Jesus and the adulterous woman
John 8:1-11
Before we can study this passage we must deal with a textual problem. Our text is missing in some very old Greek manuscripts and this is the reason that in some Bible, the text appears in brackets. In the NIV Bible (the 1980 edition) , this text is separated by 2 big lines. Just under the first line there is a note – right in the middle of the biblical text – which reads "The earliest and most reliable manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have John 7:53 – 8:11".
As you read such a note, you immediately wonder whether this text is inspired or not. Is it part of the Bible? …. did John really write the story of the adulterous woman, or were these verses penned by some other writers and added later on? I must tell you straight away that I don't have any doubt that this passage was written by John. I do believe that these verses were also fully inspired by the Holy Spirit and are worthy of all our attention.
Why do I believe this? For one thing, the note in the NIV Bible is not fair. It is true that this section of John (John 7:53 to John 8:11) does appear in some very old Greek manuscripts, but it is not true that these are the most reliable ones. I will give you just one example: the codex Sinaiticus, written in the 4th century. Our passage does not appear in that very old Greek manuscript, but is the codex Sinaiticus a reliable document? I believe it is not! One scholar called Dr. Scrivener, who spent 40 years in manuscript research, writes this about the codex Siniaticus. "From the number of errors, one cannot affirm that it is very carefully written. The whole manuscript is disfigured by corrections, a few by the original scribe, very many by an ancient and elegant hand of the 6th century whose emendations are of great importance, some again by a hand a little later, for the greatest number by a scholar of the 7th century who often cancels the changes by the 6th century amender, others by as many as 8 different later writers"Clearly, the age criterion is not a sufficient criterion. The fact that a Greek manuscript is very old does not necessarily mean that it is the best one.There are other factors that must be considered.
There are also a few internal reasons for believing that our passage is genuine. If the passage was not genuine, we would have to pass straight from John 7:52 to 8:12. Try doing this and you will immediately notice that the change is abrupt and unnatural. Where is Jesus teaching in John 8:12? If you omit the first eleven verses of chapter 8, you cannot answer that question. You simply don't know were Jesus was and to whom He was speaking. But now include in your reading John 7:53 to 8:11, and you will immediately see that the transition is smooth. Chapter 7:53 tells us that everyone went to his own house but that Jesus went to the Mount of Olives, then in chapter 8:1-2, we are told that Jesus went early to the temple and there taught the people. While He was teaching, the Pharisees came and interrupted Him. That was rude of course, but they were so eager to get rid of Him. Jesus stopped teaching the people and dealt with their attack. Once the Pharisees had been silenced, Jesus resumed his teaching, that is why we read in 8:12, "Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, 'I am the light of the world.'" The word "again" refers back to John 8:2, the beginning of Jesus' teaching in the temple that morning. There are many other factors that show the genuineness of this passage but I cannot mention them all here. Simply believe that this passage is inspired and contains precious lessons for your faith. This is what I would like to do with you this morning.
There will be three parts to this message because there are three things that this passage reveals:
The horror of sin, the compassion of Jesus and the wisdom of God
The horror of sin
Sin appears in its true colours in this story, and of course I do not mean the sin of the woman, I mean the sin of the Pharisees. Adultery is sin, certainly and that the woman was guilty of adultery there is not doubt, but compared to the gravity of the Pharisees' sin, her sin was minimal. This story reminds me of Jesus' words (Luke. 6:41) "And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye?" The woman's sin was indeed like a speck when compared to the vicious plot of the Pharisees. Now you must remember that the Pharisees had failed to have Jesus arrested the day before. The soldiers came back empty-handed and said to them (7:46), "No man ever spoke like this Man!"What did the Pharisees do? They immediately devised another plan - a very sinister one. They tried to trap Jesus with the case of a woman caught in adultery, but in order to do that they needed a victim, somebody who had been caught in the very act of adultery.
Under Jewish law, it was extremely difficult to have somebody condemned for adultery. There had to be witnesses, two or three of them at least, and their testimony had to agree completely. Moreover they had to witness not only a compromising situation, but the very act of adultery. Under such circumstances there is little doubt that the whole thing was a put-up job. The liaison must have been arranged, perhaps by the very man who committed adultery with the woman. Was he a member of the Sanhedrin or maybe a Pharisee. Whatever the case, the whole thing must have been a very well-prepared put-up job.
We see the wickedness of these men in another way too. The fact that the woman alone was brought to Jesus reveals their dishonesty. Where was the man involved in that adultery? Why was he not brought with the woman? At the very least the Pharisees had allowed the man to escape, at the worst they had granted him immunity beforehand for his part in the plot. How horrible! But that is not all. There is also a third thing that reveals the wickedness of these men. It is very likely that the woman caught in adultery was actually very young. Of course, we cannot be absolutely sure here, for the Bible does not give us her age. And yet there is one thing in the text that suggests that the woman was very young. There is only one passage in the Old Testament which says that adulterers were to stoned – only one. The passage is Deuteronomy 22: 23-24.
"If a young woman who is a virgin is betrothed to a husband, and a man finds her in the city and lies with her, then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he humbled his neighbour's wife; so you shall put away the evil from among you." Of course, there are other passages in the Old Testament that say that adulterers should be put to death, but in these other passages the means of execution is not mentioned. Deuteronomy 22 is the only passage that says that adulterers should be stoned. This passage refers to an engaged young woman who has proved unfaithful to her engagement. In Jewish society, engagements almost always involved young people, some as young as thirteen or fourteen years old. So in this case we have probably a young girl who has been caught in what may have been her first offence. She may have been just a young servant who had been seduced and betrayed by her master.
Such were the religious leaders in Jerusalem. For them, the end justified the means. It is not even sure that they wanted the woman to be stoned. They were not primarily interested in her, they were simply using her to attack Jesus. Their intended victim was Jesus, not the woman. The shame and fears of this woman, in being thus publicly exposed, meant nothing to them. For them, she was just an instrument that helped them carry out their diabolical purpose. Yes, such were the religious leaders in Israel. We see the horror of sin in their behaviour. They were completely controlled by their evil passions. Pride, self-righteousness and arrogance dominated and controlled their lives. When this happens, man's behaviour becomes worse than that of a beast. Sin is a cruel master, it blinds its victims … God says through Jeremiah (17:9) "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?" How could such gross wickedness be present in the religious leaders of the nation?
Such a thing is possible and these things are written for our learning. Sin is something that must be put to death both in heart and life. Such a thing is possible through the Lord Jesus Christ. With the psalmist we should all say regularly (Psalm 139:23-24) "Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting." John says in the prologue to his gospel (1:5) "And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." The story of the adulterous exemplifies the truth of this verse. The compassion of Jesus shines wonderfully against the dark background of the Pharisees' wickedness. First, we find Him in the temple, teaching the people. Although it was early in the morning, all the people came to Him and listened to his teaching. Undoubtedly it was a sacrifice for these people to get up so early. But they were rewarded: they heard God speak to their hearts. There is a lesson here to be learned. Are you ready to sacrifice part of your leisure time for God? Are you ready to get up early in order to begin the day with Him? You will never find time for God in this modern life which is busy beyond measure. You have to discipline yourself and set aside each day a moment where you can be alone with God. If you do it, you will be rewarded in your Bible reading and prayer life.
The compassion of Jesus
While Jesus was teaching the people, the scribes and Pharisees abruptly interrupted Him. They came with a woman caught in adultery and said to Jesus (8:4-5) "Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?" Of course their question was part of a diabolical scheme. If Jesus had replied, "Let her go", they would have said He was speaking against the law of Moses. They would have said to the people, "Don't listen to Him. He is a false teacher, He does not obey the law of Moses! He cannot be a God-sent messenger!" But if Jesus had said, "Stone her", they would have ridiculed his ministry. They would have said to the people "Can you really trust Him? He claims to be the friend of sinners and that He came to save them. But when they go to Him, He says, 'Stone them!' There is no compassion and mercy in this man. He is an impostor. Don't listen to Him! That was the Pharisees' plan and it really was a diabolical plan. The Pharisees were convinced that Jesus could not avoid their trap. They believed that they had Him completely cornered and that there was no way out for Him. It quite remarkable to see that the Pharisees' wicked question was actually a very relevant one. "How can God be merciful to guilty sinners without being unjust?", or as Paul states the problem in Rom. 3:26; "How can God be both just and the justifier of the ungodly?"
From a human point of view, the problem is unsolvable. There is no solution - in this the Pharisees were right. They argued, "Even if Jesus wants to show love and compassion in this matter, He cannot!" But there was one thing that the Pharisees had overlooked in their diabolical plan. With Jesus, they were not dealing with a mere man. they were dealing with God. What is impossible for man IS POSSIBLE FOR GOD! So what did Jesus do? He stooped down and started to write with his finger on the ground. What did He write? We don't know. The Bible does not give us the answer. There was, however, a symbolic significance to our Lord's action. Here we see Jesus – God – writing with his own finger. Now is there another passage in the Scriptures where we see God writing with his finger? Yes, there is one (Exodus 31:18) "And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God." Did Jesus write the Ten Commandments on the ground with his finger? Perhaps, but this is of course only a supposition and we cannot be too dogmatic. Personally I am inclined to believe that this is what He did for two reasons. Firstly, He would have shown in this way that He was not against the law. Jesus had not come to destroy the law but to fulfil it (Matt. 5:17). Secondly, such a gesture would have spoken to man's conscience. Imagine that Jesus had indeed written the Ten Commandments on the ground. He then says to the Pharisees (v. 7), "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." I believe it would have been very difficult for anyone to throw a stone at the woman in such circumstances. Imagine yourself picking up a stone from ground on which the Ten Commandments are written. The stone you pick up is just next to the first commandment, "You shall have no other gods before me".This means that you must not be guilty of any form of idolatry whatsoever. Then you have to throw that stone at a woman guilty of adultery. Could you do such a thing without your conscience accusing you?
However it seems that the Pharisees did not pay much attention to what Jesus was writing. We read in v. 7 that "they continued asking Him". We can easily image what they said to Jesus here. "Well, what do You say … do You agree with Moses … what do You say … shall we stone her as the law of Moses requires … or shall we release her … what do you say … we'd like your opinion!" After a while Jesus stood up and replied (v. 7) "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." How simple and at the same time how disarming! So we read that (v. 9) "those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last." Obviously there was something in Jesus' presence that overcame these men and left them powerless, or perhaps it was something in his gaze or in the tone of his voice. Whatever it was, these men were completely defeated in a moment. This is always what will happen when weak and sinful men seek to defy Almighty God.
The wisdom of God
The problem that the Pharisees presented to Jesus was not a local one. It is a universal problem that concerns all men and women, wherever they are. The problem is how divine justice and divine mercy can be harmonized. This problem concerns all of us, for we are all sinners. Let us consider once more the different elements of this story. We can summarize them in this way. First, we have the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, who came to save sinners. That is why we find Him in the temple, teaching sinners. Second, we have an adulterous woman. She is guilty and she cannot save herself. Third, we have the law of Moses. The law is against her for she has transgressed it. The penalty for her transgression is death. Fourth we have the Pharisees, who brought the woman to Jesus and accused her before Him. They wanted to know whether this woman should be reprieved or executed. This was the problem that Jesus faced.
The Pharisees were absolutely sure that there was no solution to this problem. They were absolutely sure that Jesus could not be both just and merciful at the same time. They believed that He would have to give up either grace or justice. And yet at the end of the story we find Jesus and the woman alone and Jesus says to her (v. 10) "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?" and the woman replies (v. 11) "No one, Lord". Then Jesus utters these wonderful words (v. 11) "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more." How could Jesus – the righteous Judge – say such words of forgiveness? Why did He not pronounce a judgement against this guilty woman? The answer is to be found in the cross! The message of the gospel is a wonderful message of substitution. On the cross, Jesus took upon Himself the judgement and condemnation of this woman. And not only her judgement and her condemnation BUT ALSO MINE AND YOURS! This is God's solution to the wicked question of the Pharisees. The cross reveals the justice of God because on the cross the Just died for the unjust. But the cross also reveals the love of God (Jn. 3:16) "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
Human wisdom could never have found such a solution, but what is impossible for human wisdom is possible for divine wisdom. Yes, the cross reveals the matchless wisdom of God. In the cross we see how God can be both just and at the same time merciful. He shows justice in punishment and mercy in pardoning. In the cross we see how God may pardon sinners without encouraging sin. He shows the greatest possible hatred of sin and yet the greatest love possible for sinners. In the cross, we see how God can admit men and women into heaven without compromising his holiness. In the cross, we see how God can turn his enemies into friends and bind them to Him in eternal love. The cross displays God's wisdom, by which the proud wisdom of man is confounded. The cross appears foolishness to unbelievers for Paul says (1 Corinthians 1:23) "we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness" and yet the cross demonstrates that (1 Corinthians 1:25) "the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men."
You must place yourself at some point in this story. Are you like the crowd who stood watching. These people witnessed forgiveness, but they did not enter into it. Are you like the rulers? They were sinners too, like the woman, and even worse sinners, but they went away from Jesus without even hearing the words of forgiveness. Or finally, are you like the woman, who not only heard but also received the words of forgiveness? Of all the people who were present that day, she was the one who was most blessed. The crowd was indifferent, as crowds always are, the rulers went away from Christ into darkness and six months later they were killing the Prince of glory, but the woman – that guilty woman – went home forgiven. My dear friends, is her experience also your experience? Have you come to believe that the cross in the only solution to the problem of man's guilt? Have you heard in your heart the same words of forgiveness?
"Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."
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Jesus, keep me near the cross;
there a precious fountain, free to all – a healing stream – flows from Calvary's mountain
In the cross, in the cross be my glory for ever
Till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river
Thank you for reading this message. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us.
Quotations are taken from the New King James Version of the Bible, copyright Thomas Nelson Inc.