John 8:3 - The Woman Caught in Adultery

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Context

The Woman Caught in Adultery
…2Early in the morning He went back into the temple courts. All the people came to Him, and He sat down to teach them. 3The scribes and Pharisees, however, brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before them 4and said, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.…

Cross References

Leviticus 20:10
If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must surely be put to death.Deuteronomy 22:22
If a man is found lying with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.Matthew 5:27-28
You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ / But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.Matthew 19:3-9
Then some Pharisees came and tested Him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?” / Jesus answered, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ / and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? ...Mark 10:2-12
Some Pharisees came to test Him. “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” they inquired. / “What did Moses command you?” He replied. / They answered, “Moses permitted a man to write his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away.” ...Luke 16:18
Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.Romans 7:2-3
For instance, a married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. / So then, if she is joined to another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man.1 Corinthians 6:9-11
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts, / nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor verbal abusers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. / And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.1 Corinthians 7:10-11
To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. / But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.Hebrews 13:4
Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.Exodus 20:14
You shall not commit adultery.Proverbs 6:32
He who commits adultery lacks judgment; whoever does so destroys himself.Hosea 4:14
I will not punish your daughters when they prostitute themselves, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery. For the men themselves go off with prostitutes and offer sacrifices with shrine prostitutes. So a people without understanding will come to ruin.Jeremiah 7:9
Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known,Ezekiel 16:38
And I will sentence you to the punishment of women who commit adultery and those who shed blood; so I will bring upon you the wrath of your bloodshed and jealousy.

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John 8

The scribes and Pharisees, however, brought to Him a woman caught in adultery.
The scribes and Pharisees: These were religious leaders and experts in the Jewish law. The scribes were responsible for copying and interpreting the Scriptures, while the Pharisees were a sect known for their strict adherence to the Law of Moses and oral traditions. Their involvement in this event highlights the tension between Jesus and the religious authorities, who often sought to challenge His teachings and authority.

brought to Him: This action indicates a deliberate attempt to confront Jesus publicly. The religious leaders often sought to trap Jesus in legal or theological dilemmas to discredit Him. This encounter is one of several instances where they attempt to test His adherence to the Law.

a woman caught in adultery: Adultery was a serious offense under Jewish law, punishable by death according to Leviticus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 22:22. The fact that only the woman is brought forward raises questions about the fairness and motives of the accusers, as the law required both parties involved in adultery to be punished.

Persons / Places / Events

1. Scribes and Pharisees
Religious leaders and experts in the Jewish law. They often challenged Jesus, seeking to trap Him in His words or actions.

2. The Woman Caught in Adultery
A woman accused of committing adultery, brought before Jesus by the scribes and Pharisees to test Him.

3. Jesus
Central figure in the New Testament, the Son of God, who is teaching in the temple courts when this event occurs.

4. Temple Courts
The setting of this event, a public place in Jerusalem where Jesus often taught and where religious activities took place.

5. Adultery
The act of being unfaithful in marriage, which was a serious offense under Jewish law, punishable by stoning according to the Law of Moses.

Teaching Points

Hypocrisy of the Accusers
The scribes and Pharisees were quick to judge the woman but failed to recognize their own sinfulness. We must be cautious not to judge others harshly while ignoring our own faults.

Jesus' Compassion and Wisdom
Jesus demonstrates compassion and wisdom in handling the situation, teaching us to respond with grace and truth in difficult circumstances.

The Importance of Repentance
While Jesus does not condemn the woman, He calls her to leave her life of sin, emphasizing the need for repentance and transformation.

The Role of the Law and Grace
This event illustrates the balance between the Law, which reveals sin, and grace, which offers forgiveness and a new beginning.

Public vs. Private Sin
The public nature of the woman's sin contrasts with the often private nature of our own sins, reminding us that God sees all and calls us to integrity.

(3) And the scribes and Pharisees . . .--This is the common phrase of the earlier Gospels, but "the scribes" are never named by St. John. His word to denote the hierarchy in their opposition to Christ is "the Jews." (See Note on John 1:19.)

Verse 3. - And the scribes and Pharisees are bringing - dragging by main force - (to him) a woman taken in adultery; and, having caused her - forced her, notwithstanding the hideous shame of her discovery - to stand in the midst, they say unto him, Master. The "scribes" are not elsewhere referred to in John's Gospel, although the phrase, "scribes and Pharisees," is very frequently used in the synoptic Gospels for the opponents of our Lord and the subjects of his invective. They come together in the final scenes as combining to thwart and tempt him. John refers to "Pharisees" twenty times, and four times in connection with the "priests;" but never with the "scribes." The scribes are elsewhere in the New Testament spoken of as νομικοί or νομοδιδάσκαλοι, and also as "rabbis" in the Mishna. The scribes and Pharisees are no deputation from the Sanhedrin, nor are they representatives of the party of Zealots, as some have pretended. There is no indication of any mere sectional animosity or of any genuine desire to receive an authoritative or prophetic response to their inquiry. The Sanhedrin itself would certainly not have condescended at this epoch to have submitted any question of its own action to the arbitrament of Jesus. Numerous witnesses of the act of adultery are inconceivable, though in the excitement and confusion of the Feast of Tabernacles in a crowded city and suburbs, this may have been more feasible than might otherwise be supposed. The probability is that the act was undeniably committed in such a way as to bring this woman under the cognizance of these reformers or defenders of the theocracy who cropped up on all sides, and that a group of bigots scow at once that capital might be made for their antagonism to Jesus by proposing to him a query which would, however it might be answered, lower his prestige. According to ver. 10 (omitted in Codex B), these scribes and Pharisees were, if not the "witnesses" of adultery, the "accusers" ready to take the case before the highest court. Considering the long desuetude of the Law, and the impossibility of even the Sanhedrin legally inflicting the penalty of stoning, even if it were so disposed, the whole question looks like a subtle but ill-considered plot to entangle the Lord in his judgments, and to induce him to sacrifice his influence with the people. The absence of the guilty man is noteworthy (Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22). Parallel Commentaries ...

Greek

The
οἱ (hoi)
Article - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

scribes
γραμματεῖς (grammateis)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 1122: From gramma. A writer, i.e. scribe or secretary.

and
καὶ (kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

Pharisees,
Φαρισαῖοι (Pharisaioi)
Noun - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 5330: Of Hebrew origin; a separatist, i.e. Exclusively religious; a Pharisean, i.e. Jewish sectary.

however,
δὲ (de)
Conjunction
Strong's 1161: A primary particle; but, and, etc.

brought
ἄγουσιν (agousin)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 71: A primary verb; properly, to lead; by implication, to bring, drive, go, pass, or induce.

to
πρὸς (pros)
Preposition
Strong's 4314: To, towards, with. A strengthened form of pro; a preposition of direction; forward to, i.e. Toward.

Him
αὐτὸν (auton)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Accusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

a woman
γυναῖκα (gynaika)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 1135: A woman, wife, my lady. Probably from the base of ginomai; a woman; specially, a wife.

caught
κατειλημμένην (kateilēmmenēn)
Verb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 2638: From kata and lambano; to take eagerly, i.e. Seize, possess, etc.

in
ἐπὶ (epi)
Preposition
Strong's 1909: On, to, against, on the basis of, at.

adultery.
μοιχείᾳ (moicheia)
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3430: Adultery. From moicheuo; adultery.

They made her stand
στήσαντες (stēsantes)
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 2476: A prolonged form of a primary stao stah'-o; to stand, used in various applications.

before them
ἐν (en)
Preposition
Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.

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