Jesus and the Adulterous Woman
John 7:53 – 8:11
Today we come to the story of Jesus and the woman taken in adultery. This is one of the most well-known and popular stories about Jesus. Even those who rarely read the Bible often know about this story or at least they know the famous line “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.”
It is a beautiful illustration of what happens when a sinner is placed at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. It demonstrates the justice, grace, forgiveness, and life-transforming power of the Son of God.
Addressing the Textual Problem
It is a simple story that is found in a difficult part of John’s gospel. I say difficult, not because the story is hard to understand but because of the questionable history of the text itself. The New King James Version that I use in preaching footnotes this passage starting in 7:53 saying, “The words And everyone (7:53) through sin no more (8:11) are bracketed by NU-Text as not original.” Some of your bible translations may put parentheses or brackets around this text or have a disclaimer saying that it is not found in the oldest manuscripts.
As many of you know, the New Testament was originally written in the common Greek language of the first century. The original New Testament Gospels and epistles that were hand written by the apostles we call the autographs. None of the autographs has survived through the centuries. What we do have are thousands of manuscripts, hand written copies of the New Testament texts. Prior to the invention of the printing press in the 15th century, everything was copied by hand, which inevitably introduces copyists’ errors into the text. Because there are thousands of manuscripts of New Testament books there are thousands of variations in the texts.
The remarkable thing is that most of these manuscripts are very close to being practically the same. In most of the places where the manuscripts are different these variations are very minor in significance. For example in our text from last week in John 7:50 the New King James Version, which is based largely on the Greek “Received Text,” reads “Nicodemus (he who came to Jesus by night, being one of them).” But the page also has a footnote that tells you that the NU-Text reads before rather than by night. The NU-Text is the critical Greek text that often relies on some of the most ancient manuscripts that have been discovered over the last two centuries. Both readings have good support by different groups of manuscripts. Both statements are true, Nicodemus came before and by night. Neither reading really changes the point of the verse. Most textual variants are even less consequential than that—a word added, omitted, changed or spelled differently.
The discipline of Textual Criticism is the process by which scholars evaluate both external and internal evidence of the text to try to determine which reading is most likely the original. Because we have so many Greek manuscripts as well as ancient translations of the New Testament, with rare exceptions we can be sure that what we read in our Bibles is what the authors wrote. Concerning Bible transmission and textual criticism, an article from the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary stresses:
All hand-copied documents of substantial length of the same document differ from one another. No two handwritten NT manuscripts of any NT book or group of books are identical. But we have every reason to believe that every original reading has survived in some manuscripts.
More than 99 percent of the time scholars are certain that our New Testament is pure (“Misquoting” Jesus? Answering Bart Ehrman By Greg Koukl). The point is that we can have confidence in our bibles. The Holy Spirit who inspired the text has enabled us through discovery and diligent study to preserve the true text of the Bible.
John 7:53-8:11 is one of the few passages of which scholars are unsure. The problem is that this whole section is missing in all of the oldest manuscripts. Along with other factors, the age of the manuscript is important in determining the originality of its text. Generally, the older the manuscript, the closer to the original it ought to be. This section of John is found in no manuscripts before the 5th century AD but it is included in other manuscripts (as the footnote in the NKJV says, “They are present in over 900 manuscripts.” Among those that do include it there are many textual variants. And some manuscripts put the passage at other places in John (such as after 7:36; 7:44; 21:25) or even after Luke 21:38.
This evidence (and a lot more that I don’t have time to explain today) causes many reputable evangelical scholars to conclude that this pericope is not a part of John’s original Gospel as he wrote it. Other notable scholars give plausible reasons why it may have been omitted from certain manuscripts or moved to other places. But even among those who doubt that it was originally part of the Gospel of John, almost all of them hold that it reports an authentic historical event that is true to the character of Jesus. And in spite of the evidence against its inclusion in scripture, almost all translators and publishers of the Bible cannot bring themselves to leave it out entirely. It has a long history of acceptance and use by the church. These verse do not teach anything that violates other scripture. Moreover, they corroborate and substantiate other scripture.
Therefore it is my intention and commitment to preach this text with the same zeal and sense of biblical authority as I would any other text of Scripture. I personally find in this text one of the most beautiful and moving stories of the New Testament. I like what F.B. Meyer wrote about this text,
It reveals in our Saviour’s character a wisdom so profound, a tenderness to sinners so delicate, a hatred of sin so intense, an insight into human hearts so searching, that it is impossible to suppose the mind of man could have conceived, or the hand of man invented, this most pathetic (moving, touching) story. (The Penitent’s Gospel, on PreceptAustin.org).
With that issue behind us, let’s listen to the passage, John 7:53 – 8:11,
53 And everyone went to his own house.
1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
2 Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.
3 Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst,
4 they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.
5 Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?”
6 This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.
7 So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”
8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”
11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
This story beautifully illustrates the truth of John 1:17, “For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” The scribes and Pharisees self-righteously condemned this woman according to the Law. Jesus showed her both grace and truth.
The setting here is the conclusion of the Feast of Tabernacles. Jesus had come down from Galilee to Jerusalem sometime during the middle of the feast without drawing attention to Himself. He went into the temple and began teaching the people. Some of the Jewish leaders that are hostile to Him question His authority which in turn leads to Jesus challenging them about their plot to kill Him. On the last day of the feast, Jesus gives a great invitation, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
This brought to the surface a mixture of beliefs about Jesus among the people. Some think He is the promised prophet of Deut. 18:15 who would be like Moses. Some think He is the Messiah. Others claim Jesus cannot be the Christ and is a deceiver of some kind. Most of the religious leaders have rejected Jesus and have joined in a plot to kill him. They even send officers to seize Him.
As we came to the end of John 7 last time, the Pharisees were so upset that they were belittling everyone that disagreed with them. They who claimed to be the keepers of the Mosaic Law and teachers of God’s word were breaking the Law of God and were ignorant of what the Scriptures said. Verse 53 concludes, “And everyone went to his own house,” probably because the feast was over and they left their booths to return to their homes.
John 8:1 tells us that Jesus went out to the Mount of Olives. This seems to be a favorite place for Jesus to go near Jerusalem He will return there again and again (see Luke 19:37; 22:39) . Verse 2 tells us, “Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.” There are still many pilgrims in Jerusalem for the feast in addition to the many regular temple goers. Again it is Jesus and His teaching that draws the crowd.
Just as on previous occasions, the religious leaders are not happy when someone else is getting the attention they want. They are a jealous lot and they do not like Jesus. However, they have a problem that is developing. As Jesus gains respect, or at least popularity by His teaching, they will have a harder time arresting Him without arousing the anger of the people. They have to find a way to discredit Him. They have already tried the direct approach by disparaging Jesus and mocking Him for not having the right credentials to teach (7:15). They had tried arresting Jesus the day before (7:32), but that didn’t work. Instead, the officers they sent were impressed by Jesus’ teaching, exclaiming, “No man ever spoke like this Man!“ (7:46). They will now attempt to discredit Jesus through a test case designed to trap Him so that they could accuse Him (8:6).
This story comes in three scenes. First we see the,
1. Confrontation (8:3-6a)
It starts in verse 3. They came with a commotion, interrupting Jesus as He teaches. Heads turn as a group of men rudely push their way through the crowd. They are the scribes and Pharisees. These two groups are found together only in this verse in John, but they are commonly paired in the other Gospels. Both the scribes and the Pharisees are self-confident, even arrogant, in their opinion of themselves as interpreters and guardians of the law. The Law of Moses has been prominent in the teaching of Jesus. It was also significant in the opposition of the religious leaders to Jesus, especially in regard to Sabbath-keeping. These scribes are just arrogant enough to try to outwit Jesus by making use of their mastery of the Law of Moses.
They come dragging their prey, “a woman caught in adultery,” (8:3). Given the stringency of the law on how such matters were to be handled, two witnesses would have had to observe this woman and her partner in such a way that there was no doubt about what was taking place. Leviticus 20:10 states that both the man and woman adulterers were supposed to be put to death for this sin. That brings up the obvious question, “Where is the man?” I suspect that they had set a trap to catch her in the act. Maybe he was one of them?
Verse 3 ends, “And when they had set her in the midst.” Can you picture this woman standing there in tears, humiliated by her guilt and her exposure? Just a tool for these men to use in their malicious scheme. With self-righteous indignation, the Pharisees go about their sinister mission, using this woman to make an accusation against Jesus. With smug satisfaction and confidence, the scribes and Pharisees press Jesus to pronounce a verdict in verses 4-5:
4 they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?”
They set Jesus against Moses, thinking that in so doing our Lord will be trapped, that He can do nothing other than condemn Himself by opposing the teaching of the law and of Moses. From experience, they know that Jesus has compassion on sinners. They expect Him to be compassionate toward this sinful woman, and for good reason. Jesus said that He came to call sinners to repentance (see Luke 5:27-32). It was a Pharisee named Simon who objected to our Lord’s acceptance of an immoral woman very much like this woman when she showed her contrition and love for Jesus at Simon’s feast. Jesus had rebuked Simon and said to the woman: “Your faith has saved you; go in peace” (Luke 7:36-50).
If Jesus cannot condemn her, then (they assume) He must disagree with Moses and the law. They have Jesus just where they want Him. They have set a trap for Jesus as verse 6 says, “This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him.” It’s actually quite a clever trap. The Law of Moses specifies death by stoning for adultery, yet Roman law forbids the Jews from carrying out executions. If Jesus doesn’t condemn the woman, He breaks the Jewish law. If he does condemn her, He breaks the Roman law.
Can you sense the tension here? What will Jesus say? How will He judge?
That brings us to the second part of the story, the
2. Conviction (8:6b-9)
Notice that Jesus doesn’t answer their question in verse 6. Instead, the verse says, “But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.” Our Lord ignores them, responding to their challenge by His silence. How badly His opponents misinterpret this silence! They think His silence is because they have Him stumped. So, they intensify their efforts. I suspect they raise their voices and press Jesus harder, demanding that He give them an answer. They put on a show for the crowd to see. All of this simply sets the scene for what our Lord is about to say. They could not have given Him a better lead-in.
Many have speculated about what Jesus wrote in the dirt. The fact is, we don’t know because the scripture does not tell us. The message to this woman’s accusers (and our Lord’s accusers as well) is not what He writes, but what He says: “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”
The scribes and Pharisees think they have Jesus cornered, with no way of escape. Even though Jesus claims that Moses bore witness to Him as the Messiah (John 5:46), and that Moses also would be their accuser (John 5:45), they seek to use Moses to indict Jesus. What a bad mistake! Masterfully, Jesus deals with their challenge. First, our Lord does not deny this woman’s guilt. As an adulteress, she is condemned by the law. Jesus does not plead for mercy. He even agrees to an execution, one I’m not sure they want or intend. There is just one problem—who will be the first to cast a stone?
This answer completely disarms them. Jesus does not set aside the law. After all, He is the One who has come to fulfill the law, not to abolish it (Matthew 5:17-18). Jesus was not soft on the sin of adultery, or other sins for that matter. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said,
27 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. … 32 “But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery. (Matt. 5:27-28, 32)
Our Lord’s response really upholds the Law of Moses. Deuteronomy 17 says:
6 “Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses; he shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness. 7 The hands of the witnesses shall be the first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So you shall put away the evil from among you” (Deuteronomy 17:6-7).
Since these Scribes and Pharisees were accusing the woman and claimed to have caught her in the act, they were both the prosecutors and the witnesses. So it was their responsibility to start the execution. Her blood would be on their hands. I don’t know that that in itself would have bothered them so much. They already had murder in their hearts. Chapter 7 made it clear that they were trying to find a way to kill Jesus. What bothered them was the condition Jesus placed on them. The execution was to begin by whoever was without sin by casting the first stone. They could not meet that condition and they knew it.
Verse 8 tells us that Jesus stooped down and returned to writing on the ground. Again, there is no indication what He was writing. So verse 9 tells us the effect on the men, “Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last.” It says that they were “convicted by their conscience.” I am not certain whether it is out of conviction of guilt, or whether they were merely convicted of their failure to prove Jesus a law-breaker. But either way, His adversaries shrink away silently, beginning with the oldest, “And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.”
So we see the conviction, not of the woman, but of the accusers. Jesus has turned their condemnation back on themselves. The hypocritical Pharisees are the convicted ones. They leave the presence of Jesus. They turn away from the light because as John 3:20 said, “For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.”
The most offensive sin described in this story is not the woman’s adultery; it is the malice, arrogance, and self-righteousness of the Pharisees to use the sin of another person for personal gain while ignoring the sin that resides in their own heart. It is glaring hypocrisy. They are not really interested in righteousness and justice and holiness; they are interested in making themselves look good and Jesus look bad. Sin often comes with a very thin religious veneer. F.B. Meyer wrote,
It is a terrible thing for a sinner to fall into the hands of his fellow sinners. Sin blinds them to their own faults, but sharpens them to detect the faults of others. They cover themselves beneath the glistening robes of fair excuses, but ruthlessly strip them away from the offenders whom they drag into the light of day. (The Penitent’s Gospel, on PreceptAustin.org).
In his book Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis says,
If anyone thinks that Christians regard unchastity (sexual sin) as the supreme vice, he is quite wrong. The sins of the flesh are bad, but they are the least bad of all sins. All the worst pleasures are purely spiritual. The pleasure of putting other people in the wrong, of bossing and patronizing and spoiling sport, and backbiting; the pleasures of power, of hatred. For there are two things inside me…they are the animal self and the diabolical self; and the diabolical self is the worst of the two. That is why a cold self-righteous prig who goes regularly to church may be far nearer to hell than a prostitute. But of course it is better to be neither!
We dare not conclude from this story that Jesus refuses to judge or condemn anyone. People today have this unbiblical idea that Jesus taught us that just as He would not judge anyone, neither should we. Jesus not only sees her immorality as sin, He urges her to forsake her sin in the future. Jesus does not give her a license to sin, but a reason and (shortly) the means to cease from sin. Jesus exposes much more sin than anyone expects, and He condemns it all.
All are convicted as sinners. But what about the woman? For her Jesus gives,
3. Comfort (8:10-11)
Not until they all leave does Jesus address the woman, for the first time. Jesus does not ask her about her guilt. He knows. He simply asks her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” (8:10). I imagine her looking into His loving face and humbly saying, “No one, Lord.”
Then if there are no witnesses, there can be no condemnation, no execution. The scribes call for an execution, and no one stays for it—no one is able or willing to cast the first stone. The only one who is able, who is without sin is Jesus. So with grace unmeasured, boundless, free, Jesus says to her, “Neither do I condemn you.”
Jesus didn’t condemn her because He came to be condemned on her behalf. Remember John 3:17? “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” When Jesus said that to her He knew that He would die on Calvary for her adultery. Her sin would not go unpunished. It would be placed on Christ. He would be the substitute that would die in her place. That is why Jesus could at the same time uphold the justice of God against sin and extend the mercy of God toward sinners.
This story is what the gospel is all about. The law indicts all men as sinners. The only One truly qualified to condemn anyone is Jesus, because He is without sin. And yet the One who alone can condemn is also the One who came to save us. The reason He does not condemn this woman, the reason He does not stone her, is because He came to bear the sentence of death she deserves.
What an example of grace given to a sinner! All who would doubt that God could forgive them can have those doubts removed here. It really does not matter what sins you have committed, there is pardon, forgiveness found in Jesus Christ.
And there is not only forgiveness, but life-transformation. Jesus says to her in verse 11, “go and sin no more.” He did not say, “Go your way and sin no more and then I will not condemn you.” Her pardon was not dependent on her behavior. Rather, her pardon was beginning of her transformed life.
So it is with us. God grants forgiveness as a free gift to all who put their trust in what Christ did in dying on the cross for their sins. His free grace then becomes both the motive and the power to live a life of holiness.
There is a chorus written by Bill and Gloria Gaither which I have come to love. Bob sang it for us a few weeks ago. It wonderfully describes the change forgiveness makes:
Something beautiful, something good,
All my confusion he understood.
All I had to offer him was brokenness and strife,
But he made something beautiful of my life.
Has God done that kind of life-transforming work in your heart?
