Adulterous Woman

This is a story of an adulterous woman who was brought before Jesus by the Pharisees and scribes in hopes of accusing him. The Pharisees thought they could tempt Jesus. They didn’t know that Jesus knew why they were there

The story starts with Jesus in the temple teaching the people. “And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, they say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? 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. So, when they continued asking him, he lifted himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again, he stooped down and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their 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. When Jesus had lifted himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more” (John 8:3–11).

The Pharisees brought this woman to Jesus hoping He would say something so they would have a reason to accuse him. They were always looking for something. They were threatened by Jesus.

The Pharisees brought this woman to Jesus hoping He would say something so they would have a reason to accuse him. They were always looking for something. They were threatened by Jesus.

It makes one wonder how they knew she was committing adultery. The law they were talking about is in Leviticus 20:10, “And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.”

Jesus answered their question with, “He that is without sin among you let him first cast a stone at her” (John 8:7). The Pharisees left because they knew they couldn’t do it since they sinned.

The woman must have been scared not knowing if she was going to get stoned or not. By law, they could have stoned her. She was blessed. Even though Jesus said to her, “sin no more” He didn’t mean she wouldn’t sin at all. Everyone sins. Jesus was sent to earth for sinners. As we can read in John 3:17, “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved”.

We can all learn from this woman. The lessons we learn from this woman are:

We all sin in our lives.

The only one who never sinned was Jesus. As we can read in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God,” and in 1 John 1:8, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” We may not always know the sin we committed but we all do sin. Sometimes we do know what sin we committed and there are consequences for them. Like this woman, she knew that she had committed adultery with someone other than her husband and that it could lead to her being punished or stoned. There will always be consequences for our sins either on earth or eternal. If we repent our sins will be forgiven like this woman’s sin was forgiven.

God knows everything

We may be able to hide from man but not God. Man won’t know what’s in our hearts or thoughts. For in 1 John 3:20, “For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.” Here on earth, we may not be punished for our secret sins but if we don’t repent before we die, we will be punished on Judgement Day. Only God and the men who brought the woman before Jesus know what was in their hearts or know the purpose behind it. The men will answer for that on Judgement Day.

Our sins will be found out

When the woman committed adultery with another man, she knew her sin could lead to her death. Most likely she or the man knew Moses’s law on adultery. Yet they still did it knowing what the consequences could be. It does make one wonder how they knew she was committing the act. For in Luke 12:2, “Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.”

Our sins can be forgiven

As one can see, our sins can be forgiven like when Jesus told the woman “Go, and sin no more” (John 8:11). He forgave her of her sin and told her not to commit adultery again. This shows us His grace and mercy. As we read in John 3:17, “For God sent not his son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

Our sins will have consequences

The consequence of adultery is death as Leviticus 20:10 says…” both the adulterer and adulteress are to be put to death.” That was in the Old Testament but in the New Testament, adultery was not a crime punished by death. This sin still has consequences — for example, loss of honor, a ruined reputation, loss of loved ones, a jealous spouse, etc. And if we don’t repent, an eternal death (in Hell).

In conclusion, for every sin, there is a consequence. Even after we repent and are forgiven, we still need to face the action of our sins. The action of this woman’s sin could have led to her death but because the Pharisees brought her before Jesus her sins were forgiven. She might not be so blessed the next time (if there is a next time) but hopefully, after Jesus told her to sin no more, she changed her life. That’s a great thing for us. Since Jesus died for our sins, every time we sin and ask for forgiveness, we are forgiven. Jesus shows us mercy; we just have to ask.

I hope this opened the woman’s eyes and that she changed her life and became a Christian. Hopefully, we will get to see her one day in Heaven.