John 8:1-11 – But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 And early in the morning He came again into the temple area, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began teaching them. 3 Now the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in the act of adultery, and after placing her in the center of the courtyard, 4 they *said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the very act of committing adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” 6 Now they were saying this to test Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. 7 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.” 8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 Now when they heard this, they began leaving, one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman where she was, in the center of the courtyard. 10 And straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on do not sin any longer.”
“But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.” He went to pray and be with the Father. Everyone else, at the end of John 7 went to their homes. Jesus went to the Mount of Olives, to prepare to go home to be with the Father and also, as He prayed with the Father, He was home.
“And early in the morning He came again into the temple area, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began teaching them.” Jesus was always ministering either to the masses, to the individuals and to His disciples. All who do the work of the Lord know the blessing of it, but also the exhaustion that can come. How did Jesus do it nonstop? Well, He was God and He was full of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes the Spirit and sometimes the angels ministered to Him. (Matthew 4:11, Mark 1:13, Luke 4:1, 14) Always the Holy Spirit ministers to us and the Lord uses angels also.
The Lord loved the people and so He loved teaching them. When you love what you do…
“Now the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in the act of adultery, and after placing her in the center of the courtyard, 4 they *said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the very act of committing adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” Of course if these scribes and Pharisees had really been after enforcing the The Law (Deuteronomy 22:23-27, Leviticus 20:10) they would have brought both the adulterer and the adulteress to answer to The Law. But they only brought the woman, which betrayed their motives as V6 reveals. In fact, were they not, as the leaders of the Jews, in this way themselves sinning? The guilty condemning the guilty.
Acting righteous, but only being self-righteous, they quoted The Law to Jesus. If only they knew how clearly they revealed their own guilt and how they did not know The Law as well as they thought. Being taught by the Spirit trumps being taught by men who themselves have the insight of men but not of God.
“Now they were saying this to test Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground.” The Apostle John here reveals the true motive of those who were questioning Jesus. It was not for the sake of righteousness as they would falsely claim, but to put Jesus in trouble and in the wrong light to the people and to cause Him run afoul of Romans as in Mark 12:13-17. They wanted to have grounds to accuse Him. They did not learn their lesson then and repeated their error of trying to fool Him. The first pastor I learned under had often said that God is not like the current education system. He won’t pass you to the next grade if you don’t pass the one you’re in. These, because of their pride and hard hearts, did not pass and so never advanced.
Most, if not all of us have wondered what Jesus wrote on the ground. There are some fine suggestions what He may have wrote. Yet we should remember that if God doesn’t tell us, it means He thinks we didn’t need to know. Trust God about such things.
Jesus did not respond to them. The King James Version states that He stooped down and wrote on the ground “as though he heard them not.” Likely, He responded to them both by His refusal to “play their game” and by what He wrote on the ground.
“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. 8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 Now when they heard this, they began leaving, one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman where she was, in the center of the courtyard.” Can you imagine how these hypocrites hushed their tirade when Jesus sudden straightened up and began to speak to them? Was Jesus going to issue a judgement against the woman? Would He side with The Law or with Roman law? Then He simply said that the one who is without sin could be the first to throw the first stone. One pastor suggests that Jesus was writing the names of those in the crowd and next to their name the woman they had committed adultery with in act or in thought. Maybe, but we don’t know. But certainly the words of the Lord stuck into their conscience and they all left. Guess they still didn’t fool Jesus as they hoped.
“And straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on do not sin any longer.” And here is where the hero of all who know we are nothing more than saved sinners wins us over once again. Jesus had not contested them The Law, or the place of Roman law, or whether mercy rules over judgement. Instead He offered to the woman what He offered to her accusers, love, mercy and a chance to repent and change. He did not accuse her and scold her, He loved her and set her free to do His will and follow Him. 1 Corinthians 13:7 states that love always hopes. I like to think that woman appreciated that Jesus saved her life there and she submitted to His Lordship so that He would also save her eternal life. I hope she did and I hope that some of the accusers did to. I hope so. Love compels me to. Glory to God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 – The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.