A Woman Caught In Adultery
Reflecting on the Varied Responses of the Religious and the Redeemer
(John 8:1-11)
by Al Maxey; outlined and slightly revised by R Waters
Introduction
I. From the N.T. we read (Heb. 13:4) "Marriage is
honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but
whoremongers and adulterers God will judge."
II. One of the Ten Commandments clearly declares:
"Thou shalt not commit adultery" (Ex 20:14),
which is then reinforced just a few verses later
with these words:
"Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife" (vs. 17).
II. Jesus, in His Sermon on the Mount, indicated
that the focus of God goes much deeper than
one's physical actions – "But I say to you, that
everyone who looks on a woman to lust for her
has committed adultery with her already in his
heart" (Matthew 5:28).
III. The earnest desire of the HEART, that deep
inner longing for another (whether that longing
be sexual in nature or not), is a covetousness
that is forbidden by God.
IV. Time and again God condemns the various
lusts of the flesh, especially those that
involve sexual immorality and the breaking
of covenantal unions.
A. And time and again mankind shuns this
divine guidance and wallows in the mire
of his baser instincts, all to his own
shame and harm.
B. It seems sometimes that we never learn;
that we are in a losing battle within ... torn
between right and wrong, good and evil,
the Spirit and the flesh.
1. The apostle Paul, years after
committing his life to Christ Jesus,
lamented, For that which I do I allow
not: for what I would, that do I not; but
what I hate, that do I. (Rom. 7:15).
a. He continues: For the good that I
would I do not: but the evil which I
would not, that I do. (vs. 19).
"I find then a law, that, when I would
do good, evil is present with me." (vs. 21).
b. One can empathize with the cry of
this struggling servant as he
bemoaned his condition -- "Wretched
man that I am!" (vs. 24).
2. Although the epressions of our sinful
nature vary from person to person, we
are all equally wretched in that we too
frequently succumb to "the sin which so
easily entangles us" (Heb 12:1).
"There is none righteous, not even one"
(Rom 3:10)
"All have turned aside" (vs. 12).
a. On one occasion, just such a sinner
was brought into the presence of
Jesus by the scribes and Pharisees
(John 8:1-11).
b. They wanted to see how He would
react to such obvious disobedience of
God's Law.
c. His reaction, as well as theirs, forms
the basis of a most instructive contrast
in spiritual focus.
d. I pray that as we examine this incident
we will look deeper than the eternal
circumstances, for it is truly upon the
heart that our Lord focuses.
e. By seeking to do the same we shall
perceive the meaning and application
of His matchless grace in the lives of
the "wretched."
Body
I. THE SETUP
A. The episode found in John 8:1-11 occurred
early one morning in the temple courts after
Jesus had returned from a night on the
Mount of Olives where He often went to be
alone and to pray to the Father.
1. A crowd had gathered to hear Him teach.
2. Some of the religious leaders, apparently
aware of where He would be at that time
of day, appeared and presented Him with
a woman who had been caught in the
act of adultery.
a. Interrupting His message to the crowd,
they placed this woman before Him
and declared for all to hear, "We caught
her committing adultery ... we caught
her in the very act. The Law of Moses
says she should die. What do YOU say?!"
b. It doesn't take much depth of
perception to see what these
disreputable religionists were up to.
c. Their goal was to utterly destroy our
Lord's effectiveness and influence with
the people.
1) He was a troubler of their precious
religious system, and they were
determined to stop Him, no matter
what it took.
2) One can just imagine how smug
they must have felt as they thrust
this sinful woman forward in the
sight of all these witnesses.
3) How confident they must have felt
in their "trap" as they challenged
Jesus to take some action, any
action, in the matter before Him.
4) No doubt they were thinking:
"We've got you now, Jesus!
Let's see you get out of this
one!"
B. (The Expositor's Bible Commentary,
vol. 9, p. 90). "The entire affair had the appearance
of trickery, a trap specially prepared to catch Jesus.
The Sanhedrin would probably not have arisen early
in the morning unless there was a special reason
for doing so."
1. In other words, this whole thing was a
SETUP.
a. Oh the lengths to which rigid
religionists will go in order to destroy a
righteous reformer!
b. What godless deception!
2. How did these leaders, for example,
catch this woman in the very act of
adultery?
a. Were they "peeping Toms," prowling
the city by night, gazing through windows
in the hope of catching someone?
b. Or, far more likely, had they simply
arranged the whole thing?
c. I think the latter is highly probable.
d. It is most unlikely they just happened,
at that hour of the morning, to stumble
across a couple engaged in adultery.
e. The fact that they grabbed this woman
and headed straight for Jesus (knowing
exactly where He would be at that
moment) hints at premeditation and
conspiracy.
1) Well, one could speculate endlessly, but
the reality is -- Jesus was faced with
quite a dilemma!
2) Before Him that morning was a woman
unquestionably guilty of a serious
offense.
3) There was no way Jesus could question
the validity of the accusation, and there
is no evidence He did.
4) She was caught in the act; there were
witnesses; the woman herself was not
denying the charge.
5) Her guilt was indisputable!
6) Under the Law of Moses the penalty for
adultery was DEATH.
a) Leviticus 20:10 declares that when
an adulterous situation occurs, both
"the adulterer and the adulteress (i.e.,
both the man and the woman)
shall surely be put to death."
b) God views this as a serious matter,
even though many of His people
obviously do not.
C. Isn't it interesting that these religious
leaders brought only the woman to Jesus
that morning?!
1. Where was the man?
a. According to the Law, he too was guilty.
b. Obviously, unless he managed to
overpower and get away from these
religious leaders, a double standard
was at work here....or something even
more diabolical.
1) Is it just possible, as many
commentators speculate, that this man
might have been an associate of these
leaders, and thus part of the
conspiracy?!
2) This would certainly help explain how
these leaders were so easily able to
"catch" this woman in the very act of
adultery...they knew exactly where and
when to find her.
3) This could also explain why the man
was not brought before Jesus.
2. Yes, the Law of Moses demanded death for
this guilty woman, and Jesus knew that.
a. Adding to His dilemma, however, was
the fact that Roman law did not prescribe
the death penalty for adultery.
b. Furthermore, the Romans had taken
away the right of the Jews to impose
capital punishment under their own
religious Law.
1) Thus, if Jesus declared, "She is guilty;
put her to death," He would have been
in violation of Roman law, and could
even have been accused of trying to
incite the Sanhedrin to rebel against
Roman authority.
2) This would be treason; a crime
punishable by death.
3) However, if Jesus refused to condemn
her to death He could be charged by
these religious leaders with
contradicting the Law of God.
i. Jesus was in a very delicate situation.
ii. To an onlooker it certainly would have
appeared there was no way out!
iii. He was "damned if you do, damned if
you don't."
4) It was not the woman who was "on trial"
that morning in the temple courtyard – it
was Jesus!
II. VARIED RESPONSES
A. The motivation of the religionists is clearly
spelled out for us by inspiration -- This they
said, tempting him, that they might have to
accuse him. (John 8:6a).
1. These men couldn't have cared less
about the woman herself or her sin.
a. She was merely a pawn in their game
plan against Jesus; an insignificant
piece sacrificed without thought to
accomplish a greater end.
b. They had made their move; now they
awaited His.
2. Our Lord's response, however, was the
one thing they had not counted on.
a. They thought they had all bases covered;
every response calculated and counter-
measures in place.
b. What they didn't count on was silence.
c. Jesus didn’t say a word.
1) Rather, He "…Stooped down, and with
his finger wrote on the ground, as
though he heard them not.”
2) In other words, He pretty much totally
ignored them!
3) Jesus' strategy was masterful, and,
as epected, they began to pursue
with greater energy their pre-planned
agenda to accuse and discredit, if not
actually destroy, our Lord.
a) The NASB phrases it this way –
"They persisted" (vs. 6).
b) While Jesus was stooped down,
writing in the dirt, they kept right on
questioning Him, demanding some
kind of response.
i. Like a pit bull, they would not let
up or let go.
3. Have you ever wondered what it
was Jesus wrote on the ground?
a. This is the only time, by the way,
where Jesus is said to have
written something ... and we
don't even know what it was!
b. There has been a tremendous
amount of speculation over the
centuries as to what He wrote.
1) (The Expositor's Bible Commentary,
vol. 9, p. 90). "Some say He may have
simply made marks in the dust ('doodling')
to cover His embarrassment; or, as has
also been suggested, He may have started
to make a list of the sins of those who
stood in front of Him"
2) The reality is, as long as we live we
shall never know what He wrote.
a) One thing we do know,
however -- His actions were a
source of irritation to the
scribes and Pharisees!
b) They were not pleased by His
lack of response.
c) They wanted an answer;
some statement they could
use against Him ... any
statement, and they were
getting nothing.
4. Finally, So when they continued asking
him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them,
He that is without sin among you, let him
first cast a stone at her. 8 And again he
stooped down, and wrote on the ground."
(vs. 7-8).
a. Once again, this was a response
the Jewish leaders who had
conspired to entrap the Lord had
not anticipated.
1) It caught them completely
unawares.
2) Suddenly, they were "on trial"
before the crowd.
3) According to Jewish law, in
any case involving capital
punishment, the witnesses must
begin the stoning.
b. Jesus wisely places the force of the
dilemma back on His accusers -- "Let
the first stone be cast by the one who
dares to presume to be above sin in
the sight of God!"
1) In other words, "Which one of you
is not also worthy of death, if the
truth were but known?!"
2) "And they which heard it, being convicted
by their own conscience, went out one by one,
beginning at the eldest, even unto the last:
and Jesus was left alone, and the woman
standing in the midst. " (vs. 9).
a) I find it interesting that the older
ones left first.
b) Some have suggested it was
because they had far more sins
for which they were culpable.
c) It might especially have been
embarrassing if it was these
sins that Jesus was quietly
listing in the sand that day!
d) They knew that He knew there
were none without equally
damning sin in that group of
accusers.
e) Others have speculated that
they simply had more sense
than to make an impossible
profession of sinlessness before
the crowd.
f) It is also possible they were not
as hot-headed as the younger
ones and merely decided it was
wiser to depart, regroup, form a
new strategy, and try again at a
more opportune time to discredit
or destroy Jesus.
i. When a battle plan begins to
fall apart, wise soldiers fall
back and regroup.
A. After the last accuser departed, Jesus
stands up, turns to the woman, and says,
"Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"
1. The woman answers, "No one, Lord."
a. Jesus then declared, "Then neither do I condemn
you. Go now and leave your life of sin!" (vs. 9-11).
1) His response depicted Grace,
Compassion, Mercy, and Love.
2) But in the actions of the religious
leaders the people had beheld the face
of evil; in the actions of Christ they had
beheld the face of God!
3) (The Expositor's Bible Commentary,
vol. 9, p. 91)"Her accusers had made her
the bait for a trap. They were more
interested in destroying Jesus than in
saving her. Their vicious hatred of
Him was as bad as her immorality".
B. Jesus did not condemn this woman,
but neither did He condone her sin.
1. The woman was guilty before God.
a. She knew it, and He knew it.
b. This was not a cover up; there was
no sweeping of sin under the carpet.
c. But, the mission of our Lord was not
to seek out sinners to destroy them...it
was to call them to repentance.
1) "Leave your life of sin" is the
plea to each of us, who, like this
woman, have frequently failed our God.
2) John 3:17 - For God sent not His Son
into the world to condemn the world; but
that the world through Him might be saved.
2. Although Jesus didn't condemn this
woman, neither did He completely let
her off the hook.
a. He tried to impress upon her that
she had a responsibility to refrain
from sin in her life from that point
forward.
b. And yet, He didn't assign a disciple
to keep an eye on her; He didn't put
her on 90 days probation --- He
challenged her heart and extended
hope!
c. A perfect combination for effecting
transformation.
III. LESSONS TO BE LEARNED
A. Imagine the emotions that must have
overwhelmed this woman at this time.
1. Disbelief ... relief ... maybe, hopefully,
a conviction to change.
2. Certainly amazement at what she had
witnessed and experienced.
3. Who was this Jesus who had shown
such love and compassion?
(The Expositor's Bible Commentary,
vol. 9, p. 91)."Meeting a man who was
interested in saving rather than exploiting,
in forgiving rather than condemning, must
have been a new experience for her!"
a. Whatever became of this woman is
unknown to us.
b. Ancient legends, which state her name
was Susanna, declare she married an
elderly man named Manasseh, that she
was converted to Christianity by James,
the brother of our Lord, and that she died
while serving as a missionary in Spain.
1) Whether any of this is true, we'll never
know.
2) There are some lessons to be
learned, however, from the account
of this women caught in adultery and
our Lord's interaction with her and
her accusers.
B. FIRST --- The hideous nature of self-
righteousness!
1. These Jewish religionists and legalists
considered themselves to be righteous
men, yet their actions and attitudes
displayed their true nature.
a. The by-product of self-righteousness
has always been the affliction of others.
b. The more self-righteous we become, the
more judgmental we become, and the
oppression and affliction of others is
never far behind.
2. The humiliation of this sinful woman
was not even a concern to these religionists.
a. They couldn’t have cared less about
her as a person.
b. She was a pawn in a plan, nothing more.
1) Such is the thinking of legalists; it is
always law over love, command over
compassion, method over mercy.
2) Those who are different deserve
to be destroyed.
C. SECOND --- The Lord, in this passage,
has given us the primary qualification of
a stone thrower -- sinlessness.
1. Only the sinless -- the morally, ethically
and spiritually perfect -- are qualified to
pass judgment and pass sentence on
the rest of humanity, which eliminates
most us.
2. Yes, we can and should use God's
inspired Word as the Standard by
which to measure ourselves and
others with regard to our attitudes
and actions, but only for the purpose
of encouragement or admonition to
greater love and service to God
and others.
a. God's Word is indeed "profitable for
teaching, for reproof, for correction,
and for training in righteousness"
(2 Tim. 3:16), but it is never profitable
for use as a hammer to beat into
submission all those who differ with us.
b. None of us has attained unto perfect
enlightenment with respect to ultimate
Truth.
c. Casting stones is an action for which
we are ill-equipped and under-qualified.
1) Of all the men who have ever lived,
there was only ONE who was qualified
to cast a stone at that woman that
day ... and He refused to do so!
2) That ought to tell us something!
D. THIRD --- Christ does not condone sin,
and neither should we.
1. Nevertheless, our Lord is far more
interested in saving people from their
sins, than in destroying them because
of their sins.
a. He came preaching repentance,
not retaliation.
b. He offers cleansing, not condemnation.
c. He wants to heal, not hurt.
1) Jesus is all about mercy, forgiveness,
reconciliation; the extending of hope
and assurance.
2) If it is not a gospel of grace we preach,
then we are not preaching the gospel.
Rom 8:1 - "There is therefore now no
condemnation for those who are in Christ
Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but
after the Spirit. 34 Who is he that condemneth?
It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen
again, who is even at the right hand of God,
who also maketh intercession for us."
2. Throwing stones is easy.
a. Any fool can pick up a rock and hurl it.
b. It takes a real man in Christ, however,
to rise above that human nature and
evidence the spirit of the Lord when
confronted with the faults and failings
of another.
1) Forgiveness, mercy, understanding
and acceptance do not come easily,
but come they must if we are to be
ambassadors of grace and ministers
of reconciliation.
2) It's easy to be worldly in our dealings
with one another; no effort is required.
3) The real challenge is to be Christ-like.
c. When you are tempted to point a
finger at another and utter words of
condemnation, remember the finger
of our Lord as it wrote in the sand.
1) In a way, that finger was directed
directly toward you (and me).
2) Perhaps our Lord's message in the
sand that day long ago was simply
a list of concepts and characteristics
that too frequently indict us all by our
lack of observance of:
Compassion ... Mercy ... Forgiveness ...
Acceptance ... Love ... GRACE!