Summary:
Some pretty famous celebrities were homeless at one time or another, including the Lord Jesus. When all others went home (John 7:53), He had no home to which to go (8:1). Luke 21:37 indicates He lived in the Mount of Olives. It is sad because the “every man” who had homes to go to in 7:53 were His enemies (v.45-52). It is even sadder when you realize none of the believers present (v.31,40,41) offered to put Him up for the night, perhaps because they were ashamed to have Him in their home. Is there anything in your life you’d be ashamed to share with the Lord Jesus?
Teaching “early” (8:2) was a tradition among prophets. God spoke early to Israel (Jer.7:13) through the prophets (7:25). There is symbolism here, since the Lord is about to announce He is the light of the world, replacing the sun, which rises early! (cf.Mal.4:2). John is a book of symbols!
John 8:3 is John’s only mention of “scribes,” who are here to help the Pharisees trap Jesus in a question about the Law
Sometimes people just “happen” to get caught in adultery (8:4), but do you think this just “happened” the day they wanted to trap the Lord? It was a setup! She was no doubt guilty, but she was the victim of entrapment. And here’s the trap: they’d heard Him say He hadn’t come to condemn people (John 3:17), but if He said not to condemn & stone her, they could charge Him with advising against the Law.
Symbolically this problem represented the problem of the ages. How could a just God forgive sin, but how could a merciful God condemn it? The Pharisees here represent “the accuser of our brethren” (Rev.12:10), who for 4,000 years screamed at God that sinners like David must pay for their sins. God answered him like the Lord answered the Pharisees—by ignoring him (John 8:6). God knew Christ would pay for the sins of His saints, but couldn’t tell Satan that (cf. ICor.2:7,8).
The Lord “stooped down” (John 8:6) as Jacob predicted He would (Gen.49:9), and as Jacob also predicted, His enemies
were about to learn they were rousing up the wrong lion!
What did the Lord write with His finger (John 8:6)? Well, in time past He wrote the Law with His finger, and so He was probably writing the Law here too. Probably Deuteronomy 22:22, the verse they were quoting to Him. You see, they left out the part about how if a woman is caught in adultery the man must also die. In writing this Law with His finger, He was reminding them that it was futile to try to trap the author of the Law with His own law!
They kept asking Him though (John 8:7) the way Satan kept accusing the brethren. The Lord’s response that the one without sin should cast the first stone was His way of saying, “Yes, she is guilty, but all of you are too!” He was quoting the Law right back to them (Deut.17:6,7). The part He quoted said that the ones who caught her should cast the first stones at her, not come to try to trap Him with their words. He exposed how they weren’t really interested in cleaning up the community, only in trapping Him.
When the Lord wrote with His finger a second time (John 8:8), it reminded them that after Moses broke the tablets, God had to write the commandments again. It is possible that they all left because they had been taking turns committing adultery with her, waiting to spring the trap on the Lord, and so were all guilty of adultery.
Why would the woman stay? Her accusers left, but her conscience bothered her. The Law required 2 or 3 witness-es to condemn her. Her accusers were gone, but she was willing to testify against herself. But she was only one witness. She needed another. Would the Lord witness against her? Surely He who knew the woman in John 4 had 5 husbands knew she was guilty. Would He condemn her?
He could have! Remember, He’d said that “he that is without sin” could cast the first stone, and He was without sin! The words “hath no man condemned thee” and “neither do I condemn thee” (Jo.8:10) remind us of Romans 8:33,34. And what should we do now that we are justified and uncondemned? “Go and sin no more” (John 8:11).
