NLT Study Bible - Gospel of John - Flipbook - Page 24
John 8:11
1785
7:46
Matt 7:28
7:48
John 12:42
7:50
John 3:1-2; 19:39
7:51
Deut 1:16
7:52
Isa 9:1-2
Matt 4:14-16
John 1:46
8:2
Matt 26:55
8:5
Lev 20:10
Deut 22:22-24
Job 31:11
8:6
Matt 22:15
8:7
Deut 17:7
8:11
John 5:14
gathered, and he sat down and taught them.
he was speaking, the teachers of reli
gious law and the Pharisees brought a
woman who had been caught in the act of
adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.
4“Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this
woman was caught in the act of adultery.
5The law of Moses says to stone her. What
do you say?”
6They were trying to trap him into saying
something they could use against him, but
Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust
with his finger. 7They kept demanding an
answer, so he stood up again and said, “All
right, but let the one who has never sinned
throw the first stone!” 8Then he stooped
down again and wrote in the dust.
9When the accusers heard this, they
slipped away one by one, beginning with the
[The most ancient Greek manuscripts do
oldest, until only Jesus was left in the mid
not include John 7:53–8:11.]
dle of the crowd with the woman. 10Then
53Then the meeting broke up, and every Jesus stood up again and said to the woman,
“Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one
bodywent home.
of them condemn you?”
11“No, Lord,” she said.
A Woman Caught in Adultery
And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin
Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives,
2but early the next morning he was no more.”
back again at the Temple. A crowd soon
priests and Pharisees demanded, “Why
didn’t you bring him in?”
46“We have never heard anyone speak
like this!” the guards responded.
47“Have you been led astray, too?” the
Pharisees mocked. 48“Is there a single one
of us rulers or Pharisees who believes in
him? 49This foolish crowd follows him, but
they are ignorant of the law. God’s curse is
on them!”
50Then Nicodemus, the leader who had
met with Jesus earlier, spoke up. 51“Is it le
gal to conv ict a man before he is given a
hearing?” he asked.
52They replied, “Are you from Galilee,
too? Search the Scriptures and see for your
self—no prophet ever comes from Galilee!”
3As
8
Misunderstanding (7:32-36)
John 1:10-11; 3:1920; 9:40-41; 12:40
Isa 6:8-13; 56:10-11
Matt 13:11-17
Acts 26:18; 28:26-27
Rom 1:21
2 Cor 3:13-18; 4:3-4
Eph 4:17-19
Heb 5:2
2 Pet 2:12
1 Jn 2:9-11
Jude 1:10
Rev 3:17
Throughout John’s Gospel, people encountering Jesus misunderstood him (see 3:4; 4:11,
33; 7:35; 11:12, 50). Jesus’ hearers were divided over the question of Jesus’ identity. When
they perceived what he was really saying, some wanted to arrest him while others wanted
to become his followers (7:43-44). Only later, when Jesus’ disciples had received the Spirit
(16:12-13), did they really understand his significance.
The world still lives in darkness and it cannot understand the realities of life or of God (1:5).
Divine revelation is inaccessible to the world. In fact, when the light of God penetrates the
darkness, exposing the ugliness of the world’s life, many people flee deeper into the darkness
because they prefer it to the light (3:19-20). Only the transforming power of God’s Spirit can
provide understanding and help people see clearly as children of God (3:21; 8:12; 12:35-36, 46).
7:49-51 Nicodemus (ch 3) was probably
in the process of coming to faith (see
19:39). Contrary to the implication of
7:48, some of the Pharisees—not just
the ignorant crowd—believed in Jesus.
7:52 no prophet ever comes (some
manuscripts read the prophet does not
come) from Galilee! The Jewish leaders
were apparently unaware that Jesus had
been born in Bethlehem of Judea, not
in Galilee (see Matt 2:1; Luke 2:1-7).
7:53–8:11 This story, a later addition
to the Gospel of John, does not appear
in the earliest Greek manuscripts.
However, it is likely an authentic story
from Jesus’ life.
8:3 The teachers of religious law
were Jewish scholars who specialized
in knowing the OT law and the oral
t raditions that interpreted the law.
8:4 The form of the Greek sentence
emphasizes the legal claim against the
woman. She had been caught while
committing the sin of adultery. The law
required two witnesses and carefully
outlined what evidence was needed.
8:5 The requirement of the law . . . to
stone her indicates that the woman was
engaged or married (Lev 20:10; Deut
22:23-24). The law also stated that her
lover should be killed with her, but
these religious leaders apparently ignored their obligation to that part of the
statute. These men could have dealt
with the woman privately and kept her
from public shame, but Jesus was their
real target as they demanded, What
do you say? Would he neglect the law
since he had a reputation for mercy? Or
would he ignore the woman’s tragedy?
8:6 It is impossible to know what Jesus . . .
wrote in the dust. It has been suggested
that he wrote the sins of the accusers.
8:7 Jesus’ answer did not mean that an
accuser had to be morally perfect to
make legal accusations. His reference to
the one who has never sinned points to
the motives of the accusers.
8:9 The jury crumbled as they slipped
away. One accuser departed, followed
by another, and then a succession of
bystanders.
8:11 Neither do I: Jesus’ words of
assurance did not suggest that the
woman was innocent. Jesus views sin
and judgment seriously, yet he looks
graciously and forgivingly on those
caught in sin’s grip.
