John 8:1-30 Bible Study

Jesus and the Adulteress Woman

John 8:1–6 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.

What trap do the scribes and Pharisees create for Jesus? Who were they accusing?

Why did this create a trap, or dilemma, for Jesus?

If he didn’t agree to killing her, he would violate the law; if he did agree to killing her, he wouldn’t be showing love and compassion.

So, what were the actual law requirements and consequences for adultery?

The punishment for sexual immorality is death by stoning.

Both the man and the woman, the adulterer and the adulteress, receive this consequence.

The act must be evidenced by two or three witnesses; they cannot be put to death on the evidence of only one witness

The witnesses themselves were the ones who were to begin the stoning.

Did the Pharisees and scribes actually follow the law or not? How?

They wanted to accuse someone else of breaking the same law that they weren’t correctly following.

Does it seem like they were interested in upholding the law?

John 8:6–11 CSB

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.”]

What was Jesus’ initial reaction/response to the Pharisees and scribes?

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.

He didn’t immediately respond to them, but what did he say after they persisted in questioning him? What does his 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?

Why do you think the older men started to walk away first?

What does Jesus tell the woman after the others had left?

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

“He who knew no 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.

John 8:12–18 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.”

So following the interaction with the woman and the Pharisees Jesus goes back to them. What does he call himself?

What other things does Jesus say or claim about himself?

What do you imagine the reactions of the Pharisees were when Jesus was making these statements?

How does Jesus’ statement relate, or follow up, with the situation with the adulteress woman?

Jesus calling himself light is exposing the darkness of the Pharisees. He was revealing the truth.

What does this statement mean for us today?

Jesus is inviting us to follow him in search of truth. To be removed from darkness.

How do the Pharisees respond to Jesus?

Though Jesus had just exposed them, they still tried to throw the law back at him.

Looking through verses 14-16, what are the comparisons we see between Jesus and the Pharisees?

Why is Jesus’ testimony about himself valid?

John 8:19–24 CSB

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.”

What are some other comparisons here that Jesus made between himself and the Pharisees?

What does Jesus mean when he said, “I’m going away; you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I’m going, you cannot come?”

John 8:25–30 CSB

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.

Why do you think the Pharisees weren’t understanding what Jesus was telling them?

What was Jesus trying to teach them or show them through this first half of the chapter?

What is he trying to teach us?