NOTES for Joh 8:1-11
1 Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. |
2 And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. |
3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, |
4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. |
5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? |
6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. |
7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. |
8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. |
9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. |
10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? |
11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. |
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Readers of the Gospel have often been interested in the question of what Christ could have been writing on the ground. If we do not forget that many of His actions corresponded to what was said in Old Testament prophecies, then the answer can be the words proclaimed by the Lord through Jeremiah: "Those who depart from Me shall be written in the dust, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water" (Jer. 17:13). Some scholars of the Gospel text, on the basis of the absence of this episode from many of the most ancient manuscripts and of its stylistic features, consider it inorganic to the Gospel of John and inserted from some other text, for example from Luke. But even if the passage really did move during the copying of a manuscript, Jeremiah's words about living water, if our surmise is correct, emphasize the semantic unity of the episode with the preceding and following narrative.
The accusers went away, being convicted by their conscience. We are accustomed to perceive the Pharisees negatively, but they too must be given their due: very many people in their place would not have listened to the voice of conscience and would have behaved differently, mercilessly stoning the sinful woman and, together with her, the pangs of conscience. As was said in another age, "he is not a vindictive man: he does not remember the evil done to another." But these Pharisees remembered; they cannot be called incapable of repentance. And this is one confirmation that Christ did not preach to the wind, but to those who could hear Him, even if they did not want to admit it even to themselves.
Other notes
For Joh 8:1-11
1 Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. |
2 And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. |
3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, |
4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. |
5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? |
6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. |
7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. |
8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. |
9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. |
10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? |
11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. |
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For Joh 8:1-11
1 Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. |
2 And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. |
3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, |
4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. |
5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? |
6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. |
7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. |
8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. |
9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. |
10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? |
11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. |
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