The Doctrine of Imputation: John 8:1-10

Introduction: Context! Upon starting a new study, it is always important to look at context.

Define context: Context is the setting around us. There is immediate context, and then there is our broader context

Example: Immediate context is this room, broader context is we are in a church, and if we really zoom out, you are all high schoolers living in Greenville SC in the year 2025.

Why is context important?

Conversation example: Hey Brandon, had a good time golfing with you yesterday. Yeah, Tyler it was really fun, and I can’t believe you got a hole in one on every hole! Yeah I only do that like every other time we play. Yeah you were really shooting the daylights outta that course. Yeah and that guy Daniel we played with… He was awful! I mean I smoked him!

If you walk in just as I say “He was awful! I smoked him” you might be thinking a couple of things. Were they playing a game and someone lost? Did they have an argument that ended in me beating up someone?

You ask questions to try and determine the context right? Who did you smoke? what game was it?

When we read the Bible, this is no different. We are entering a conversation between a speaker and a listener, and they are communicating to one another. We are removed from the situation and need to do our research of what is going or we will come to wrong conclusions.

For example:

James 2:24 “You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.”

Taken out of context, we are under the impression that works save us. But when we study the chapter or the context of this verse, we discover that works are the proof of our faith. It’s like an EKG machine. The lines on the screen is not our heartbeat, but it represents that our heart is indeed beating. Works are the heartbeat of our faith, but they are not what makes the heart beat. They are not what save us. Context is king.

We ask questions, and we look at the surroundings - both forward and backward - to figure out where we are. And almost always this will be enough to determine context.

Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who are called according to His purpose”

The verse taken out of context means one thing, but in context means something different.

So what are some good questions to ask concerning context? Where, when, time, place, speaker, audience, author,

Remember when I said this almost always works? This passage is one of the rare moments when these questions will not give us the correct answer. This passage is very likely not written by John, but inserted by some other author into this location. The church had an oral tradition of this story that wanted to include in Scripture, and so someone inserted it where they thought it best fit. Some inserted it in Luke 21:38 but today it is inserted here in John. This does not mean that the passage is not God’s word, but rather that it is simply inserted as an interruption of the current narrative.

The Setting

So what is our context/setting here in John 8? let’s read the passage and ask some questions.

John 8:53-2 “ they went each to his own house, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them.”

Jesus is back in the temple, and he is teaching the people as he is seated. Being seated indicates authority and

Setting: Jesus is in the temple teaching the Jews.

The woman is brought before Jesus

Charges of adultery brought

John 8:3–5 “The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 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?””

Exodus 20:14 ““You shall not commit adultery.”

Leviticus 20:10 ““If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.”

The punishment for adultery is death.

Question: Look at Leviticus and look at verse 3. Something does not add up. What is it?

Answer: There is no man. Where is the person she was caught in adultery with?

The lack of a male presence suggests that the law is not being carried out fairly and justly. A woman is about to be killed for her sin, but a man is about to walk away scot free.

Jesus is tested by the pharisees

John 8:6 “This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him.

The motivation of the pharisees.

The pharisees are losing power and influence. Everyone used to come to them for anything religious. They had a strangle hold on the people of Israel, and they set the rules. Enter Jesus, He is completely undermining them. He is interpreting Scripture counter to their interpretation. He is performing miracles and drawing the crowds that used to turn towards the pharisees. The pharisees desire themselves to be top dog, and they see Jesus as a threat to their dominance - and rightfully so.

Their motivations are pride (because they think themselves as better than the people and therefore able to tell them what to do) and jealousy (because they desire the power and influence that they once had but see slipping away)

The trap

So how is this a trap? Thinking back to our context, who is in charge? The Romans. They are all about peace and quiet.

The law does allow for execution, but the Romans are ruling, and an execution would have been viewed by the Romans as mob violence. No doubt the religious leaders would have reported Jesus to the Romans for instigating such violence. additionally, Jesus’ reputation as compassionate and merciful would be damaged.

On the flip side, to not condemn her was to go against the law. Now, the practice of execution for adultery was likely practiced sparingly in this time. The Jews would have found it easier to divorce. That being said, for Jesus to not condemn this woman would have pitted him against the law.

The dilemma was simple: Condemn the woman and therefore incite mob violence and align himself against the Romans and their law and order, or let the woman go free and directly contradict the law.

Jesus’ Response

John 8:6–8 “This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground.” ”

Jesus baits the pharisees

Have you ever been in an argument with someone, and they say something something so stupid that you ask them to repeat themselves? Sometimes the best way to win an argument is just to let the other person talk.

Jesus is doing that here. The pharisees hear the silence, see Jesus writing in the ground as if he is stalling for time, and so they double down thinking they finally have him cornered. And then once they had fully committed to their trap, Jesus turns the tables on them. Once he goes back to writing, it is for the purpose of drawing attention to the pharisees lack of a solution.

Jesus’ response of calling for those without sin to throw the first stone is genius, and here is why.

Jesus does not invalidate the law. He gives permission for her to be executed as the law demands. So the pharisees cannot say that Jesus contradicted the law.

Jesus exposes those present as guilty of the same sin that they had accused this woman of. In some capacity, whether physically or only in their heart, these people were also guilty of adultery. By doing so, the woman is mercifully spared by Jesus from being stoned, and the Romans are not disturbed from their peace and quiet.

The pharisees response

John 8:9 “But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.”

The pharisees leave slowly - being foiled in their plans once again.

Notice that the older ones left first. This could be due to them living longer and having sinned more and thus feeling more guilty. Perhaps they were wiser and recognized defeat quicker than the younger

Conclusion/Application

John 8:10–11 “Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.””

Does Jesus let this woman get away with adultery? What do you think?

No. Why is it true that she does not get away with her sin, and yet does not bear the consequences of her sin?

Because of Jesus. Jesus died for that woman’s sin of adultery. Her sin is against God’s law, and only God can forgive sin committed against his law.

So God forgave her, and her sin just goes unpunished then? No! All sin is unpunished. Guys, why did Jesus come to this earth? To take our punishment upon himself. Her adultery was punished with death - the death of Jesus! Jesus is killed in place of this woman’s sin. He can tell her that he does not condemn her because Jesus is going to take that condemnation upon himself. Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” This is why it is such a big deal that our sin is transferred to Christ’s account. The imputation or transferring of sin from us to God is one of the greatest truths in all of the scripture.

Where do we fit in this story?

We are all the woman caught in sin. In this story, we are condemned rightly for sin that we have committed, and it is just and right for us to die. But Jesus takes our sin upon himself at Calvary and dies in our place so that we might have eternal life. Do you guys see how much God loves you? That he died in your place?

When you accept Christ as your savior, it is not that your sin is ignored and swept under the rug, but instead that the ultimate consequence of your death is taken away from you and placed upon Jesus.

Do you guys begin to understand why sin is such a big deal? Do you understand how much God loves you that he died for you?

Jesus instructions to this woman are to go and sin no more. She is to live a life free from sin. Every sin she commits places a larger burden upon Jesus.

Romans 6:1–2 “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?”