wrote on the ground here,
a. The sins of his accusers in the dirt
b. Roman judges wrote the verdict in the dirt and then spoke on the case
c. Ten Commandments
d. Jeremiah 17:13- those who turn away from you will be written in the dust
e. Calvins- he was so disgusted at this point that by writing nothing he proved they were worthless and not worth listening to.
Truth be told we don’t know and as interesting as it is there is a danger in reading into this something that is not there
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If anyone of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her”
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This is the hammer that breaks the pride of the hypocrite, you too my friend must face the judgement seat of God.
When the woman stood before Christ and the Pharisees asked what the verdict would be it was indeed as though time itself had stopped, but now even more so. Im not sure how long this pause was but it must have been for quite a bit.
One thing I do know is that the best place to be is alone with Christ in judgement when we submit humbly to him for salvation, there is no need to hide from the judge but to go straight to him and ask forgiveness.
This statement does not undermine the law and it offers grace by asking others to take up his challenge.
Duet 17:17 allows the witnesses to take up stones in the event that they had not been associated with the crime. This is obvious even more now that these men were involved in the crime.
- Jesus lifted the bar from legal to moral, (you may look really good on the outside gentleman, but now lets take a peak inside).
Dr James Boice
“Obviously there was something in the gaze of Jesus, or in the ton of his voice when he presented the challenge, perhaps his presence that got to them, unrepentant as they were, left there powerless. Think of the efforts they had gone through to humiliate him, think of the plotting. They were destroyed in a moment when confronted by God who masters circumstances.
Psalm 103:14 – He knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
The compassion he had on this woman was with great love. Perhaps she had no father, perhaps she had a father. What if this was someone’s daughter, your daughter.
Jesus could have said “you guys got me, you make the decision”.
10 Woman , where are they
1. Woman is a term of endearment, the term he calls his mother.
Has no one condemned you?
No one Lord- A recognition of who he is
2. Then neither do I condemn you
Who can say this? On what basis can one say this? Perhaps statements like this are what burned the men to try and trap him.
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For some, the climax of this passage is when Jesus says he without sin cast the first stone.
For others it is simply this. Ask yourself who is without sin here? Would it have been lawful for him to throw a stone at her?
The answer is the cross.
We are guilty, Jesus is not overlooking sin here.
1. He has driven off the accusers having become their malice on the cross.
Titus 3:5- He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.
If Jesus pronounces you not condemned who is it that accuses?
These elements remind us just that. We are not condemned, we were humiliated, embarrassed, naked and ashamed, but now we are clothed with Christ because he was humiliated that we don’t have to be, we are covered by his blood and we are not ashamed but made new, we are atoned for.
Though man has prostituted himself in adultery and played the part of harlotry Christ has preached to us loudly the gospel of grace. His office was not to condemn but to be condemned that we might go free.
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