Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?”
John 8:3–5
This encounter with the woman caught in the act of adultery occupies the first eleven verses of John 8. It begins a chapter full of contrasts and conflicts: grace and law (vv. 1–11), light and darkness (vv. 12–20), life and death (vv. 21–30), freedom and bondage (vv. 31–47), honor and dishonor (vv. 48–59). But it opens with this woman having a direct and life-changing encounter with the Lord Jesus.
In contrast to the woman with the issue of blood—found in Matthew 9, Mark 5, and Luke 8—who came willingly and expectantly to the Lord Jesus, this woman did not come by choice. She was forced to come, dragged into the temple courts after being caught in the very act of adultery. The entire scene almost seems staged, because the first question that must be asked is: Where is the man?
The Law stated clearly that both participants caught in adultery were to be held accountable (Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22). So why was only the woman brought forward? The text gives the answer: “This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him” (v. 6).
This woman was being used as bait in their attempt to trap the Lord Jesus. Yet the Lord knew all men and knew what was in their hearts (John 2:24–25). He knew the hearts of her accusers and the heart of the woman standing before Him.
Instead of immediately passing judgment on her, He judged the judges and said, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” According to the Law, the accusers were to cast the first stones (Deuteronomy 17:7). Convicted by their own consciences, they began to leave—starting with the oldest and ending with the youngest (v. 9).
The woman was left standing alone with the Lord Jesus. He, the sinless One, was the only person present who had the right to condemn her. Perhaps she waited for judgment to fall from His righteous lips. But instead, she heard these gracious words: “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
His holy presence exposed every heart that day, and He continues to declare, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
Anchor For Today:
Oh! what a Saviour is Jesus the Lord,
Well may His name by His saints be adored!
He has redeemed them from hell by His blood,
Saved them for ever, and brought them to God.
Now in the glory He waits to impart
Peace to the conscience and joy to the heart —
Waits to be gracious, to pardon and heal
All who their sin and their wretchedness feel.
Thousands have fled to His spear-pierced side,
Welcome they all have been, none are denied;
Weary and laden, they all have been blest,
Joyfully now in the Saviour they rest.