John 8:1-11

The Central Idea of the Text is that scribes and Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery to Jesus in order to trap Him; however, Jesus exposed their sinful hearts and showed grace to the woman. The motive behind the scribes and Pharisees had little to do with the Mosaic Law or convicting the woman caught in adultery; rather, they were only concerned about trapping Jesus in a dilemma concerning the Law of Moses and Roman law (see Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:22; John 8:1-6; 18:31).  By Law, the witnesses/accusers were to be the ones casting stones (Deut. 17:6-7), but they conveniently excluded themselves as having any obligation to the Mosaic Law.  The religious leaders were not concerned with her sin, her humiliation, or even whether she died; Jesus was the greater prize to be caught and killed, and they were willing to use this woman to obtain their objective.  At first, Jesus did not answer them, but after they persisted, He stated that if any among them was without sin, he should cast the first stone (John 8:7-8).  After feeling convicted, the accusers left one by one, leaving Jesus alone with the woman (John 8:9).  Jesus asked the woman where her accusers had gone (John 8:10). And then stated that He would not condemn her, and told her to “Go. From now on sin no more” (John 8:10-11).