He Who Knew No Sin Forgives All Sin

Jesus and the Adulteress Woman

John 8:1–11 CSB

1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 At dawn he went to the temple again, and all the people were coming to him. He sat down and began to teach them. 3 Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, making her stand in the center. 4 “Teacher,” they said to him, “this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery. 5 In the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 They asked this to trap him, in order that they might have evidence to accuse him. Jesus stooped down and started writing on the ground with his finger. 7 When they persisted in questioning him, he stood up and said to them, “The one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Then he stooped down again and continued writing on the ground. 9 When they heard this, they left one by one, starting with the older men. Only he was left, with the woman in the center. 10 When Jesus stood up, he said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 “No one, Lord,” she answered. “Neither do I condemn you,” said Jesus. “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”]

Thinking about this encounter, what is something that really sticks out?

pharisees had no interest in trying to accuse the woman.

the man would also need to be accused, and the witnesses would need to be present as well.

the woman was used to trap Jesus by either denying the law or not showing love and compassion to this woman.

What was Jesus’ initial response to the pharisees?

Tony Evans said that Jesus writing on the ground while they were accusing this woman for breaking the law gives us an image that Jesus wrote the law itself.

What does Jesus’ perfect response teach us?

no one is capable of keeping the law

when you judge someone by the law, you are immediately holding yourself up to that same standard.

be slow to judge and criticize

How would you measure up if someone used your standards of judgement on you?

Jesus tells the woman that he won’t condemn her and sends her with the command to “go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”

the only one that was qualified to throw that stone, chose not to.

He who knew all sin forgives all sin

important to note here: Jesus forgave the woman, and then told her to not sin anymore.

His forgiveness came before the command he gave her

this means that as we are struggling with a sin, or see another struggle with a sin or even faith in Jesus, we see that His forgiveness comes first.

Once we truly realize that he has forgiven us, we can then truly start to become obedient to his commands.

Jesus says “I am the Light of the World”

John 8:12–47 CSB

12 Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.” 13 So the Pharisees said to him, “You are testifying about yourself. Your testimony is not valid.” 14 “Even if I testify about myself,” Jesus replied, “My testimony is true, because I know where I came from and where I’m going. But you don’t know where I come from or where I’m going. 15 You judge by human standards. I judge no one. 16 And if I do judge, my judgment is true, because it is not I alone who judge, but I and the Father who sent me. 17 Even in your law it is written that the testimony of two witnesses is true. 18 I am the one who testifies about myself, and the Father who sent me testifies about me.” 19 Then they asked him, “Where is your Father?” “You know neither me nor my Father,” Jesus answered. “If you knew me, you would also know my Father.” 20 He spoke these words by the treasury, while teaching in the temple. But no one seized him, because his hour had not yet come. 21 Then he said to them again, “I’m going away; you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I’m going, you cannot come.” 22 So the Jews said again, “He won’t kill himself, will he, since he says, ‘Where I’m going, you cannot come’?” 23 “You are from below,” he told them, “I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. 24 Therefore I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.” 25 “Who are you?” they questioned. “Exactly what I’ve been telling you from the very beginning,” Jesus told them. 26 “I have many things to say and to judge about you, but the one who sent me is true, and what I have heard from him—these things I tell the world.” 27 They did not know he was speaking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own. But just as the Father taught me, I say these things. 29 The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what pleases him.” 30 As he was saying these things, many believed in him. 31 Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you continue in my word, you really are my disciples. 32 You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 “We are descendants of Abraham,” they answered him, “and we have never been enslaved to anyone. How can you say, ‘You will become free’?” 34 Jesus responded, “Truly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 A slave does not remain in the household forever, but a son does remain forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free. 37 I know you are descendants of Abraham, but you are trying to kill me because my word has no place among you. 38 I speak what I have seen in the presence of the Father; so then, you do what you have heard from your father.” 39 “Our father is Abraham,” they replied. “If you were Abraham’s children,” Jesus told them, “you would do what Abraham did. 40 But now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. 41 You’re doing what your father does.” “We weren’t born of sexual immorality,” they said. “We have one Father—God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, because I came from God and I am here. For I didn’t come on my own, but he sent me. 43 Why don’t you understand what I say? Because you cannot listen to my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Who among you can convict me of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 The one who is from God listens to God’s words. This is why you don’t listen, because you are not from God.”

Jesus makes his 2nd “I am” statement here calling himself the “light of the world”

What was the 1st “I am” statement he made?

What other things does Jesus claim about himself in this passage?

This portion of the chapter shows Jesus explaining to the pharisees about the relationship between him and the Father.

we saw this in earlier chapters as well

But how did they respond when Jesus was saying these things?

even though its being constantly repeated throughout the Gospel, they still don’ t understand or believe him.

Jesus then began to compare himself to the pharisees

v. 23

he compares them to slaves (not part of the house forever) compared to a son (children of God) who will remain in the house forever.

Jesus finishes this section by telling the pharisees that their father is the devil

that was his response to them saying their father was Abraham, telling them they do not belong to God.

Summary

Jesus nailed these guys for trying to judge others, as they were doing with the woman in the well.

Passages like these really show how evil and bad these pharisees are, but the reality is that we’re no better.

How many times have we been quick to judge? or written people off because of a certain sin they committed or flaw they had?

When we try to hold others to a certain standard of what we think is good, we become just like the pharisees in this passage, more concerned with being right and feeling higher, rather than showing mercy and forgiveness.

the truth is that when we have experienced sin or gone through the consequences of sin, that’s what helps lower ourselves and show mercy and compassion to others that may be struggling as well.

When I was single I was so confident that I would never have sex outside of marriage, which I thought was one of the “biggest” sins. I was so prideful that I didn’t depend on God and seek him to lead me away from that temptation and I ended up having sex outside of marriage with Lisa.

We dealt with many consequences through that, but not Hope

Jesus’ 3rd “I Am” statement: “Before Abraham was, I Am”

Jesus making this statement was the same as him calling himself God

God told moses in the burning bush to tell Pharaoh that “I Am” sent you

that’s why they were ready to stone him.

Why is this statement so important for us today?

Jesus proved that he is the only one worthy of condemning us for our sin, to throw the stone and not be a hypocrite, but instead chose to to love us and show mercy.

The only way we can escape the slavery of sin, is by acknowledging that he is the only one that can save us from that sin, and understanding he willingly does that, regardless of our obedience.

When you sin do you repent knowing that Jesus already forgave you?

if we truly are his children, his forgiveness should lead us to obey his commands and live as children of God

Are you willing to accept Christ as the only one able to save and forgive?

not just by saying it, but by every time we sin or judge someone else for sinning?