He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first
John 7:53–8:11 (NKJV)
53 And everyone went to his own house.
A Woman is Caught in Adultery
8 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.”
Message
I. Everyone to his own house, Jesus to the mount (7:53, 8:1)
See John 7:53 and 8:1.
53 And everyone went to his own house.
1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
These verses show Jesus had nowhere to lay His head.
“Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” said Jesus in Matthew 8:20 (NKJV), when a certain scribe said, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.” (Matthew 8:19 NKVJ). Jesus showed the cost of following Him would include giving up a comfortable life for the mission. Possibly Jesus prayed overnight till the early next morning (2a) to rescue a woman from condemnation and the death penalty (8:3-11).
II. He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first (2-11)
See v2-5.
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?”
Leviticus 20:10 (NKJV) says,
10 ‘The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death.
Based on Leviticus 20:2b NKJV (2b The people of the land shall stone him with stones.) and Leviticus 20:27b NKJV (27b They shall stone them with stones. Their blood shall be upon them.), we can tell Leviticus 20:10 commands the death penalty, likely, by stoning. An engaged young woman who is a virgin is her fiancée’s wife. The same penalty is imposed for the adultery involving her (Deuteronomy 22:23-27).
They asked Jesus, “But what do You say?” (5b) They were testing Him to accuse Him (6a). See v6.
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.
Instead of answering them, Jesus stooped down and wrote something on the ground with His finger. God gave two stone tablets written with the finger of God (Exodus 31:18). The Ten Commandments were written in them (Exodus 34:28). This reminds us that Jesus is the Law Giver. See v7.
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.”
Jesus gave them a new commandment: “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”
Jesus didn’t say not to throw a stone at her. If He had said so, it would be contrary to the Law.
In the Law, the witnesses should stone first (Deuteronomy 17:6-7). The witness of the wickedness, who can throw the first stones, should have better moral value and life before they could accuse the wicked person(s) and cause the person(s) to death. Jesus made this ‘better moral value and life’ to be the perfect standard of ‘without sin’. Based on this standard, only Jesus could judge this woman. His new commandment did not abolish the Law but fulfilled the Law according to its true meaning (Matthew 5:17). See v8.
8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.
This second writing on the ground reminds us of the new covenant after the first one. For the new covenant, the Law will be put in their minds and written on their hearts (Jeremiah 31:31-34). When Jesus was writing on the ground, the Holy Spirit might be reminding them in their minds and hearts of their sins. See v9.
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.
‘one by one’ shows the Holy Spirit touched each individual’s heart and mind personally. The oldest to the last shows every sin they committed in each person’s life was reminded so that the oldest felt convicted more and left sooner. None could hold a stone of judgment or stand there to judge. But everyone went out of the site. See v10-11a.
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?”
11a She said, “No one, Lord.”
Jesus saved her physical life from the stoning. See v11b.
11b And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
Jesus forgave her and saved her soul from the eternal condemnation. He was to pay for our sins through the sacrificial death on the cross.
