The Woman Taken In Adultery
By Dan Gatlin
In Jn. 8:1-11 we have recorded the story of the woman taken in Adultery: “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.’ “
What lessons are we to learn from this event? Was Jesus justifying a sinner in her sin? Was He teaching that we are to tolerate (ignore) some sins?
The intent of the scribes and Pharisees was to set a trap for Jesus. They believed that they had come up with a dilemma that would get Him in trouble regardless of how He responded. If Jesus had said, “Stone her,” they would have told the Romans who did not allow capital punishment without their permission. Had He said, “Free her,” they could have accused Him of contradicting the law of Moses.
What Did Jesus Mean?
Jesus answered, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first” (v. 7). This answer has been interpreted in various ways. Some have taken this to mean that all of the Jews present were guilty of adultery, and therefore none were in a position to condemn her without condemning themselves. While this is possible, it seems unlikely that a group of staunch Jews were all guilty of adultery. Others have understood this to mean that only the sinless could throw the first stone. Obviously, this is not so since such a requirement would have eliminated any man (other than Jesus) from carrying out the death penalty at any time. Still others believe that Jesus is demonstrating that mercy is more important than strictly adhering to the law.
In considering the meaning of Jesus’ answer let’s remember two basic principles. First, Jesus lived without sin, His life was in perfect compliance with the Law of Moses. He did not advise anyone at anytime to violate that law, since such would make Him complicit in their sin. Second, many have the notion that Jesus tolerated, and will continue to tolerate, some sin. John 8 is used as evidence of that. But nothing could be further from the truth. Consider what Jesus Himself said: “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment” (Matt. 12:36), “For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works” (Matt. 16:27), and “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled” (Matt. 5:18).
Jesus had no earthly authority to unilaterally pronounce judgment or punishment on this woman. That was the purpose of the law of Moses (Num. 5:11ff; Deut. 22; etc.). The law further stated, “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. 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” (Deut. 17:6-7). Testifying as a witness had serious implications. If the witnesses were lying in a death penalty case, they would not only be guilty of perjury but also of murder. And that could bring death upon the witnesses (Deut. 19:18-19).
So, it seems that Jesus directed His comment to the witnesses, they were to cast the first stone. In other words, Jesus told them to proceed according to the law of Moses. In doing so, He placed the dilemma back on them. If they stoned her, they would have to answer to the Romans. If they failed to stone her, they would be in violation of the law.
Why Did The Crowd Leave?
Perhaps a better question is “why did they not stone the woman?” Obviously, they were not interested in justice since the man involved in this act of adultery was not brought forward. This situation was simply used as a trap for Jesus. Further, verse 9 says that they were convicted by their conscience. The implication of Jesus’ words pointed out that they willingly set aside God’s law to appease the Romans and to trap an innocent Man. They had just enough conscience to realize what their actions meant.
Notice also that Jesus does not deny that the woman was guilty of this sin. But now was not the time for judgment. Jesus did not need to come to earth to condemn man (Jn. 3:17), because man already stood condemned (Gal. 3:22; Rom. 3:9-12, 23). His purpose was to free man from sin and it’s consequences. However, the time is coming when all men will be judged by the words of Jesus (Jn. 12:48).
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