Adapted from the She Study, delighting in the examples of the Women of the Bible, volume 3, pp 87-88
Today’s Scripture: John 8:1-11 and 2 Corinthians 5:17; Roman 8:1
Have you ever been ‘caught’ in a sin? You’ve said something you shouldn’t have, and others heard it…you’ve lost your temper, and others saw your outburst of anger…you’ve lied and been caught in its web…you’ve treated someone unkindly, and others saw it…? I would dare say that everyone reading this has at one time or another spoken words you shouldn’t have … reacted in anger … lied … and/or been unkind … for the Bible says that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” However, we are not always ‘caught in the sin’. While we may breathe a sigh of relief to have escaped ‘being caught’ by others, it is crucial to remember that nothing escapes the eyes or ears of our Heavenly Father. Forgetting this truth can lead to danger as the theory that “no one knows or cares” makes it far easier to continue in the sin and find ourselves held captive by it.
God is considered omniscient, meaning He knows absolutely everything—past, present, future, and all possibilities. This includes knowing every thought, action, and secret of every person ~
Billy Graham Evangelistic Association1
As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. They said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery.Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?”
John 8:3-5
It should be noted here that while this woman was at some point “caught in the act of adultery,” it is believed by some commentators that she had not just “been caught” and brought immediately before Jesus, but had, at some point been caught, and was known to be an adulterer.2 Here, she was being used as a pawn by the Pharisees, who were attempting to prove that Jesus was not following God’s law. The Pharisees make many mistakes in their failed attempt to discredit Jesus, which bibleref.com verse-by-verse commentary points out in more detail.3 However, we would be wise to pay attention to how Jesus uses their trap not only to silence his accusers but to set this woman free from the condemnation of sin and death that her sin required.
They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, ‘All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!’Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman.
John 8:7-94
~
Jesus appears to ignore them at first (v6), and “when they continue asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, ‘He that is without sin among you, let him cast a stone at her'” (v7-8). Verse nine of John chapter eight, says that “When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman.” Which, by the way – it is worth noting that the woman cound have fled with her accusers but instead, she remained in the presence of Jesus.
Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, ‘Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?’
~
‘No, Lord,’ she said. And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I. Go and sin no more5.’
Friends, while the words Jesus spoke to the woman, “Neither do I condemn thee…” offer her mercy and pardon for her sin, they granted her freedom from the condemnation of the sin and death required by the law. They also offered hope of freedom from the sin itself, as He told her: “Go and sin no more.” Sweet friends, hear me when I say – that as one who has been held captive by sin before, I can tell you that there are few other hopes as meaningful and freeing as this one. Even as I write this my heart fills with the words from an old hymn that is my life’s story: ….“Mercy there was great, and grace was free; pardon there was multiplied to me; There my burdened soul found liberty, at Calvary.”
Jesus’ response to the adulterous woman influences our understanding of judgment, mercy, and God’s perspective on sin. At no point does Jesus shrink from the fact of her sin. She was caught “in the act” (John 8:4) so there is no doubt about her moral guilt. Old Testament law called for the death penalty for adulterers (Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22) so there is no doubt about her legal guilt. As the only perfectly sinless man (Hebrews 4:15), there is no doubt about Jesus’ moral authority to deliver harsh justice to this sinner. ~ Instead, Jesus demonstrates that simply because we can do something does not make it the best option. Christ’s question here sets up His response in the next verse. This is an instance of forgiveness, not ignorance. Jesus is not going to claim that the woman is innocent or that her sin is trivial. His deflection of the Pharisees was based on procedure: they followed the law incorrectly. Jesus will explicitly refer to her behavior as sinful even as He demonstrates that mercy is meant to take precedence over retribution, even under the Old Testament law (Proverbs 21:10; Zechariah 7:8–9; Matthew 23:23). Bibleref.com
Reflection and Application
- How do we become “a new creation”?
- 2 Corinthians 5:17
The More We Know
While we don’t know what Jesus wrote, we do see how He turns the hypocrisy of these Pharisees against them. They were not wrong to seek justice under the Law. However, they are clearly not following it fully; they have only brought half of the guilty ones. Also, God’s law prioritized mercy over blind punishment (Proverbs 21:10; Zechariah 7:8–9; Matthew 23:23).
- https://billygraham.org/answers/does-god-know-everything-i-think-and-do ↩︎
- If the woman was caught “in the act,” then so was the man she was with—so where is the guilty man? This entire episode is an attempt by Pharisees to show that they follow the Law and Jesus does not. But even their trap fails that test: they’ve only brought half of the guilty parties (Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22).
The act of “placing her in the midst” is part of the Pharisees’ intended drama. This is meant to be as public as possible. That means Jesus’ response can be given as much publicity as possible. Of course, that strategy assumes Jesus is about to make a serious public-relations error. This assumption is once again false. ↩︎ - bibleref.com ↩︎
- ~ ‘No, Lord,’ she said. And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I. Go and sin no more.‘ ↩︎
- Go and sin no more: Jesus sent her away with a call to stop her sin, and to continue stopped in regard to that sin. He sent her away without ever approving of or accepting her sin.
i. “The form of the command implies a ceasing to commit an action already started: ‘Stop your sinful habit’. And the ‘no more’ points to the thought of no return.” (Morris)
ii. Jesus did several things with these powerful words.
· He recognized that what the woman had done was sin, because He told her to stop sinning.
· He told her to repent, and to not continue her sin.
· He gave her hope that her life could go on in freedom from sexual sin.
· He gave her a word of hope to speak against the shame that would later likely threaten to overwhelm her life.
iii. The woman needed hope because the consequences of her sin would be severe enough. After this she would likely be shunned by her community, and rejected by her husband, perhaps even divorced (assuming she was married or betrothed). ↩︎
Me From the Inside Out 