Today’s passage: John 7:53-8:11
Helpful thoughts:
- The earliest manuscripts of the Gospel of John do not contain the content from 7:53-8:11. Some manuscripts place this content in other places (Even in the Gospel of Luke). This does not mean it never happened or that we cannot learn from it.
- Nothing in this passage adds or takes away from any doctrines that we could not formulate from the rest of the Bible.
- Every single passage like this in the Bible is openly noted as such. This is incredibly encouraging. We know with incredible accuracy what the original manuscripts contained. And every section that raises any question contains nothing which would change our understanding of biblical doctrine.
- More information about this passage was given in this sermon from 2019.
- The scribes and Pharisees do a despicable act here. They care nothing for justice or for the woman (Not to mention the man, since they said she was caught in the act!). They simply wanted to find fault in Jesus.
- They failed! There is no fault to find in our Savior!
- In Deuteronomy 13:9 and 17:6-7, rules are given for this kind of stoning in Israel. The only people who could commence the stoning were people who were eye-witness and who were not also guilty of the same sin.
- All of the scribes and Pharisees walked away.
Questions to consider:
- Many people speculate what Jesus wrote on the ground in that moment. Perhaps more important that what He wrote, why do you think he took the time to write? What did Jesus’ writing in the ground give these scribes and Pharisees time to think about?
- How do Jesus’ words to the woman compare with what it says in John 3:17? Was Jesus telling this woman it was OK to commit adultery? What was he offering to her?
- What would have been the best response from the scribes and Pharisees after hearing all of this? What is the correct response of the reader (us)? Why is it right that we should go and sin no more?