The Woman Caught In Adultery

Our text today comes with a little controversy, because it’s been debated by scholars regarding its authenticity, because most of the earliest ancient Greek manuscripts don’t have this section.

Many later manuscripts mark this section with asterisks. One group of manuscripts inserts this section after Luke 21:38. A few manuscripts have this section after John 21:24, and one has it after John 7:36. (Where do we put it?)(Jesus easy on sin)

Because we’re talking about some translations of the Bible possibly being “wrong” I want to share a few words on the inerrancy of scripture. The original writings are inerrant, but none of them exist today. What we have today are thousands of ancient documents that have allowed us to re-create the original’s. The occasional phrase, verse, or section may come under scholastic review or debate, but not one important doctrine of Scripture is put in doubt due to these uncertainties.

John 7:53- 8:11 Then they all went home, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. ² Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. ³ Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, ⁴ they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. ⁵ Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” ⁶ This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. ⁷ So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” ⁸ And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. ⁹ Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. ¹⁰ When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” ¹¹ She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”       

My first question here would be, where is the man? Why did they only bring the woman if both were caught in the act? Because according to the law of Moses they were both to be stoned.

Leviticus 20:10 “If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death.

Deuteronomy 17:6 On the testimony of two or three witnesses a person is to be put to death, but no one is to be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. 

The Laws for evidence in capital cases were extremely strict. The actual act had to be observed by at least two witnesses whose testimony agreed exactly.  It wasn’t enough to see the pair leaving the same room together or even lying on the same bed together. As a practical matter, rarely was anyone executed for adultery, since this was a relatively private sin.

Scribes and Pharisees did this as Jesus taught publicly in the temple. They wanted to make this as public as possible, to embarrass both the woman and Jesus.

Their motive here is clear. They are trying to test Jesus, set a trap for Jesus, “so they might have a reason to accuse Him.” Because if Jesus didn’t say take this woman and execute her (stone her to death) for the crime of adultery then He would be guilty of breaking the law of Moses.

We know of a similar situation in Matthew 22 when they tried to trick Jesus about paying taxes to Caesar.

It’s kind of disturbing that this woman’s sin was being exploited and exposed by these religious leaders in front of everyone just to put Jesus on the spot. (hearts)

Certainly, this woman at this point, having been caught in the act of adultery had no hope that she was going to avoid the penalty of being stoned to death under the law of moses. But then Jesus intervenes in a very unexpected way. A way that only Jesus could with His infinite wisdom.

The bible says, Jesus stoops down and begins writing in the sand. Now the bible doesn’t tell us what Jesus wrote. But I believe He gives us a good idea:

Vs6b-8 Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. ⁷ When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” ⁸ Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

So, in the midst of Jesus writing in the sand, He straightens up and says, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Then He stoops and begins to write some more.

And something amazing begins to happens: Theses religious leaders begin to leave one by one the oldest to the youngest. Again, I can’t tell you exactly what Jesus wrote but I can tell you this, whatever it was, every one of these men were: convicted by their conscience. And so, it had something to do with their own sins.

Matthew 7:1-5 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. ³ “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Whatever Jesus wrote this is the essence of what He was trying to teach them and us.

 Vs10-11 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” ¹¹ She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”   (I was this woman)

RECAP: This woman was caught in the sin of adultery, and the consequences of her actions were about to catch up with her. She was about to pay for her sin with her life.

But then she encounters Jesus, and everything changed. He doesn’t condemn her, as the law demanded. Instead, He showed her grace and mercy and gives her an opportunity for a fresh start.

This is the power of restoration – the ability to take a life marred by sin, steeped in sin and transform it into something beautiful.  Definition of Restoration: Taking something broken and making it whole again.  This woman knows exactly what it feels like to be broken and in need of restoration.

When Jesus said to this woman, “Neither do I condemn you,” He was showing her a level of mercy that she had never experienced before. He was showing her that despite her past sins/mistakes, she was not beyond redemption.

This story is the essence of restoration – the belief that no matter how far we have fallen, or what sins we have committed, it is never too late to turn it around. Jesus’s words to this woman are the assurance that our past does not define our future, and that through Jesus, and His forgiveness we can be made whole again.

 (Setting) When Jesus challenged these Scribes and Pharisees to cast the first stone, He was not just addressing the woman’s accusers. He was also challenging the entire community to examine their own sins before passing judgment on someone else. This is a powerful reminder that restoration/redemption is not just about personal spiritual healing, but it’s also about creating a community of grace and forgiveness.

John 3:16-18 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ***HOLD***¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

This women came to Jesus literally condemned to death because of her sin, but also spiritually condemned to death because of her sin.

And here Jesus demonstrated His glorious ministry: seeking and saving that which was lost. She didn’t need to be condemned; she needed to be saved.  We don’t need to be condemned; we need to be saved.

Jesus delivered her from condemnation, just as He delivered us.

Conclusion Jesus is always ready to extend His mercy and grace.  We were all like this woman, caught in the act, deserving of the punishment of death.  But Jesus stepped in, took our place, and offers us a new life, where old things are gone and behold all things become new.