B-A-C
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- Dec 18, 2008
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This is a very intriguing passage to me, for many reasons.
John 7:53; [Everyone went to his home.
Do you notice the "[" at the beginning of this verse? Whenever you see this is the Bible, that means it wasn't in the original manuscripts and the translators added it. However this passage is canonized.
Also, whenever you see a "[" you always need to looks for a corresponding "]" that says... this is where it ends. You won't find the "]" in John chapter 7, you have to keep reading into John 8.
John 8:1; But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
John 8:2; Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them.
John 8:3; The scribes and the Pharisees *brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court,
John 8:4; they *said to Him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act.
John 8:5; "Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?"
John 8:6; They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground.
John 8:7; But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."
John 8:8; Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.
John 8:9; When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court.
John 8:10; Straightening up, Jesus said to her, "Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?"
John 8:11; She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more."]
Everyone went home... but... Jesus went the mount of Olives. Did Jesus not have a home? Was this His home? Just He just want to be alone at this time?
In verse 2 it says "all the people". Who are ALL the people? Everyone in Jerusalem? In any case it appears there was a great crowd there He was teaching.
Right in the middle of class, in come the scribes and Pharisees. They are bringing a woman with them. A woman "caught" in the very act of adultery.
I have read several commentaries about this, and heard a few sermons about this. The question that always comes up is.... how do you commit adultery alone? Obviously if she was caught in the act, there
had to be a man involved also. Why didn't the scribes and Pharisees bring the man in also?
Lev 20:10; 'If there is a man who commits adultery with another man's wife, one who commits adultery with his friend's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
I notice it doesn't mention only the woman in this passage. But are several verses about this, perhaps it was a common thing?
Deut 22:22; "If a man is found lying with a married woman, then both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman; thus you shall purge the evil from Israel.
Num 5:12; "Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'If any man's wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him,
Num 5:13; and a man has intercourse with her and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband and she is undetected, although she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her and she has not been caught in the act,
But I have to wonder.... what are the odds of actually getting caught "in the very act". Some commentaries say this was a "set up". Perhaps it was a woman set up to get caught with a friend (or member?) of the Pharisees.
That might explain why no man was brought before Jesus in this incident. More about that in a moment.
Of course the Pharisees bring up the law. This woman should be stoned. What do you think Jesus?
Verse 6 above says they did this to "test" Jesus, so that they could accuse Him. It seems there is always an agenda to everything the Pharisees did.
But what does Jesus do? He starts writing on the ground. This has to be one of the great mysteries in the Bible, what did He write? The Bible never tells us.
But the Pharisees "persisted" in asking Him. They weren't going to let Him off the hook. Jesus is caught in a bad place. First of all He already said He was greater than Moses. Second, adultery wasn't against Roman law, so if Jesus stones her,
He would likely be arrested by the Romans. Also if Jesus stones the woman, the Pharisees could possibly say... see WE were right, Jesus had to do what we said.
But maybe the plot is even deeper than this. Was this woman actually caught in the act?
Perhaps Jesus wrote some verses like ....
Exod 23:1; "You shall not bear a false report; do not join your hand with a wicked man to be a malicious witness.
Exod 23:7; "Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent or the righteous, for I will not acquit the guilty.
Lev 19:16; 'You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor; I am the LORD.
Perhaps it was as simple as they knew they were falsely accusing this woman, so they left.
But another commentator says.... perhaps Jesus wrote the names of women on the ground, women that the Pharisees had... ummm... "known".
Perhaps Jesus was reminding them of their own adulteries in their past. Maybe that's why Jesus said "ok" whichever one of you hasn't ever sinned, go ahead and stone her.
It seems like this would be the very invitation the Pharisees were waiting for. Why didn't a group of them pick up some rocks and start throwing them?
At least one commentator thinks there may have been even more deception in this incident. He says what if the Pharisees knowingly brought an innocent woman before Jesus.
Maybe she didn't commit adultery, but the Pharisees didn't like her. This way they get Jesus to do their dirty work for them. They get rid of the woman and Jesus at the same time. They tell the Romans
the woman was innocent, and let them haul Jesus off the jail.
It is also possible the woman was part of the plot, she was in it with the Pharisees. She pretended to be guilty, so that Jesus would punish her or accuse her unjustly. Maybe if they were lucky, He would even throw
a rock or two at her. Then they could get Him for attempted murder of a innocent person.
But Jesus doesn't throw any rocks at her. He just keeps writing on the ground. Whatever He wrote was enough the make the scribes and Pharisees leave.
Imagine this woman, perhaps bound in ropes or chains, on her knees, right there in the temple.. in front of "all the people" (mentioned in verse 2) How humiliating would that be?
But what does Jesus do? He is stooped down.. writing on the ground. He doesn't rise above her in judgment. He gets down on her level.
It says the oldest (scribes and Pharisees) left first. Perhaps there is is wisdom in age, perhaps they were the first to realize Jesus wasn't going to fall into the trap.
Or.. perhaps they were the first realize, yes... I have done that sin too.
It says Jesus straightens up (stands up), but I notice He doesn't do that until after all the Pharisees have left. Perhaps it was a statement to both the woman and the Pharisees, "this is the side I'm with".
Now of course, Jesus delivers one of the most gracious lines in the Bible... neither do I condemn you. But He adds... go and sin no more. So maybe Jesus knew she had sinned after all, and maybe at that moment
even if she guilty, and even if she was in on the plot to trick Jesus, she saw something more. She saw who Jesus was and saw real forgiveness and compassion. She saw someone willing to taker her side.
We finally get to end of the story... oh yes.. and we find the other "]" in verse 11.
I notice some Bibles put these verses in italics, this is the same as the [ and ] . Some Bibles use parenthesis ( and ). I notice the KJV version doesn't do anything at all to let you know this was added.
John 7:53; [Everyone went to his home.
Do you notice the "[" at the beginning of this verse? Whenever you see this is the Bible, that means it wasn't in the original manuscripts and the translators added it. However this passage is canonized.
Also, whenever you see a "[" you always need to looks for a corresponding "]" that says... this is where it ends. You won't find the "]" in John chapter 7, you have to keep reading into John 8.
John 8:1; But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
John 8:2; Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them.
John 8:3; The scribes and the Pharisees *brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court,
John 8:4; they *said to Him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act.
John 8:5; "Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?"
John 8:6; They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground.
John 8:7; But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."
John 8:8; Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.
John 8:9; When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court.
John 8:10; Straightening up, Jesus said to her, "Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?"
John 8:11; She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more."]
Everyone went home... but... Jesus went the mount of Olives. Did Jesus not have a home? Was this His home? Just He just want to be alone at this time?
In verse 2 it says "all the people". Who are ALL the people? Everyone in Jerusalem? In any case it appears there was a great crowd there He was teaching.
Right in the middle of class, in come the scribes and Pharisees. They are bringing a woman with them. A woman "caught" in the very act of adultery.
I have read several commentaries about this, and heard a few sermons about this. The question that always comes up is.... how do you commit adultery alone? Obviously if she was caught in the act, there
had to be a man involved also. Why didn't the scribes and Pharisees bring the man in also?
Lev 20:10; 'If there is a man who commits adultery with another man's wife, one who commits adultery with his friend's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
I notice it doesn't mention only the woman in this passage. But are several verses about this, perhaps it was a common thing?
Deut 22:22; "If a man is found lying with a married woman, then both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman; thus you shall purge the evil from Israel.
Num 5:12; "Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'If any man's wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him,
Num 5:13; and a man has intercourse with her and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband and she is undetected, although she has defiled herself, and there is no witness against her and she has not been caught in the act,
But I have to wonder.... what are the odds of actually getting caught "in the very act". Some commentaries say this was a "set up". Perhaps it was a woman set up to get caught with a friend (or member?) of the Pharisees.
That might explain why no man was brought before Jesus in this incident. More about that in a moment.
Of course the Pharisees bring up the law. This woman should be stoned. What do you think Jesus?
Verse 6 above says they did this to "test" Jesus, so that they could accuse Him. It seems there is always an agenda to everything the Pharisees did.
But what does Jesus do? He starts writing on the ground. This has to be one of the great mysteries in the Bible, what did He write? The Bible never tells us.
But the Pharisees "persisted" in asking Him. They weren't going to let Him off the hook. Jesus is caught in a bad place. First of all He already said He was greater than Moses. Second, adultery wasn't against Roman law, so if Jesus stones her,
He would likely be arrested by the Romans. Also if Jesus stones the woman, the Pharisees could possibly say... see WE were right, Jesus had to do what we said.
But maybe the plot is even deeper than this. Was this woman actually caught in the act?
Perhaps Jesus wrote some verses like ....
Exod 23:1; "You shall not bear a false report; do not join your hand with a wicked man to be a malicious witness.
Exod 23:7; "Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent or the righteous, for I will not acquit the guilty.
Lev 19:16; 'You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor; I am the LORD.
Perhaps it was as simple as they knew they were falsely accusing this woman, so they left.
But another commentator says.... perhaps Jesus wrote the names of women on the ground, women that the Pharisees had... ummm... "known".
Perhaps Jesus was reminding them of their own adulteries in their past. Maybe that's why Jesus said "ok" whichever one of you hasn't ever sinned, go ahead and stone her.
It seems like this would be the very invitation the Pharisees were waiting for. Why didn't a group of them pick up some rocks and start throwing them?
At least one commentator thinks there may have been even more deception in this incident. He says what if the Pharisees knowingly brought an innocent woman before Jesus.
Maybe she didn't commit adultery, but the Pharisees didn't like her. This way they get Jesus to do their dirty work for them. They get rid of the woman and Jesus at the same time. They tell the Romans
the woman was innocent, and let them haul Jesus off the jail.
It is also possible the woman was part of the plot, she was in it with the Pharisees. She pretended to be guilty, so that Jesus would punish her or accuse her unjustly. Maybe if they were lucky, He would even throw
a rock or two at her. Then they could get Him for attempted murder of a innocent person.
But Jesus doesn't throw any rocks at her. He just keeps writing on the ground. Whatever He wrote was enough the make the scribes and Pharisees leave.
Imagine this woman, perhaps bound in ropes or chains, on her knees, right there in the temple.. in front of "all the people" (mentioned in verse 2) How humiliating would that be?
But what does Jesus do? He is stooped down.. writing on the ground. He doesn't rise above her in judgment. He gets down on her level.
It says the oldest (scribes and Pharisees) left first. Perhaps there is is wisdom in age, perhaps they were the first to realize Jesus wasn't going to fall into the trap.
Or.. perhaps they were the first realize, yes... I have done that sin too.
It says Jesus straightens up (stands up), but I notice He doesn't do that until after all the Pharisees have left. Perhaps it was a statement to both the woman and the Pharisees, "this is the side I'm with".
Now of course, Jesus delivers one of the most gracious lines in the Bible... neither do I condemn you. But He adds... go and sin no more. So maybe Jesus knew she had sinned after all, and maybe at that moment
even if she guilty, and even if she was in on the plot to trick Jesus, she saw something more. She saw who Jesus was and saw real forgiveness and compassion. She saw someone willing to taker her side.
We finally get to end of the story... oh yes.. and we find the other "]" in verse 11.
I notice some Bibles put these verses in italics, this is the same as the [ and ] . Some Bibles use parenthesis ( and ). I notice the KJV version doesn't do anything at all to let you know this was added.
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