And the scribes and the Pharisees bring [to him] a woman taken in adultery, and having set her in the midst,
Jesus is teaching a crowd when a group of religious leaders push through with a woman whose guilt is not in doubt. Their question is aimed at Him, not at her: why bring only the woman, and what will the light of Christ expose?
This story is not a random interruption. John places it here on purpose.
Next comes the story of the woman caught in adultery. In chapter after chapter, in the Gospel of John, the Spirit of God uses an incident to introduce some fresh truth. So in this chapter the story of the woman and her accusers introduces the great truth that Christ is the Light of the world. It shows the effect of the Light on all men.
Who were these accusers?
This is man at his best: he sees and hears Jesus, but refuses the grace and truth that came through Him. They were not ignorant men. They were learned in the Scriptures. They were not the crowd that did not know the law, but men with the highest reputation for religion. Nor could there be any question about the guilt and degradation of the woman... What deep wickedness was theirs! No horror at sin, even of the darkest kind, but a heartless use of the exposed adulteress to trap the Holy One of God.
The verse records where they put her: in the middle, in front of everyone. Why does that detail matter?
In reality, they were moved neither by hatred of the sin nor love for the sinner. They had very little respect for Moses and still less regard for the Lord's words. Their real motive was to find some cause of accusation against the Lord. With this evil purpose in view they set this guilty woman in the middle. They expose her to shame before "all the people" (verse 2). Then they invite the Lord to pass judgment on her.
Two questions hang over the verse: why bring the case to Jesus at all, and why is only one guilty party standing there?
They bring a woman who they say was caught in the act of adultery. They want Him to say whether He agrees or disagrees with the law of Moses (vv. 3-5). Either way they were ready to accuse Him. But since they were the rulers, why did they not judge the case themselves without referring it to Him? Also, the law said that both the woman and the man must be put to death for such sin (Deut. 22:22). Where was the man? In such cases men considered the woman's guilt greater than the man's. The Pharisees were willing to forget him!
She was the bait. The trap was the question they asked next.
The provocative question "Moses commanded us that such should be stoned: but what do you say?" (v.5) had been designed as a trap. If He argued for anything other than the death penalty, they would accuse Him at once. They would say He was encouraging others to break the law of Moses. But if He agreed with the deadly demand of the law, they would ask, "How then is your teaching any different? What about this grace you were going to bring?" It was a trap that left no way of escape... or so they thought.
Why were such respectable men so eager to condemn her?
People fix a standard of good that they can reach themselves, and a standard of evil that just excludes themselves and includes others... The scribes and Pharisees in this eighth chapter of John were very moral and religious people. They were deeply shocked when they found this wretched woman caught in such open sin, and very angry with her. Justice and the law of Moses, they thought, demand that she be made an example of. It is not right that such a sinner should live. It comforts and quiets the corrupt heart of man if he can only find someone worse than himself. He thinks another's greater sin excuses his own. While he accuses and fiercely blames another, he forgets his own evil.
Some Bibles mark this section off, because it is missing from certain manuscripts. Writers have answered the objections raised against it.
The Lord's habit in this respect, recorded by Luke (Luke 21:37-38; Luke 22:39), is a strange reason for discrediting John's mention of this particular occasion.
- Light. The story introduces Christ as the Light of the world. The woman and her accusers together show what that Light does to everyone it touches.
- Trap. They brought her as bait, not as a defendant: agree with stoning and He is no Saviour, refuse it and He breaks the law of Moses.
- Exposure. They set her "in the midst" before all the people to shame her — men moved neither by hatred of the sin nor love for the sinner.
- Silence. They produced only the woman, though the law named the man too — a selective use of Scripture that exposes the users.
- Mirror. Finding someone worse than yourself is a comfort the Light takes away. The sin you shout about in another is the one you forget in yourself.
they say to him, Teacher, this woman has been taken in the very act, committing adultery.
The scribes and Pharisees call Jesus "Teacher" and state their charge as a settled fact. It sounds like a request for a ruling. But why bring only the woman, and why bring her to Him at all?
These accusers knew the Scriptures well. The guilt they described was not in doubt. That mix is what makes the scene so grim.
These were not ignorant men, but men learned in the Scriptures. They were not part of the crowd that did not know the law, but held the highest reputation for religion. Nor could there be any question about the guilt and degradation of the woman. Why they brought her and not the man involved does not appear. But they brought her hoping not only to perplex the Lord, but to find grounds for accusing Him.
Their own case had a gap in it. If they wanted the law enforced, two people should have been standing there.
They were the rulers. So why did they not judge the case themselves, instead of bringing it to Him? The law had said that not only the woman, but the man also was to be put to death for such sin (Deut. 22:22). Where was the man? In such cases men considered the woman's guilt greater than the man's. The Pharisees were willing to forget him!
Notice what they did to her before they spoke. The public shaming shows what they cared about.
In reality, they were moved neither by hatred of the sin nor love for the sinner. They had very little respect for Moses and still less regard for the Lord's words. Their real motive was to find some cause of accusation against the Lord. With this evil purpose in view they set the guilty woman in the middle. They shamefully exposed her in front of "all the people" (verse 2). Then they invited the Lord to pass judgment on her.
The charge in verse 4 exists to set up the question in verse 5. Whichever way He answered, they had a ready accusation.
The starting point is the occasion where a woman is caught in adultery. The provocative question, "Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?" (v.5) had been designed as a trap. If He called for anything other than the death penalty, they would at once accuse Him of encouraging others to break the law of Moses. But if He simply agreed with the deadly requirements of the law, they would ask, "Then how is your teaching any different? What about this grace you were going to bring?" It was a trap with no way out — or so they thought.
He never lowered the law. He asked instead who was fit to use it, and that question searched everyone there.
See again how the Lord uses the law in the case of the woman taken in adultery (John 8). The Lord does not weaken the authority of the law. Instead He turns the light on them all. He tells them, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." They found they were in the presence of God. They went out one by one, admitting in practice that they had all sinned and were under the condemnation of the law.
Their sentence was correct. The problem was the hand that wanted to carry it out.
True, the sentence was just. The woman's guilt was proved, and the law was clear. But who was to carry out the law? Man may condemn, but who has the right to carry out the sentence? "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." Who could say "without sin"? And if not one of them could say, "I am without sin," then every one of them was under the same sentence as the woman — death, for "the wages of sin is death." Here, then, was a strange situation. The accused and her accusers alike were caught in the same ruin — criminals, all of them. No longer "such should be stoned," but all should be stoned. From the oldest to the last, all convicted sinners.
- Charge — the guilt was real and public. The accusers were the most respected religious men there.
- Concealment — the law they quoted condemned the man too, and they quietly dropped him from the case.
- Motive — they had no hatred of the sin and no love for the sinner; the woman was bait for a charge against Christ.
- Trap — a merciful answer made Him a lawbreaker; a severe one emptied His grace. They saw no third road.
- Reversal — He upheld the law and turned its light on them. Accusers and accused ended on one level, all convicted.
Now in the law Moses has commanded us to stone such; thou therefore, what sayest thou?
The scribes and Pharisees put a woman caught in adultery in front of Jesus, quote the law of Moses at Him, and wait for His verdict. It sounds like a request for a ruling, but it is a trap, and the real subject is what men will do with God's law to catch the Son of God.
Their appeal to Moses was not a search for guidance. They built the question so that either answer would give them something to use against Him.
They designed the provocative question "Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?" (v.5) as a trap. If He argued for anything other than the death penalty, they would at once accuse Him of encouraging others to break the law of Moses. But if He agreed with the law's deadly demand, they would ask, "how is your teaching any different? What about this grace you were going to bring?" It was a trap with no way out — or so they thought.
The men quoting the law had little respect for it. Their handling of the woman gives them away.
In reality, they were moved neither by hatred of the sin nor love for the sinner. They had very little respect for Moses and still less regard for the Lord's words. Their real motive was to find some charge to bring against the Lord. With this evil purpose in mind they stand this guilty woman in the middle of the crowd, shame her in front of "all the people" (verse 2), and invite the Lord to pass judgment on her.
They say "Moses commanded us" — but the law they quote condemned two people, and they brought only one. Two questions expose them.
But since they were the rulers, why did they not judge the case themselves instead of bringing it to Him? What is more, the law said that the man must die for such sin as well as the woman (Deut. 22:22). Where was the man? In such cases men counted the woman's guilt as greater than the man's, and the Pharisees were willing to forget him!
Jesus never says the sentence is wrong. He asks instead who is fit to carry it out, and that turns the scene from the accused to the accusers.
No: He does not reverse Moses' sentence. Let it be carried out — only let the hands that carry it out be spotless. "Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." The sentence of the law is right, yes! But on whom does that sentence really fall? Who will escape it, if it is applied strictly? Clearly He is answering as a teacher, not as a judge… They wanted to hold Him up as an opponent of Moses. He makes them see that He alone understands Moses. He uses the law on them for the very purpose it was given: to make them feel its sharp edge of condemnation on everyone, so that they may see their need of the grace they sneer at.
Before He speaks, He stoops and writes in the dust. Commentators link that hand to the hand that engraved the commandments Moses received.
He was silent, stooped down, and wrote with His finger in the ground… This is the only time we read of our Lord writing. The finger that wrote in the ground was the same finger that had written the law on the tablets of stone. What He wrote we do not know, but it was a picture: the law against man is written in the dust, the dust of death. The woman was not the only one who deserved death; all were just as guilty… He did not set the law aside, and yet He showed His marvelous grace.
If the outcome they demanded was the right one, nothing new had arrived in the world. That is the point on which the trap collapses.
No answer, no sentence, no executioner — not a single stone of judgment. How was this? Was she not a sinner? Yes, a flagrant one. Was not the law against her? No doubt. How was it then? Jesus was there — the divine embodiment of "grace and truth," and He was not going to stone a poor convicted sinner. He had not left that bright and blessed world above for such a purpose. If it were only a question of stoning the sinner, Moses could have managed that. There was no need for Moses' Master to come down into this world to do that.
- Trap — The question left two exits, both fatal. Rule against stoning and He breaks Moses. Rule for it and His grace means nothing.
- Motive — The men quoting the law neither hated the sin nor loved the sinner. They wanted a charge against Jesus, and used a woman to get it.
- Half-quoted — Their own law sentenced the man too. They were the rulers and could have judged the case themselves. They came for Jesus, not for justice.
- Turned — He never reverses the sentence. He asks only for spotless hands to carry it out — and the law's edge lands on the accusers.
- Reason — Stoning a sinner needed no one greater than Moses. He came for what Moses could not do.
But this they said proving him, that they might have [something] to accuse him [of]. But Jesus, having stooped down, wrote with his finger on the ground.
Two verses earlier the accusers turned the scene into a courtroom, and the real defendant is not the woman but Jesus. He gives no answer at all — He bends down and writes in the dust, and readers have asked ever since what that silent act meant.
The words "to test him" tell us the question was never sincere. Either answer would cost Him something.
The provocative question "Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?" had been designed as a trap. If He argued for anything other than the death penalty, they would at once accuse Him of encouraging people to break the law of Moses. But if He agreed to the deadly demands of the law, they would ask, "How does your teaching differ? What about this grace you were going to bring?" It was a trap that left no way of escape... or so they thought.
These were not ignorant people acting on impulse.
They were not ignorant men. They knew the Scriptures well. They were not part of the crowd that did not know the law, but men with the highest reputation for religion. Nor could there be any question about the guilt and degradation of the woman. Why they brought her, and not the man with her, does not appear. But they brought her hoping not only to perplex the Lord, but to find grounds to accuse Him... What deep wickedness was theirs! No horror at sin, even of the darkest kind, but a heartless use of the exposed adulteress to entrap the Holy One of God.
This is the only place in the Bible where Jesus writes anything. One writer also notes a translation detail: some older Bibles add words here in italics that the original text does not have.
He was silent and stooped down and wrote with His finger in the ground. (The words "as though He heard them not" are in italics and must be omitted.) It is the only time we read of our Lord that He wrote. The finger writing in the ground was the same finger that had written the law on the tablets of stone. What He wrote we do not know. But it was a symbol: the law against man is written in the dust, the dust of death. Not only the woman deserved death — all were equally guilty.
What God writes on carries meaning too. One writer sets three surfaces side by side.
The same finger had written a sentence of doom against a proud Gentile kingdom in the days of Daniel, on the plaster of the wall. The writing surfaces are striking. The unbending law was written on unbending stone. So the man who despised Moses' law "died without mercy," since the law cannot be bent the way rubber is bent. Plaster crumbles and breaks easily, like the strongest and proudest human kingdoms. Jesus wrote on the ground. What He wrote there we are not told. But we do know that He was going into "the dust of death" (Psalm 22:15), where He wrote a full declaration of the love of God.
The irony deepens when you notice whose finger touches the ground.
They had accused the sinner and were eager to accuse the Savior, but He makes them accuse themselves... There was the great Lawgiver Himself, the very One whose finger had written the first set of tablets. How little they knew this! They were quoting the law against a fellow sinner to find something against the Lawgiver. What a position for men to find themselves in! In the presence of the Lawgiver, quoting the law, themselves guilty before Him!
Commentators differ on what the pause was for. One reads it as time offered to their consciences.
But if the Lord wrote on the ground, it was in no way as if He did not hear them. Instead, it gave them time to weigh their guilty question and their even guiltier motive. Meanwhile their hope of trapping Him betrayed them more and more, and committed them further as He stooped to the ground.
Another takes the same act as a refusal to treat their question seriously.
The writing on the ground was in a way a dignified contempt of their hypocrisy.
Whatever the letters were, several writers see the act itself as the message — the contrast between the two things that same finger has written.
The finger that once wrote the words of the law on the tablets of stone was now writing something else, something of a very different character in this world, for with the finger of a Man the Son of God was writing before the eyes of men the wonders of the rich, heavenly grace of God.
- The trap. They built the question so that either answer condemned Him: back the stoning and lose His grace, refuse it and stand against Moses.
- The trappers. These were the most respected religious men there. They showed no horror at the sin and no pity for the sinner — the woman was only their tool.
- The finger. The hand writing in the dust wrote the law on stone. Without knowing it, they were quoting the Lawgiver's own words against Him.
- The surface. Stone cannot bend. Plaster crumbles. Dust is where He Himself was heading — into "the dust of death," where He wrote out the love of God in full.
- The silence. Perhaps it gave their consciences time to work. Perhaps it refused their hypocrisy an answer. Either way, His stooping did what stones could not: it left every accuser exposed.