The Woman Caught in Adultery - John 8:1-11

The Woman Caught in Adultery John 8:1-11 (c)Copyright March 7, 2021 by Rev. Bruce Goettsche John 8 contains one of the most recognizable stories in the Bible: the woman who was caught in adultery and brought before Jesus. It is a powerful story. If you have ever felt condemned, ashamed, or exposed as a failure, you will resonate with this story. However, before we look at the account, we have to address a couple of other things. First, most newer Bibles have a note before the text: The most ancient Greek manuscripts do not include John 7:53-8:11. This is troubling to many people. Some feel these versions are trying to edit the Bible or engage in what we call today "revisionist history". However, that is not what is happening at all. These scholars are not guilty of not respecting the Word of God - this note is in there because they absolutely respect the Bible as the Word of God! As archaeology continues to unearth more and more copies of the Bible some of those copies are earlier manuscripts (or copies) than previously existed. Generally speaking, the older the manuscript, the closer it is to the original that was inspired by God Himself. In this case, the oldest of the manuscripts are missing this account which could indicate the story was added later. However, other early manuscripts do have the story in John. The note on the text is warning us, saying: Be careful about holding this text above other texts because it may be a later addition. I believe we should view these verses as equal with the rest of the gospel account. We know it was an early account and it certainly seems to be consistent with the character we see of Jesus throughout the rest of the Bible (and John's gospel). It is consistent with the rest of scripture. And we do not have any reason to discount the story other than the fact that it is not in the earliest manuscripts. So, though it is important to be cautious, we can approach this story as genuine history, not a later fabrication. Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, 2 but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. 3 As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. 4 "Teacher," they said to Jesus, "this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?" 6 They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. 7 They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, "All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!" 8 Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. 9 When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, "Where are your accusers? Didn't even one of them condemn you?" 11 "No, Lord," she said. And Jesus said, "Neither do I. Go and sin no more." QUESTIONS There are some questions we have about the details in this story. In Deuteronomy 22:22 we read: "If a man is discovered committing adultery, both he and the woman must die. In this way, you will purge Israel of such evil." One expert in Jewish legal procedures states, "The actual physical movements of the couple must have been capable of no other explanation, and the witnesses must have seen exactly the same acts at exactly the same time, in the presence of each other, so that their depositions would be identical in every respect." This raises some questions. First, where was the man who was involved in this adulterous relationship? Scripture is clear . . . BOTH parties were to be killed. If only one party was brought before the court, it would be the man who might take advantage of a woman and force her into a relationship she did not desire. So something is "fishy" here. Second, how it is that these people were caught? If they were in a room the witnesses would have had to be looking in the window . . . at the same time! This leads us to believe the whole thing was a setup. Perhaps the woman was an unknowing pawn who was seduced. The man may have been part of the plot designed to get Jesus trapped. If that is the case the people behind the plot are actually worse than the woman accused of adultery! In our permissive age one might think the punishment here was excessively harsh. However, God established these penalties because marriage was meant to be the foundation of the home and our society. God takes marital faithfulness seriously. Third, what did Jesus write in the dirt? There are as many opinions on this as there are people. We could speculate what he wrote but it is only a guess, so it is a waste of time. It appears Jesus does use this to buy time and to allow His words to sink in. Let's look at what happened and draw some principles I hope will help us. Check Yourself Before Condemning others These religious leaders believed they had Jesus in a no-win situation. If Jesus said, "Let her go!" He would be castigated as one who did not believe in the Law of Moses. If he sided with her execution, he would be undermining His reputation as the Savior for the broken and hurting. This would alienate Him from the very people who were drawn to Him. It might also put him in the sights of the Roman government who alone had the right to execute. As in so many other occasions, we see the wisdom of Jesus superior to the schemes of men. Jesus wrote in the dirt as if He was ignoring them entirely. But, because they kept pushing, he responded, "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone." The principle is simple: we need to examine our own lives before condemning the sin of others. Jesus said this very thing in Matthew 7, "Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. 2 For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. 3 "And why worry about a speck in your friend's eye when you have a log in your own? 4 How can you think of saying to your friend, 'Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,' when you can't see past the log in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend's eye. Some have taken these words of Jesus to mean we should never say any behavior is wrong. But that is not what Jesus was saying. Throughout the Bible it is clear that the Lord wants us to be holy rather than compromise with evil. He is clear in calling some behaviors "sin." So, Jesus is not condemning judgments, (He actually commands them just a few verses later in Matthew 7). He is condemning hypocrisy. These accusing men condemned this woman while they were plotting against Jesus and possibly even entrapping the woman to do so. They were using the Word of God to destroy people (even willing for this woman to be killed) in pursuit of their own agenda. It is sadly, a common problem. We can beat people up with a sense of righteous indignation while neglecting our own sin. As believers we must not call what God calls evil, good. However, we should be eager to point people to the transforming grace of God. We do that by extending kindness and personal care, even when we may have to oppose their behavior. This is where the church has gotten a bad reputation with the non-Christian world. They have watched as Christians have condemned various actions and behaviors (which God condemns) with a hatred that makes us simply seem mean and uncaring and more like bullies than ambassadors of Christ trying to love and win those who are lost. If you ask a non-Christian friend to describe a "typical Christian" They may describe one who stands in judgment over them, or people who are stern and sour. God does not call us to be the policemen of the world. He calls us to be ambassadors of grace. It is the Holy Spirit's job to convict people of their sin. It is our job to show people a better way. It is interesting that after the challenge of Jesus it is the older people who slip away first. Perhaps it was that they realized Jesus had defeated them. To throw the first stone would be to make a claim of sinlessness they would not dare to make. It would be an act of blasphemy. The older men knew there was no sense looking for a loophole. They conceded defeat. The younger people quickly followed. Jesus Forgives After the mob dissipated, there was Jesus with the disciples (we assume) and this woman. Surely, she was embarrassed and ashamed. Jesus asked if anyone was left to condemn her and she replied there was no one. Then He said something amazing, "Neither do I condemn you." He extended grace and forgiveness to this broken woman who perhaps was headed down a very destructive path. I suspect His words and the look of kindness and compassion in His eyes changed her life forever. The God who wrote the Law that she broke had every reason to condemn this woman as a sinner. The Holy One was well within His rights and authority to send her to Hell. But He did not. Instead, He gave her a new start. Forgiveness is powerful. It is like someone taking their foot off your neck (allowing you to breathe again) and then wrapping their arms around you as a friend. It is like the cancer Doctor coming into your room to tell you "we got it all." It is like being on death row and suddenly being completely pardoned. Romans 8:1,2 says, "There is now no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death." Ponder those incredible words: "No condemnation." Nothing! The worst of our sins is pardoned because of Christ. The woman standing before Jesus had her life altered by these few words. She was facing death by stoning, and now she was going home forgiven. The shackles of guilt had been taken off. She had a fresh start. Here's the hard part: we are told to forgive as He has forgiven us. Forgiveness is letting go of the hurt. It is determining that the offense committed will no longer be a barrier in our relationship. It is not "letting someone get away with what they did," it is putting the hurt into God's hands to address it in a way that is appropriate. When we forgive, we stop using past failures as a club to beat up someone any time there is a conflict. It is not so much that we forget what happened . . . we choose not to remember! We choose to turn it over to Him. It is no longer an issue between us an another. Forgiveness is one of the costliest gifts we can give to another. It is a life-changing act of love. Jesus forgave this woman and asks us to forgive each other. We are never showing more faith than when we dare to entrust our hurts to the Lord and replace our anger and hurt with grace. We are given the privilege to pass on the grace we ourselves have received. It is our chance to demonstrate that we trust Him . . . even with our hurts. Jesus Called Her to a New Life Jesus said to this woman "Go and sin no more! These words are important! Jesus does not deny the woman's sin. He did not say it did not matter or was not important. It is sin, and sin destroys our lives. We need to see the destructive power of sin before we can appreciate the gift of grace and forgiveness. Jesus set this woman free from her condemnation and encouraged her to head in a new direction. He faced the sin, rather than trying to redefine it like so often happens today. Calling sin virtue is like painting the walls of the prison. It doesn't change the fact that you are still in prison. In the Romans 8 passage Paul says we are freed from the power of sin that leads to death. The goal of God's forgiveness is not for us to be able to sin without feeling bad, it is so we can pursue holiness and godliness. We are freed do we can move in a new direction . . . the direction we should have been going to begin with. God wipes our slate clean so we can travel in a different direction. He died for our sin to break the power of sin over us! The person who rejoices at forgiveness and then continues to willfully sin again and again should question whether they have really understood and received the gospel. The person who goes back to beating themselves up with their failures does not understand the real gift that has been given by our Lord. There is now NO CONDEMNATION! Jesus opened a door to this woman to a new life. I want to believe she embraced the opportunity she had been given. Ken Gire in his book INTIMATE MOMENTS: There are no tears as she leaves. Years later there will be. At odd moments during the day: when she looks at her children asleep in their beds; when she waves good-bye to her husband as he walks to work in the morning; when she kneads bread in the solitude of her kitchen. A marriage she would have had...a family she never would have had...a life she never would have had- were it not for such a wonderful savior. A savior who stood up for her when others wanted to stone her. A Savior who stooped to pick her up and send her on her way, forgiven. No, this woman did not take the gift for granted. This love motivated her just like it motivates everyone who is a true child of the Father. We Are this Woman! The real takeaway of this message is the realization that we are this woman! Her story is our story. We deserve condemnation. We have often ignored His commands and have disregarded His character. Our hearts have become hard and our minds dull. When we take an objective look at our lives it should stagger us at the ease with which we justify our sin. We have an uncanny ability to keep telling ourselves that the bad, destructive, and hurtful choices we make, are "not that bad," or "everyone else is doing it." For most of us, we are haunted by past mistakes and failures. We carry scars that make us hesitant in our living. Some have self-esteem issues and feel the entire world is looking at them and talking about them. Some stay away from the church and any hope of having a relationship with Christ because they believe they are "too far gone" to ever experience salvation. The truth is, such people are actually closer to forgiveness and new life than those who condemned this woman and wanted to condemn Christ. They were religious and thereby believed they "deserved" eternal life. They saw the sin in others but could not see it in themselves. If you recognize your need of forgiveness, you have met the first qualification. If you regret and mourn over your sin, you fulfill the second requirement which is repentance. Next you need to see that while others are pointing their boney fingers at you with anger and condemnation, Jesus holds His arms open to you. He does not say your sin doesn't matter. Of course, it does! Sin destroys people and keeps them from a true relationship with God. If you will run to His open arms, He will say to you what He said to this woman: "I do not condemn you." He has paid the price so you can be forgiven and free from the enslaving power of sin and have the opportunity to live a new life; to walk with Him; to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God; and to know you have a place in Heaven reserved for you. We must believe His voice more than we do the voices of the crowd and even the voice that is in our head . . . our own disappointment and Satan's accusations. Hear and embrace the voice of the One who reigns supreme and loves you more than you can comprehend. Listen carefully as He says, "You are set free! You are no longer defined by your failures but by my mercy and grace." I am sure there are many here who need to hear this and long to hear it, but it seems too good to be true. This is what grace looks like! I hope there is a message here also for us when we are tempted to be the person pointing the boney finger; the one quick to condemn. Remember the words of Jesus: "Let He who is without sin cast the first stone." Remember His words, "The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged." (Matthew 7:2) We have a choice: we can be agents of condemnation or agents of grace. We can beat others up or pick them up off the ground. We can adopt a posture of superiority or proceed as one who has received an undeserved mercy. We can be like the teachers of the law or pass on the grace that has been extended to us. Forgiveness is not easy. But= it is EASIER when we remember the magnitude of the grace WE have received. When we are willing to forgive another, we show that we appreciate the grace He has given to us. You can dismiss this story because it is not found in some of the earliest manuscripts. But you cannot dismiss the message because it is repeated time and again in the Word of God. This is not just a story about a woman caught in sin. It is OUR story. It is a picture of God's amazing grace that sets us free from condemnation and also free to dare to extend that grace even to those who have hurt us. 1