John 8:1 - Meaning and Application

Though Christ was badly treated in the previous chapter, by both the rulers and the people, he was still at Jerusalem and still in the temple. How often he would have gathered them! We see, first, his retreat in the evening outside the city (John 8:1). He went to the Mount of Olives, whether to a friend’s house or to a booth set up there for the Feast of Tabernacles is not certain. We are not told whether he rested there or, as some think, spent the night in prayer to God. But he did leave Jerusalem, perhaps because no one there had either the kindness or the courage to give him a place to sleep. His enemies had houses of their own to return to (John 7:53), but he could not even borrow a place to lay his head except by going a mile or two outside the town.

He may also have withdrawn because he did not want to expose himself to danger from a crowd at night. It is wise to avoid danger when we can do so without leaving the path of duty. In the daytime, when he had work to do in the temple, he willingly exposed himself and was under special protection (Isaiah 49:2). But at night, when his public work was done, he withdrew into the country and stayed there.

Second, we see him return in the morning to the temple and to his work there (John 8:2). Christ was a diligent preacher. Early in the morning he came again and taught. Even after teaching the day before, he taught again the next day. He was constant, teaching at the right time and whenever the need was there. Three things stand out in his preaching. The time was early in the morning. Even if he had spent much of the night in secret prayer, and even though he stayed outside the city, he still came early. When a day’s work is to be done for God and for souls, it is good to begin early and make full use of the day.

The place was the temple. This was not mainly because it was a holy building, for if that were the reason he would always have chosen it. It was because this was where people were gathering, and he wanted to support public worship and encourage the people to come up to the temple. He had not yet left it desolate. His posture was that he sat down and taught, like one who spoke with authority and intended to remain there for a while.

His preaching was also carefully attended. All the people came to him, and perhaps many were country people who were about to return home after the feast. They may have wanted one more sermon from Christ before leaving. They came to him even though he came early. Those who seek him early will find him. Even though the rulers were unhappy with those who came to hear him, they still came. He taught them even though they were angry with him too. And though few, if any, of them were important people, Christ still welcomed them and taught them.

Third, we see how he dealt with the woman brought to him, a woman caught in adultery, while they were trying to trap him. The scribes and Pharisees would not hear Christ patiently themselves, and they also interrupted him while the people were listening. They brought the woman in order to pick a quarrel with him and trap him (John 8:3-6).

They first set the accused before him (John 8:3). They brought a woman who had been taken in adultery, perhaps very recently, during the Feast of Tabernacles. It may be that the feast, with its booths and celebrations, gave wicked hearts an excuse for sin. Sin can twist even good things into occasions for evil. Those caught in adultery were, by Jewish law, to be put to death, and the Roman rulers allowed the Jews to carry out that sentence. So she was brought before the religious court.

She had been taken in the act. Though adultery is usually hidden, it is sometimes brought out into the open in a striking way. People who think they can sin in secret are fooling themselves. The scribes and Pharisees placed her in the middle of the crowd, as if they were leaving everything to Christ’s judgment, since he had sat down like a judge on the bench.

Then they brought the charge against her: “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery” (John 8:4). They called him Teacher, though the day before they had called him a deceiver. They hoped to trap him with flattering words, as others had tried to do (Luke 20:20). But while people may be fooled by compliments, the One who searches the heart cannot be. The crime they accused her of was adultery, a sin that even before Moses’ law was seen as something judges should punish (Job 31:9-11; Genesis 38:24). The Pharisees seemed very eager to punish this woman, yet later it became clear that they were not free from the same kind of sin. They were inwardly full of uncleanness (Matthew 23:27-28). It is common for people to be harsh toward the sins of others while making excuses for their own.

The proof was plain and undeniable. She had been caught in the act, so there was no room to deny it. If she had not been caught then, she might have gone on to more sin until her heart was hardened. Sometimes it is a mercy to sinners when their sin is exposed, so that they may stop before it goes further. Better that sin should shame us than destroy us, and better that it be brought before us for conviction than for final judgment.

They also brought forward the law for this case (John 8:5). “Moses in the law commanded us to stone such women.” Moses did command death for this sin (Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22), though not always by stoning, unless the woman was engaged but not yet married, or was a priest’s daughter (Deuteronomy 22:21). Adultery is a very serious sin, because it is the revolt of a shameful desire, not only against God’s command but against his covenant. It breaks a holy institution given by God in innocence, through one of the lowest desires in fallen human nature.

Then they asked for his judgment in the matter: “What do you say?” If they had asked that sincerely, with a humble wish to know his mind, it would have been commendable. Those who handle justice should look to Christ for guidance. But they said this to test him, so they could have something to accuse him of (John 8:6).

The scribes and Pharisees thought they had trapped Jesus either way. If he upheld the Law’s sentence and let it stand, they would accuse him of being inconsistent, since he welcomed tax collectors and prostitutes. They would also say he did not fit the Messiah’s character, since the Messiah should be gentle, bring salvation, and proclaim release. They might even report him to the Roman governor, claiming he was allowing the Jews to use judicial power.

If, on the other hand, he said the woman should not be punished, they expected to use that against him too. They would call him an enemy of the Law of Moses, someone claiming authority to correct it and weaken it. That would support the false charge they spread about him, that he had come to destroy the Law and the Prophets. They would also paint him as a friend of sinners, and therefore a supporter of sin, as if protecting offenders meant approving their wrongdoing.

Jesus answered in a way that broke their trap. He stooped down and wrote on the ground. No one can know for sure what he wrote, and Scripture does not tell us. This is the only time the Gospels mention Jesus writing, though some later writers guessed what it might have been.

Whatever he wrote, his action teaches us to be slow to answer difficult questions. When people press us or provoke us, we should pause before speaking. Wise people think before they reply. Jesus also showed that sometimes it is safe to stay silent when it is not safe to answer. His silence was not ignorance, because he knew their thoughts as well as their words.

When they kept demanding an answer, he finally turned their attack back on them. He stood up and said, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” He did not deny the law, excuse the woman’s guilt, or encourage the crowd’s harsh spirit. Instead, he exposed their own hearts and saved his honor at the same time.

He pointed them to the law’s own rule, that the witnesses against a criminal were to begin the execution (Deuteronomy 17:7). The scribes and Pharisees were acting as witnesses against this woman. Jesus challenged them to ask whether they were fit to carry out the punishment. Could they really take her life with their hands when they were already trying to destroy her with their words?

He also appealed to a plain rule of morality. It is deeply wrong for people to be eager to punish others while they are guilty of the same kind of sin. Those who judge others while doing the same things themselves are self-condemned. This does not mean magistrates must ignore wrongdoing if they are personally sinful. It does mean that whenever we correct others, we should first examine ourselves and be harder on our own sin than on theirs.

We should be firm about sin, but gentle toward the person who has fallen. We must remember our own weakness and corrupt nature. We either are, have been, or could be what that person is. That should keep us from throwing stones at our brothers and sisters or spreading their faults. Anyone who is truly humbled by personal sin will be embarrassed to talk proudly about the sins of others.

If we must speak about another person’s fault, we should first look carefully at ourselves and keep ourselves pure. Jesus may also have had in mind the old test for a woman suspected of adultery, where the husband brought her to the priest (Numbers 5:15). In the same way, the scribes and Pharisees had brought this woman to him.

Among the Jews, it was a settled belief, backed by experience, that if the husband who brought his wife to this test had himself committed adultery, the bitter water would have no effect on the wife. Christ, as it were, says, “I will judge you by your own tradition: if you are without sin, then carry out the charge and let the adulteress be executed. But if you are not without sin, then even if she is guilty, you who accuse her are guilty too, and by your own rule she should go free.”

In this, Christ kept to the great work for which he came into the world, to bring sinners to repentance. He did not come to destroy, but to save. He wanted to bring both the accused woman and the accusers to repentance, the woman by showing mercy, and the prosecutors by showing them their own sin. They tried to trap him, but he tried to convict and change them. Bloodthirsty people hate the upright, but the righteous seek his soul.

After giving them this shocking word, he left them to think about it and again stooped down to write on the ground (John 8:8). Just as he seemed to ignore their question when they first brought it, so now he did not seem concerned with their reaction to his answer. He did not need to argue further. The matter was left to trouble their own hearts, where they could do with it as they would. Or he may have avoided waiting for an answer so they would not suddenly defend themselves and then feel bound by pride to keep pressing the case. Instead, he gave them time to pause and examine themselves. God says, “I listened and heard” (Jeremiah 8:6).

Some Greek copies say here that he wrote on the ground “the sins of each one of them.” He could do that, for he sets our sins before him. He will also do that for us, setting them in order before us. He seals up our transgressions (Job 14:17). But he does not write men’s sins in the sand. No, they are written with a pen of iron and the point of a diamond (Jeremiah 17:1), never to be forgotten until they are forgiven.

The scribes and Pharisees, the religious teachers and leaders, were so stunned by Christ’s words that they stopped both their attack on Christ and their accusation against the woman (John 8:9). They went out one by one. Perhaps his writing on the ground frightened them, as the writing on the wall frightened Belshazzar. They may have thought he was writing something bitter against them, even their sentence of doom. Happy are those who have no reason to fear Christ’s writing.

Or perhaps his words frightened them because he sent them back to their own consciences. He had shown them themselves, and they were afraid that if they stayed until he rose again, his next word would expose them publicly and shame them before everyone. So they thought it best to slip away. They left one by one, so they could go quietly and not disturb Christ with a noisy retreat. They stole away in shame, like people who flee in battle.

The order of their departure matters. The oldest left first, either because they were the most guilty or because they first saw the danger of being exposed. And if the elders retreated in disgrace, it is no surprise that the younger followed them.

Here we see the power of Christ’s word to convict sinners. Those who heard it were convicted by their own consciences. Conscience is God’s deputy in the soul, and one word from him can set it to work (Hebrews 4:12). These men had long lived in adultery and in a proud view of themselves, yet even the oldest among them were shaken by Christ’s word. Even the scribes and Pharisees, who thought most highly of themselves, were driven away in shame by his power.

We also see the folly of sinners under conviction in these scribes and Pharisees. It is foolish for people under conviction to care mainly about avoiding shame, as Judah did (Genesis 38:23), “lest we be shamed.” We should care more about saving our souls than saving our reputation. Saul showed his hypocrisy when he said, “I have sinned, yet honor me, please.” There is no way to receive the honor and comfort of true repentance without taking on the shame of repentance.

It is also foolish for people under conviction to find ways to escape that conviction and get rid of it. The scribes and Pharisees had the wound opened, and they should have wanted it examined so it could be healed. Instead, that was exactly what they feared and avoided. It is foolish, too, for people under conviction to walk away from Jesus Christ, as these men did, because he alone can heal a troubled conscience and speak peace to us. Those convicted by conscience will be condemned by their Judge unless they are justified, that is, counted right with God, by their Redeemer. So why would they go away from him? Where else would they go?

When the self-important accusers left, and fled in shame, the self-condemned prisoner remained standing and ready to accept our Lord Jesus’s judgment. Jesus was left alone, free from the scribes’ and Pharisees’ harassment, and the woman stood in the middle of the crowd that had gathered to hear Christ preach, where her accusers had placed her (John 8:3). She did not try to escape, though she had the chance. Since her accusers had appealed to Jesus, she would wait on him and accept whatever sentence he gave.

Those whose case is brought before our Lord Jesus never need to take it to another court, for he is the refuge of repentant sinners. The law that accuses us and calls for judgment has its claims met and its demands silenced by the blood of Jesus. Our case is now lodged in the gospel court. We are left with Jesus alone, and he is the only one we now have to deal with, since all judgment has been given to him. So let us secure our place in him, and we are safe forever. Let his gospel rule us, and it will surely save us.

Now comes the end of the trial and the outcome it led to. Jesus lifted himself up and saw no one but the woman (John 8:10, 11). Though Christ may seem to take no notice of what people say and do, and may let men argue it out among themselves, when the hour of judgment comes, he will no longer stay silent. When David appealed to God, he prayed, “Lift yourself up” (Psalm 7:6; Psalm 94:2). The woman likely stood trembling before him, unsure how this would end.

Christ was without sin, so he could have cast the first stone. Yet though no one is stricter than he against sin, because he is perfectly just and holy, no one is more compassionate to sinners, because he is perfectly gracious and merciful. And this poor woman found him to be so as she stood there waiting for his verdict.

This is how courts of justice proceed. First, the accusers are called to appear: “Where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?” Christ did not ask because he lacked that knowledge. He asked to shame those who had refused his judgment and to encourage the woman, who had chosen to stand before it. Paul uses a similar line of thought when he asks, “Who will bring any charge against God’s elect?” The accuser of the brothers and sisters will be cast out, and every lawful indictment will be set aside.

Second, when the question is asked, the accusers do not appear: “Has no one condemned you?” She answers, “No one, Lord.” She speaks respectfully to Christ and calls him Lord, but she says nothing about her accusers. She does not celebrate their retreat or mock them, even though they have testified against themselves, not against her. If we hope to be forgiven by our Judge, we must forgive those who accuse us. And if their charges, however bitter, helped wake our consciences, we can forgive that wrong more easily.

She answers the question that concerns herself. True repentant people think it is enough to give an account of themselves to God, and they do not try to answer for others. Then the prisoner is released: “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more.”

Think of this first as release from a temporal penalty, a penalty in this life. If they do not condemn her to be stoned, neither will Christ. That does not mean he takes the sword away from rulers, or that he does not want civil punishments to be carried out against criminals. Public justice is upheld by the gospel and serves Christ’s kingdom, for “by me kings reign.” But Christ would not condemn this woman for two reasons.

First, it was not his office to act as a civil judge. He was not there to settle disputes between people, so he would not step into a worldly matter. His kingdom is not of this world. Each person should work within his own proper sphere. Second, she was being pressed by people who were more guilty than she was, and they could not with good conscience insist on justice against her. The law required the witnesses to throw the first stones, and then all the people after them, so if they would not condemn her, the case fell apart. In God’s providence, when temporal judgments are sent, he sometimes takes note of a relative innocence and spares people who would otherwise deserve punishment, especially when punishing them would serve the interests of those who are worse (Deuteronomy 32:26-27).

Yet when Christ sent her away, he added this warning: “Go, and sin no more.” Being spared can make sinners bold, so those who escape the law need to watch themselves carefully, lest Satan gain an advantage. The fairer the escape, the stronger the warning should be to sin no more. Anyone who helps save a criminal’s life should also, as Christ does here, help save the soul with that warning.

Think of it also as release from eternal punishment. When Christ says, “I do not condemn you,” he is in effect saying, “I forgive you.” The Son of Man had authority on earth to forgive sins, and he could give this pardon on good grounds. He knew the hard and unrepentant hearts of the accusers, so he spoke in a way that exposed them. He also knew the woman’s tenderness and sincere repentance, so he spoke words that comforted her. He did the same for the woman in Luke 7, who was also treated with contempt by a Pharisee: “Your sins are forgiven. Go in peace” (Luke 7:48, Luke 7:50).

Those are truly happy people whom Christ does not condemn, because his pardon is answer enough for every other accusation. All other charges are then before an unauthorized judge. Christ will not condemn those who have sinned but will go and sin no more (Psalm 85:8; Isaiah 55:7). He will not use against us the sins of our past rebellion if we lay down our arms and return to loyalty. And the fact that Christ forgives us should move us to go and sin no more (Romans 6:1-2). If Christ will not condemn you, then go and sin no more.