“And everyone went to his own house.” John 7:53.

“But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. But early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.” John 8:1-2.

The last verse in chapter seven above is shown here to illustrate that verses 7:53 and 8:1 should go together, perhaps at the end of chapter seven.

The reason it is stated that they each went to their own home is that the Feast of Tabernacles was over, it being the eighth and last day of the feast.

This is a crude comparison but this feast might be likened to camping out in the back yard and living in a tent for a week. Jesus however, went to the Mount of Olives; He had no home to go to.

Another aspect of this study that we have before us is that John 7:53 through 8:11 are not found in some manuscripts.

Some believe that the adulterous woman did not happen, or though true was added later. I would not even include this warning except you may hear it later and become disappointed for having been misled.

This account is true, not simply because it is something that Jesus would do; it is true because there are very deep spiritual lessons to be learned from the incident itself. It is true because it fits within the context of these chapters.

These verses are in a great many reliable ancient manuscripts and are attested to as authentic by men who lived within 60 years of the writing of this gospel.

Further confirmation is that all of the major versions of the Bible include these verses, such as the New American Standard Version, King James, even the Douay-Rheims translation. I am sorry if this has been confusing but I sincerely hope that it helps guard you from doubting this beautiful passage.

Another thing of interest is that John 8:2 through 10:21 represent a period of one day. As you read through the account you will see that the Lord may be dealing with many of the same people as they follow Him around during this period.

The crowd may have fluctuated as some joined the group while others left for one reason or another, but, always, always, the ever present Pharisee.

It is hard to imagine such an emotionally exhausting day with the constant demonic opposition of death threats, vile insults, and angry argumentation by the religious leaders and often the crowds themselves.

“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?’  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.  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.’ And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 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. 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?’ She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.’” John 8:3-11.

On the surface, this passage in John is a straightforward account of the Lord handling opposition, but a tremendous undercurrent here touches all our lives.

In verses 5 and 6 you will hear a subtle voice.

“Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?’ This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him.” John 8:5-6a.

Do you recognize that voice?

“And he said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: “He shall give His angels charge concerning you, and, in their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” Matthew 4:6.

Listen here again for it.

“Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Has God indeed said, “You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”’” Genesis 3:1.

“And the serpent said to the woman, ‘you will not surely die.’” Genesis 3:4.

This is the voice of Satan himself, and it comes to all of us through his army of fallen angels. It tempts us to many evil things, especially where we are weakest. It tempts us to adultery. It tempted this woman. What did he say to her?

“Your husband is cold. He is a drunk, he is cruel, he is old, and your life is hard. You deserve something just for yourself.” Temptation and justification all in what sounds like your own voice.

The fruit of this is often divorce and the destruction of childhood. No matter what you say, the children will blame themselves for the breakup.

The voice comes to them and says, “See if you had been a better child your mother and father would still be together. You did this because you are bad”.

Sometimes Satan will just put some horrible thought into your mind, and then accuse you for thinking it.

A child may get angry with the father they love and the thought enters their mind, “I wish my daddy would die!” Later the father dies and the voice accuses, “You got your wish, this is your fault!”

No matter how subtle though, remember, we are all willing accomplices in sin. Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, Cain murdered his brother Abel, and this woman committed adultery.

Just one last thought before we move on. We can guess what Satan said to this woman to motivate her towards this act, but there is one thing he said to her for certain, “No one will ever know.”

Now she finds herself standing in the midst of a large crowd of people. And the accusation shouted forth.

“Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.” John 8:4.

There she stands head down, tears running down cheeks reddened from utter humiliation. Her greatest hope now is they will kill her quickly and wipe out the horror she has been drawn into.

Just think this poor woman has gone from the words, “No one will ever know”, to being an example to the world of a woman taken in adultery, for two thousand years now. Can such a horrible thing happen to you or me? Yes, it can.

“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an Archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.

What will you or I be doing when we suddenly find ourselves standing before the Lord Jesus Christ, as this woman did? God exhorts us to live a holy life. There is more than one reason to do so.

It should be added that many folks reason that the rapture is a long way off, it is not by the way. What we all forget is that death stalks us, whether by heart attack, which happens often to men during the adulterous act; or by getting hit by a bus. We were not born with a guarantee.

Returning to verse 5, Satan is speaking to Jesus, through these men and recognizing the trap, Jesus is not baited into a debate.

I always think of what the law has to say about this.

“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!” Leviticus 20:10.

Where is the man? How were these men able to catch a woman, “in the very act”, by herself? What a powerful debate, what an opportunity to show their hypocrisy to all. Yet He does not take it.

I apologize to you ladies. I know what you are thinking, “Isn’t that just typical of men, they drag the poor woman before Jesus and let the little weasel go!”

Tremendous injustice, yet there is a principle here in verses five and six that we all need to grasp. That principle is focus.

You may have spent your whole life being angry at some injustice. Pick one; your union, your boss, undeserved promotions and raises, abortion, racism, evil court decisions, on and on.

Scripture tells us this about these things.

“…the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one”, 1 John 5:19b.

By this, we know that even though there are many men and women, both Christian and non-Christian, who love justice and righteousness, the system itself is run by Satan. This will not change until Christ returns to reign on earth.

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:13-16.

Salt is an amazing inorganic material that can be used as a seasoning and a preservative among other things. The Christian, as a preservative does much to keep God’s wrath from falling on the ungodly that oppose Him.

You may have noticed that the most horrific disasters have occurred in non-Christian countries. In fact, all of Islam is in a bloodlust, killing each other!

This is because they have no salt, and it is God’s way of getting these different people to examine their religion enough to ask, “Why has our god not protected us?”

Salt adds flavor, which seems to be the emphasis of the last three verses quoted above. Christians who cannot be discerned from the rest of the world do not add flavor; in fact their works are thrown out and trampled underfoot. Just as poor grade salt was put on the footpaths in the ancient world, and trampled.

The Christian must oppose injustice and point out wrongdoing. But you must never, repeat, never focus on it. For when you do, Satan has managed to take your eyes off of Jesus and he will be able to disrupt your fellowship with God Himself and cripple your Christian walk.

He will be able to take your peace in Christ and replace it with turmoil.

Your focus must always be on Jesus as it must have been by all when He stooped down and wrote on the ground in verse six.

“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.” John 8:6.

The humble King stoops down; Jesus stoops down before His enemies. His faith in the Father is such that all fear is gone and everyone’s attention is directed to what He is writing on the ground.

There is much speculation on what He wrote, but if He were responding to the voice of Satan then the response would likely be pure Scripture as it was when He was tempted in the wilderness.

These men dragged this woman before Him quoting a point of law. Possibly His reply would be to write the Ten Commandments on the ground.

The law convicts all, even today. As they continued to ask Him, He rose up and said.

“He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” John 8:7b.

“And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.” John 8:8.

“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. 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?’ She said, ‘No one Lord.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.’” John 8:9-11.

This woman’s sin was a presumptuous sin. There was no sacrifice for it. She had no sacrifice and no hope in the law. But by the grace of God she received the same mercy extended to King David when he too had committed adultery and compounded it with murder (see 2 Samuel 11:1 through 12:24, note the consequences of sin).

She stood before the same God as David and received the same grace. No one has a sacrifice for sin, only the shed blood of Jesus Christ can save us.

The Woman Taken in Adultery, John 8:1-11 taken from godisrevealed.com posted on 11-21-12, updated on 10-12-17.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission, all rights reserved.