I AM: Justice of the Peace
Speaker: Pastor Neil Lindwall
Additional Resources: Extra readings are on this page and appear indented like this. Additional study materials can also be found here
ESV John 7:53-8:11 [[They went each to his own house, 8 1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. 5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”]]
[The earliest manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11.] Most, almost all, Christian scholars believe this passage was not originally in john’s gospel and was added much later. however, just about every Christian scholar believes this account is an authentic historical event in the life of Jesus & has proven itself to be a genuine part of the divinely inspired scripture.
The Shame:
ESV John 8:3-4 The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst 4 they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery.
ESV John 8:5 Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?”
The Law:
Leviticus 20:10 “If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
Deuteronomy 22:22-24 “If a man is found lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman. So you shall purge the evil from Israel. 23 “If there is a betrothed virgin, and a man meets her in the city and lies with her, 24 then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry for help though she was in the city, and the man because he violated his neighbor's wife. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.
ESV John 8:5-6a Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him.
ESV 1 Corinthians 1:25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
The Answer:
ESV John 8:6-7 This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. 7 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”
What Did Jesus Write In The Dust?
- A List of The Accuser’s Girlfriends.
- Nothing In Particular, He Was Writing to Avert His Eyes Away From the Naked Woman or to Prove He Was Unfazed By Their Test.
- Leviticus 20:10, “both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.”
- The Ten Commandments. – Augustine’s guess.
- A List of The Woman’s Accusers & Their Sins. – Jerome’s guess.
Rabbinical Levels of Interpretation:
P’SHAT a surface-level reading.
REMEZ a hint of treasure for those familiar with the Word by faithful P’shat.
DRASH the idea of “truth hidden in story.”
SOD is connected to “mystery” and cannot be learned or taught. It is a supernatural gift of the Holy Spirit.
Remez in John 8:
1. The Ten Commandments Written by the Finger of God.
ESV Exodus 31:18 And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.
Remez in John 8:
2. Names Written In The Earth as Judgment for Forsaking God.
4 Key Components In John 7:1 – 8:11
1. Water, (the water ceremony).
2. Rejection, (they rejected Jesus as the Messiah & His Offer of Living Water).
3. Shame, (woman caught in the act of adultery, accused publicly, illegally, & in false pretense).
4. Writing in the Dust, (Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust).
ESV Jeremiah 17:13 O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be put to shame; those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water.
4 Key Components Jeremiah 17:13
5. Rejection, (Israel rejected God).
6. Shame, (because the rejected God they were put to shame).
7. Writing in the Dust, (their judged Names will be Written in the dust).
8. Water, (for they have forsaken the fountain of Living Water).
καταγράφω katagráphō; from 2596 and 1125; to trace:―
2596/kata ("down") with the genitive case, in figurative applications, often expresses hostility (= "emotionally down," "down against") – i.e. fully, decisively against. – Excerpts from the HELPS Lexicon.
By far the most interesting suggestion emerges from certain of the later manuscripts. The Armenian translates the passage this way: " He himself, bowing his head, was writing with his finger on the earth to declare their sins; and they were seeing their several sins on the stones." The suggestion is that Jesus was writing in the dust the sins of the very men who were accusing the woman. There may be something in that. The normal Greek word for to write is graphein; but here the word used is katagraphein, which can mean to write down a record against someone. (One of the meanings of kata is against). So in Job 13: 26 Job says: " Thou writest (katagraphein) bitter things against me." It may be that Jesus was confronting those self-confident sadists with the record of their own sins.
The Daily Bible Study Series, the Gospel of John, Volume 2, Revised Edition by William Barclay, 2 page 3.
ESV Exodus 34:1-9 The Lord said to Moses, “Cut for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. 2 Be ready by the morning, and come up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the top of the mountain. 3 No one shall come up with you, and let no one be seen throughout all the mountain. Let no flocks or herds graze opposite that mountain.” 4 So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone. 5 The Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.” 8 And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. 9 And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”.
ESV John 8:7-9 And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. 9 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him.
ESV Exodus 20:7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
ESV Romans 2:4 For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”.
ESV Exodus 20:13 “You shall not murder.
"Chesed v'ahava" is a Hebrew phrase that translates to "lovingkindness and love," where "chesed" refers to a deep, steadfast love often associated with acts of mercy and compassion, while "ahava" simply means love; essentially signifying a love that is expressed through active kindness and care towards others.
ESV Matthew 5:22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.
ESV Exodus 20:14 You shall not commit adultery.
ESV Mark 10:9 What therefore God has joined together, let man not separate.
Matthew 5:9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
ESV John 8:9-10 But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”]]
What’s Your Story? What ending will you choose?
Will Your Name Be Written In Judgment or Will You Receive God’s Mercy?
Will You Be a Justice of the Peace?
Additional Resources
There extra resources for those who want to explore some of the fascinating features of this text.
Some interesting videos on this:
https://youtu.be/tmWrS86zs4Y Commentary by author and Jewish culture specialist Joe Amaral.
https://youtu.be/YtHyJBJvSb0 What Did Jesus Write on the Ground with His Finger? (John 8:6-8) - ascensionpress.com This Catholic believers video commentary but it has good exegesis except for the statement that the names of the Sanhedrin Members were written in the Temple from oldest to youngest, which I was not able to substantiate.
https://youtu.be/X_N2F6jp-zE Chuck Missler The Gospel of John Session 8.
