| The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say? (John 8:3-5) |
The Pharisees brought a woman to Jesus saying she had been caught in the act of adultery. We do not know whether she was a prostitute caught having sex with a married man or if she was married and found with a man who was not her husband. None of that mattered to her accusers. Their intent was to trap Jesus into misstating the woman’s punishment. Although adultery was punishable by death according to the Mosaic Law it was a penalty that was seldom used. As a rabbi Jesus did not have the authority to determine the woman’s punishment. If He did not condemn the woman, He would be seen as contradicting the commandment against adultery.
What was Jesus to do? His response was beyond anything the Pharisees could imagine. He said anyone present who had not committed a sin should condemn the woman. The Pharisees had no room to condemn one who was like them. Their sins may not have been the same as hers, but they realized sin was sin and they were all guilty. In pointing out that all present were sinners, Jesus elevated the woman’s status. She was no more guilty of sin nor more deserving of punishment than her accusers. Slowly each of the Pharisees and the onlookers turned and went away realizing they had indicted themselves in their attempt to shame the woman and failed in their intent to trap Jesus.
Biblical Principles
- The woman’s guilt was not the reason the Pharisees blamed her but rather their desire to entrap Jesus (John 8:6)
- The Pharisees ignored the law (Leviticus 20:10) that says “’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 and only accused the woman.
- Jesus used the woman’s adultery to teach the Pharisees a lesson about their own sin. (John 8:7)
- The woman did not flee when her accusers left. That showed Jesus she was repentant, and He did not condemn her (John 8:11).
For Women Today
God did not condemn the woman, but He did acknowledge her sin just as He is aware of each of our sins but does not condemn us. By telling her to sin no more, He gave her the opportunity to change her life. She never denied her sin. She had fallen away from what God would have for her life, but that did not keep Jesus from defending her. It does not matter how far you have fallen; the Lord will come get you. In refusing to condemn the woman Jesus provides us with a model. We all fall short of God’s direction for our lives. We cannot judge others lest we ourselves be judged. As followers of Jesus, we must remember Jesus’ response to the Pharisees. Until we have perfected our lives and our walk with God to the extent that we sin no more, we cannot judge others.