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Well, you can turn with me in 
your Bibles to John's Gospel. We're in John chapter 8. Our 
focus will be on the woman caught in adultery, verses 1 to 11, 
but I want to read verses 1 to 20 just to set the narrative 
in its larger context. So John chapter 8, beginning 
in verse 1, But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Now early 
in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the 
people came to Him. And He sat down and taught them. 
Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught 
in adultery. And when they had set her in 
the midst, they said to Him, Teacher, this woman was caught 
in adultery in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded 
us that such should be stoned. But what do you say? This they 
said, testing him, that they might have something of which 
to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote 
on the ground with his finger, as though he did not hear. So 
when they continued asking him, he raised himself up and said 
to them, he who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone 
at her first. And again, he stooped down and 
wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it being 
convicted by their conscience went out one by one, beginning 
with the oldest, even to the last. And Jesus was left alone 
and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised 
Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, Woman, 
where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you? She 
said, No one, Lord. And Jesus said to her, Neither 
do I condemn you. Go and sin no more. Then Jesus 
spoke to them again, saying, I am the light of the world. 
He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light 
of life. The Pharisees therefore said to him, you bear witness 
of yourself. Your witness is not true. Jesus 
answered and said to them, even if I bear witness of myself, 
my witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I 
am going, but you do not know where I come from and where I 
am going. "'You judge according to the flesh. "'I judge no one. "'And yet if I do judge, my judgment 
is true, "'for I'm not alone, but I am with the Father who 
sent me. "'It is also written in your law "'that the testimony 
of two men is true. "'I am one who bears witness 
of myself, "'and the Father who sent me bears witness of me.' 
"'Then they said to him, "'Where is your father?' "'Jesus answered, 
"'You know neither me nor my father. "'If you had known me, 
"'you would have known my father also. These words Jesus spoke 
in the treasury as he taught in the temple, and no one laid 
hands on him for his hour had not yet come. Amen. Well, let 
us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank 
you again for a beautiful day. Truly, the heavens declare your 
righteousness, your glory, your majesty. We see your handiwork 
in the created order. As well, the psalmist tells us 
our God is in heaven. He does whatever he pleases. 
We know that you are sovereign in providence. God, on these 
Lord's days, we reflect especially on your grace and your mercy 
and your loving kindness revealed to us in the gospel of our salvation. We thank you for it, the Lord 
Jesus Christ. We thank you for the forgiveness 
of sins that we receive through faith in Him. We thank you for 
that righteousness of His that is given to us and received by 
faith alone. And we pray that as we reflect 
upon our blessed Lord, our hearts would be drawn out in worship 
and praise and adoration to our great God. Forgive us for all 
of our sin and unrighteousness. We pray that you would cleanse 
us in the blood of the Lord Jesus. And we pray that the Holy Spirit 
would take the scriptures and apply them in our hearts and 
minds. And we ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, this is a very famous passage 
of scripture. There is a textual variant here, 
which we're not going to deal with, simply to say that this 
is the holy word of the living and true God, and it displays 
the wisdom of our blessed savior. The Pharisees essentially put 
him on the horns of a dilemma. They want him to either A, choose 
Moses, or B, choose compassion. Whichever way he chooses, they'll 
sort of expose him in the opposite direction. If he upholds the 
law, then he's not a friend for sinners. If he's a friend for 
sinners, then he doesn't uphold the law. So Christ wisely navigates 
and takes the horns of a dilemma and answers in a most wonderful 
way. He upholds the law of Moses and 
he exercises compassion to this woman that was caught in adultery. 
Before we look at the text, notice back in chapter 7 at verse 37. Chapter 7 is the Feast of Tabernacles. Jesus goes to Jerusalem at that 
particular time. He goes to the temple during 
the feast and he preaches or he teaches. And on the last day 
of the feast, according to verse 7, there was this symbolism that 
was going on. They'd fetch water out of the 
pool of Siloam. On that last day of the feast, 
they'd bring it over to the altar. They'd pour it on the altar, 
making way for the sacrifice. So this was the situation that 
obtained in that last day. But notice what Jesus does. He 
stood and he cries out saying, if anyone thirsts, let him come 
to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the 
scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living 
water. Now when he says, come to me 
and drink, he's using a metaphor. He's not talking about actual 
water, he's talking about everlasting life. He's talking about the 
forgiveness of sins. He's talking about a righteousness 
that avails with God. He's talking about the reason 
for which he came, to give life to dead sinners. And so at that 
last day, that great day of the feast, he rises up and he makes 
that glorious statement. Now when we get to this woman 
caught in adultery, she doesn't come in the conventional way, 
does she? The conventional way would be 
preach the gospel, tell sinners about their sin, point them to 
the Lord Jesus Christ as the one in whom there is forgiveness. 
She didn't come that way. She was brought. She's a sinner. She is guilty. She's a criminal. It's a capital offense, actually. And so they bring this woman 
to the Savior. But however she got there, she 
receives this water of everlasting life. She receives the forgiveness 
of sin, by the one who is altogether lovely and chief among 10,000. 
So let's break the narrative into two parts. First, the woman 
brought to Christ in verses 1 to 6. And then secondly, the woman 
forgiven by Christ in verses 7 to 11. And there are three 
observations in verses 1 to 6. First, the setting, verses 1 
and 2. Secondly, the accusation, verses 
3 and 4. And then finally, the issue in 
verses 5 and 6. But notice the setting. It's 
connected to chapter 7. So the Feast of Tabernacles has 
ended. It's a week-long feast. It's 
one of those national feasts that Israel is commanded to obey. 
And so at the conclusion of the feast, at the end of chapter 
7, we notice in verse 53, and everyone went to his own house. 
And then in chapter 8, verse 1, but Jesus went to the Mount 
of Olives, most likely to the home of Mary and Martha and Lazarus. They lived in Bethany, which 
was not far from the Mount of Olives. Whether he went to stay 
with them or he stayed at the Mount, and there he prayed and 
communed with the Father, The point is, is that he's still 
close to Jerusalem. He's still in proximity, and 
we see that in verse 2. Notice, now early in the morning, 
he came again into the temple, and all the people came to him, 
and he sat down and taught them. So that morning following the 
Feast of Tabernacles, that morning following that great day of the 
Feast when he offers living water, he then returns early in the 
morning to the temple and there he preaches. He continues through 
chapter 8 teaching and having a confrontation with the religious 
leaders that culminates in verse 59 with them once again wanting 
to kill him. These men had a real problem 
with the sixth commandment. And as we look at this narrative, 
we see they had a problem with the seventh commandment as well. But look at what the text says 
in verse two. Now, early in the morning, he 
came again into the temple and all the people came to him. That 
probably outraged the scribes and the Pharisees. Remember, 
back in chapter 7, it wasn't a matter of theology, it wasn't 
a dispute or a debate over a fine point in theological examination. They hated him. They despised 
him. They wanted to get rid of him. 
They wanted to take him, they wanted to bring him somewhere, 
and they wanted to execute him. Now, they eventually will, according 
to the unfolding narrative, but this probably outraged them when 
all the people came to him. You see a similar situation in 
his earthly ministry in Luke 15, when all the tax collectors 
and the sinners draw near to him to hear him. And then the 
scribes and the Pharisees, they look down their noses on this 
particular situation. They say, this man received sinners 
and eats with them. As far as they were concerned, 
that was disgusting. As far as we're concerned, that 
was a confession of the glories of the gospel of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. He does receive sinners. sinners. He does eat with sinners. He 
does forgive sinners. He does give a righteousness 
to sinners and we rejoice in that. So all these people are 
coming to him in the temple now to hear him. No doubt this enraged 
the religious leaders. Notice that he sits down as well. 
He does the same thing in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 
chapter 5 in verse 1. Rabbinic teaching was not like 
Christian preaching. The Christian preacher comes 
behind a pulpit and there proclaims the truth. What the synagogue 
or what the rabbi did was he sat down. This was an authoritative 
position. Jesus upbraids the religious 
leaders of his time in Matthew 23 saying they sit in the seat 
of Moses and they give you these commands, but they themselves 
don't do that. And so he takes this authoritative 
position in the temple. to teach and to preach. And again, 
humanly speaking, you can see why the religious leaders despise 
him. They loathe and abhor him because 
all the people are coming to him and they're no longer coming 
to them. They were bankrupt, they were 
unspiritual, they were godless, and they were indicative of the 
religious situation in Israel in that first century setting. 
Now notice the accusation relative to this woman. I don't want to 
get all psychological and weird in exposition this morning, but 
imagine this woman. I mean, imagine being caught 
in the act of adultery. Obviously, don't engage in an 
act of adultery and you won't be caught in an act of adultery. 
But imagine being caught in the act of adultery and having these 
fiends grab you and take you over to Jesus to test Him. It's not ultimately the woman 
that's on trial in this particular narrative, it's Jesus that's 
on trial, and John will make that sufficiently clear. But 
notice in verse 3, it says, Then the scribes and Pharisees brought 
to him a woman caught in adultery. Now if you turn back for just 
a moment to the book of Leviticus, Leviticus chapter 20. So the 
woman is caught in adultery, and adultery in Old Covenant 
Israel was a capital offense. In Leviticus chapter 20 verse 
10, we read that. It says, the man who commits 
adultery with another man's wife, he who commits adultery with 
his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely 
be put to death. And then over in Deuteronomy 
chapter 22. Deuteronomy chapter 22, same 
sort of an emphasis. There's a whole host of sexual 
crimes that are indicated in chapter 22. but the one specifically 
addressing adultery is in chapter 22, verse 22. It says, if a man 
is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then both of them 
shall die. The man that lay with the woman 
and the woman. So you shall put away the evil 
from Israel. So they bring this woman to Jesus 
according to verse 3. This is described in the Pharisees. 
These are the men that are supposed to be leaders in Israel. And 
again, as we move through the narrative, they don't care about 
the law of Moses. They don't care about this woman. They certainly 
don't care about capital punishment falling on the proper head. If 
the woman was caught in the act of adultery, there had to have 
been a man there. In fact, the texts are very specific. It's both the man and the woman 
that is executed for this particular crime of adultery. We see that 
in verse 4. They make their formal charge 
or accusation against the woman. Again, she's in the midst of 
them. You kind of wonder if she said, you know guys, I'm standing 
right here. Do we have to do this in front 
of everybody, strangers and everybody assembled in the temple on this 
particular day? Notice in verse 4, they said 
to him, teacher, this is mockery, they don't see him and esteem 
him as a rabbi, as a teacher, they're just mocking. They said 
to him, teacher, this woman was caught in adultery in the very 
act. So if she was caught in the very 
act, again, I suggest that there was a man involved. There had 
to be another participant. This was not a one-person crime. 
This was a two-person crime, as Leviticus 20.10 and Deuteronomy 
22.22 make very clear. It's not just the woman, it's 
the woman and the man that are guilty. And in fact, in Deuteronomy 
22, it says, if a man is found lying with a woman, that finding 
is necessary in order to corroborate the charge. You don't just speculate. You don't just engage in gossip. 
You don't engage in hearsay. Rather, it had to be in the very 
act in order for this to be punishable by death. And so this is the 
particular scenario. Now, as we move into verses five 
and six, we see what the real issue is. In verse five, they 
appeal to Moses. Now, I think they're going tit 
for tat with Jesus when they make this appeal to Moses. Because 
remember back in chapter seven, the Lord Jesus didn't wanna go 
to Jerusalem or go to Judea because he knew the religious leaders 
wanted to kill him. Nevertheless, he does go. He 
goes to the Feast of the Tabernacles during the time or at the temple, 
and he indicts them. He upbraids them in chapter seven 
at verse 19. Look what he says. Did not Moses 
give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you 
seek to kill me? This goes back to chapter five. 
They wanted to kill him because of what they thought was blasphemy 
and what they thought was Sabbath breaking. So why do you seek 
to kill me? This causes a response from some 
in the crowd. They say, oh, you're mad. You 
have a demon. Who is seeking to kill you? And 
then Jesus explains in verse 21, Jesus answered and said to 
them, I did one work and you all marvel. Moses therefore gave 
you circumcision, not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers. 
And you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. If a man receives circumcision 
on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses should not be broken, 
are you angry with me because I made a man completely well 
on the Sabbath? Then again, notice what he does. He asks them or 
appeals to Moses in verse 19. And then in verse 24, he gives 
this general principle that is most consistent with Moses' teaching. In other words, you're not supposed 
to engage in a kangaroo court. Do not judge according to appearance, 
but judge with righteous judgment. And then we saw in chapter seven, 
verses 50 and 51, even Nicodemus called them out. Nicodemus says, 
you know, guys, doesn't our law say that we need to verify or 
validate that somebody is actually a criminal before we take him 
and kill him? Yeah, yeah, as a matter of fact, 
it says that, but instead of responding favorably to Nicodemus, 
they simply mock him as well. Are you also from Galilee? Are 
you just another one of these fools that have gotten on the 
Jesus bandwagon? So you see what's happening here. 
They're now trying to get Jesus on the horns of a dilemma. They 
want to show him or expose him as being an antinomian, being 
an anti-law person, somebody that has a problem with Moses. 
And so this is the nature of their statement. They appeal 
to Moses and then they question Jesus. So notice in verse 5, 
now Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stoned. 
But what do you say? Now, I mentioned that they have 
no regard for the law. They have no concern whatsoever 
for due process. They have no concern whatsoever 
for this woman. Again, she's just sitting there, 
standing there in the midst of them, probably feeling all kinds 
of shame, all kinds of embarrassment, being outed. I mean, We all sin, 
don't we? But we don't all come to church 
and get to stand in the midst of everybody with some sort of 
indicator of what our particular sins are. So this woman is standing 
there in the midst of all these people. And again, the religious 
leaders don't care about her. They don't care about Moses. 
They don't care about the crowd. They care about getting rid of 
Jesus. What do you say? Now, Jesus was 
not a civil authority. He was not a judge. He had no 
place. Now, we know that Jesus, second 
person of the Trinity, the Word became flesh, He dwelt among 
us, and we beheld His glory. John 1, 14. The incarnate Son 
of God. But the incarnate Son of God 
was not a civil magistrate. The incarnate Son of God, in 
His earthly sojourn, was a carpenter until He embarked on His earthly 
ministry, His three-year public ministry. So he's not a judge. 
He has no authority to rule in these particular matters. Also, 
he's not an ecclesiastical or a churchly authority. He doesn't 
have a rank. He doesn't have a title. He's 
not part of the Sanhedrin. There is essentially nothing 
that Jesus can do with reference to this woman who was caught 
in adultery, caught in the very act. John tells us, he tips the 
hand of the Pharisees and scribes in verse six, he tells us what 
the issue is. It says, this they said, testing 
him, that they might have something of which to accuse him. But Jesus 
stooped down and wrote on the ground with his finger as though 
he did not hear. As I mentioned, they put him 
on what's called in logic, the horns of a dilemma. And a particular 
textbook on logic says it's a common form of argument in ordinary 
discourse in which it is claimed that a choice must be made between 
two alternatives, both of which are bad. There's no good option 
here as far as the Pharisees and the scribes are concerned. 
If he upholds the law, again, he shows that he's not really 
a friend of sinners. If he disregards the law of Moses 
and shows himself as a friend for sinners, they got him. They're 
going to ruin him. They're going to show him up 
as a fake and a fraud. In the Sermon on the Mount, he 
says, do not think that I came to abolish the law. I didn't 
come to abolish it, but rather to confirm it, to strengthen 
it, to bring it home only in his obedience and then as well 
in his teaching. So these men want to test him 
by putting him on this horns. If he's pro-Moses, he's anti-compassion. If he's pro-compassion, then 
he's anti-Moses. So again, horns of a dilemma. 
Both alternatives are equally difficult, right? Especially 
for this woman. How do you think she wants him 
to go? How do you think she wants him 
to respond? Do you think she wants him to 
say, oh yeah, take her out right now and stone her to death with 
stones? That would be legitimate, again, if he was a civil authority 
or an ecclesiastical authority and had the jurisdiction to render 
a verdict on this particular issue. But notice as well what 
he does, the action that he undertakes in verse 6b. It says, Jesus stooped 
down and wrote on the ground with his finger as though he 
did not hear. Now, commentators speculate on 
what he wrote. We have no idea what he wrote. The text doesn't tell us, it's 
quiet. But there's significance in the 
fact that he wrote. And if you've been in our studies 
in Exodus or when we've talked about the law of God and the 
uniqueness of the moral law of God, you see in the Pentateuch, 
the books of Moses, these statements where Yahweh, God Most High, 
speaks about writing the Ten Commandments with His finger. 
I'm not suggesting Jesus is writing the Ten Commandments. I think 
the emphasis is that He stoops down now, and the text is specific 
with verse 6. He writes, with his finger. He 
doesn't get a stick. He doesn't, you know, just kind 
of use the palm of his hand. He uses his finger. I think there's 
a link there between the Old Testament giving of the moral 
law and Jesus Christ's function as that lawgiver. I think this 
action in and of itself suggests how the narrative is going to 
flow. Jesus is not anti-Moses. Jesus is not anti-law. Jesus 
is the author of the law that Moses carried out. Moses didn't 
develop the law. Moses didn't originate the law. 
Moses didn't go up on that mountain and say, OK, I've got some good 
ideas for how we do society now. I want everybody to listen, rally 
around Daddy Moses, and I'm going to tell you how it's going to 
be. No, he got the law from God Most High, written with the finger 
of God, and it was that that Moses brought down from the mountain. Exodus 31, 18, and when he had 
made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, he gave Moses 
two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with 
the finger of God. Deuteronomy 9.10, then the Lord 
delivered to me two tablets of stone written with the finger 
of God. And on them were all the words which the Lord had 
spoken to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire in 
the day of the assembly. I think by way of action, by 
way of sort of an acted parable, he's upholding or demonstrating 
his commitment to the law. He is the law giver. He is the 
law keeper. And by way of implication, they're 
not. When Jesus asks them in John 
7, 19, when he appeals to Moses with reference to their murderous 
intention of him, he's serious there. These men don't keep the 
law. These men are rebels. These men 
have rejected the truth. And these men want this kangaroo 
court, not so that they can sort of validly apply the law and 
expose this criminal in Israel, but it was in order to test him. And so that's the particular 
issue that's in view. Now notice, secondly, the woman 
forgiven by Christ in verses 7 to 11. Two things here. First, 
the application of the law. And secondly, the forgiveness 
of the woman. How do you deal with the horns 
of a dilemma? You take them both and you uphold them both. And 
that is precisely what Jesus does in his transaction here. Notice in the first place, in 
terms of the application of the law, he appeals to Moses. There 
is an appeal to Moses in verse 7. He doesn't say, okay, I'm 
going to appeal to Moses. He's appealing to the law in 
order to carry out the law. Verse 7, so when they continued 
asking him, he raised himself up and said to them, he who is 
without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first. That's 
an appeal to Deuteronomy 17 and Deuteronomy 19. In a capital 
crime, again, it couldn't be hearsay. It couldn't just be 
one witness. It couldn't just be, you know, 
I think this guy committed murder, or I think this girl committed 
adultery. Well, let's haul them off and 
let's kill them. That's not the way the Bible 
mandates. There were to be two or three 
witnesses, and it was the witnesses that would take up the stone 
first to throw at the guilty criminal. What do you think that 
would do to you? I mean, we all have our challenges, 
we all have our issues, we all have our sins to be sure, but 
for the most part, people don't typically like to engage, unless 
they're affiliated with certain political parties, in raw, brutal 
hypocrisy. We don't like to do that. And 
when Jesus is talking about without sin, he's not suggesting that 
there's a sinless class of beings out there that can render verdicts 
in criminal court. No, he's probably indicating 
he who is without this particular sin of adultery. They had a problem 
with the Sixth Commandment. If the commentators are to be 
believed, they had a problem with the Seventh Commandment. 
Take Muslim countries, for instance. They're pretty anti-homosexuality. They're very stringent in terms 
of Sharia and the application of their law that you're not 
supposed to be a homosexual. Do you think that means there's 
no homosexuals in the Middle East? Of course there are! Of course they do that! And you think just because these 
guys are part of the Sanhedrin, the religious authorities, the 
political authorities in Israel at that time, that they're holy, 
harmless, and undefiled? They're wretches, they're sinners, 
they're vile. They've already shown disregard 
for the sixth commandment in that they want to murder an innocent 
man. Seventh commandment? Why do we think they're going 
to be fastidious with reference to that? They had girlfriends, 
they had you know, friends with benefits, all those sorts of 
things on the side. And so Jesus, in his appeal to 
the law, understands that the witnesses must be the first to 
cast the stone. So he says, he who is without 
sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first. Deuteronomy 
17, six and seven. Whoever is deserving of death 
shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 
Keep this in your head, because as we close out this morning, 
not this afternoon, you don't have to fear that much, but when 
we close out, you'll know that this passage is invoked as an 
anti-death penalty passage. Well, Jesus didn't execute the 
woman, so therefore, there's no death penalty. Again, Jesus 
isn't a civil authority. Jesus is an ecclesiastical authority. And the ecclesiastical authority 
in Old Covenant Israel never bore the sword against criminal 
offenders. That was the judiciary. That 
was the political element of the apparatus, which was known 
as the Commonwealth of Israel. But with reference to this passage, 
he upholds the law. He upholds the death penalty 
in this particular instance for the crime of adultery. And he 
understands the necessity for witnesses. Whoever is deserving 
of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three 
witnesses. He shall not be put to death on the testimony of 
one witness. The hands of the witnesses shall be the first 
against him to put him to death and afterward the hands of all 
the people. So you shall put away the evil 
from among you. See this in Deuteronomy 13, 19. 
and then the laws of witnesses in Deuteronomy 19, 15 to 21. So this is Jesus appealing to 
the law. Here's your sort of dilemma, 
Jesus. What do you think of Moses? What 
do you think of the law? Well, I uphold Moses and I uphold the 
law. Where are the witnesses? If we're going to proceed according 
to Moses, you need to pony up two or three witnesses. Now with 
reference to the witnesses, they need to be responsible witnesses. And I think that's the emphasis 
in the first part of the verse. He who is without sin among you. 
He who is without this particular sin among you, let him throw 
a stone at her first. Matthew Poole says, in reason, 
those who are zealous for the punishment of others should neither 
be guilty of the same nor of greater crimes themselves. That's a good reading of Deuteronomy 
17 and 19. Meredith Klein says a minimum 
of two witnesses was required and their confidence in their 
own testimony was to be evidenced by their assuming the dread responsibility 
of delivering the first and quite possibly lethal blows in the 
execution of the condemned. We know that this is the way 
we should interpret this based on what happens in verse nine. 
They all get convicted. Their consciences are bothered. 
They're not responsible witnesses. This is a kangaroo court. They 
don't care about Moses. They don't care about the woman. 
They don't care about the man that was with the woman. All 
they care about is escalating their threat, their enmity, and 
their animosity against Jesus Christ. Why? Wasn't theology, 
wasn't Bible, wasn't ethics, it was politics. The Lord Jesus 
now had all kinds of people drawing near Him to hear Him. And as 
far as the leadership was concerned, if that keeps happening, then 
the entire world's gonna go after Him. You see that in John chapter 
12. They make that complaint. If 
things keep going unabated, then the whole world's gonna draw 
after Him. This was what in sense outraged them. It made them furious 
and it made them want to get rid of him. Notice verse eight, 
after he makes that statement, after he appeals to the book 
of Deuteronomy, verse eight tells us again, he stooped down and 
wrote on the ground, we still don't know what he's writing. 
And then verse nine, then those who heard it being convicted 
by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the 
oldest, even to the last, And Jesus was left alone and the 
woman standing in his midst or in the midst. So again, no regard 
for the sixth commandment. We see that in chapter five. 
We see that in chapter seven. They have no regard for the seventh 
commandment either. Now, brethren, this is a pretty 
wretched place to be as a professor of the true religion, right? 
When God speaks his truth, when God speaks his law, we're not 
supposed to take and choose what we want. It's not like, well, 
you know, six of the Ten Commandments are okay. I like six of the ten. There's a few that, you know, 
they just kind of bug me and I'm not sure I'm all in for that. 
We don't have the wherewithal to do that. As the creature of 
God, the Creator, we are obliged to do precisely what He tells 
us. without the promise of reward even. Luke 17, 10, when we do 
all that we've done, we're only unprofitable servants doing what 
we were commanded to do. The creature owes obedience to 
the Creator, and these creatures have no regard whatsoever for 
the Creator. In fact, they want to take him, 
and they want to throw him up on a cross, and they want to 
murder him because they are outraged at his conduct. The whole thing 
is a sham. They're not concerned with the 
law, they're not concerned with Moses, they're not concerned 
with adultery, they're not concerned with any of it. Now when Jesus 
points the law back to them in verse 8, it does affect them, 
it does convict them, and it does cause them now to leave 
the scene. And that brings us then to the 
forgiveness of the woman. This is wonderful, right? She's 
been standing there listening to this. She didn't have John 
tell her, oh, by the way, they're testing him now. John tells us 
that. It's kind of like Genesis 22 
verse one. The Lord tests Abraham, tells 
Abraham to take his son, his only son, the son whom he loves, 
up to Mount Moriah and there sacrifice him to Yahweh. Well, 
we the reader get Genesis 22, one. We get that God is testing 
Abraham. Abraham didn't get that memo 
that morning. As far as Abraham knew, this 
was the last day that Isaac was gonna be with him. Actually, 
we know that he had the belief that God was able to raise Isaac 
from the dead, if indeed he carried out that sacrifice. So the lady 
here, standing, listening to this dialogue, does not know 
that these men are testing Jesus. As far as she's concerned, she 
was just caught in a capital offense. She's standing there 
waiting to hear what the adjudication is. She's standing waiting to 
hear what the disposition will be. Either she dies for her crime 
or she lives to fight another day. And so notice what Jesus 
says to her. He says in verse 9, or after 
verse 9, then those who heard it being convicted by their conscience 
went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. 
And Jesus was left alone and the woman standing in the midst. 
When Jesus had raised himself up and saw no one but the woman, 
he said to her, Woman, where are those accusers of you? Has 
no one condemned you? This is the response of the Savior 
to the woman. So he upholds the law of Moses, 
but he's also the friend of sinners. See, that's the way you navigate 
the horns of a dilemma. You uphold both of them. I mean, 
there's other tactics that are employed in dealing with a dilemma, 
but this is what Jesus does. So woman, where are those accusers 
of yours? Has no one condemned you? Notice 
the response of the woman. They're testing him, they despise 
him, they abhor him, they want to kill him, they want to rid 
the world of him, but for her, she calls him Lord. Now, it may 
be in its sense of sir, that would certainly be appropriate 
in a context like this, but oftentimes we see persons in the gospel 
narratives speaking better than they knew. And so these men despise 
the Lord of Glory. These men want to execute the 
Lord of Glory. These men want to rid the world 
of the Lord of Glory. And yet when she responds, she 
said, no one, Lord. None of these accusers are standing 
here. Now, perhaps at this point, she's 
starting to have the pitter patter of her heart wondering, hey, 
this may end up pretty good. This may work to my benefit. 
No witnesses. She would have known the law 
as well. She knew that she was breaking the law, but she'd actually 
know what the stipulation was for a violation of that law. 
But she would know as well what we often forget. that the Old 
Covenant code was not without checks and balances. Persons 
hear that the Bible teaches the death penalty and they conclude, 
well, then everybody will be executed because everybody's 
messed up. No, you could not execute a person 
without two or three witnesses. If there was only one witness 
to the crime, you did not have the corroboration to carry out 
capital punishment. So this woman would know that. 
Now that her accusers are no longer present, she's probably 
thinking, I'm gonna get off. I'm gonna be free. I'm not gonna 
get executed. She does face the Lord Jesus 
Christ and finds him to be in fact, a friend of sinners. Because 
look at what he goes on to say. Verse 11, no one Lord. And Jesus 
said to her, neither do I condemn you. Neither do I condemn you. He upholds the law and he's a 
friend for sinners. He upholds the law and he is 
the one that stood on that last day, that great day of the feast 
and bids everyone who's thirsty to come to him and drink. He 
upholds the law and he tells her then, go and sin no more. Again, the specific admonition 
is go and sin this sin no more. Don't continue in adultery. Don't 
continue in this crime. And notice brethren, she is guilty. She was in fact caught. The Lord 
Jesus knows she's guilty. The Lord Jesus pronounces forgiveness 
by saying, neither do I condemn you. He gives the specific admonition, 
go and sin no more, don't commit adultery anymore, but a general 
doctrine. as a forgiven sinner, as one 
who by grace believes on the Lord Jesus, as one justified, 
now you are to follow those things which are pleasing in the sight 
of God. See, the Christian religion is unlike every other religion. 
Every other, well, I don't know if I could say every other, for 
at least the ones I know. Most religions say, do good and 
get your reward. Do good and get your reward. Typically, it's more of a more 
good than bad sort of thing. If I've done more good than bad 
on that day of judgment, then I hope to sort of weasel my way 
in. But it's always that pattern, 
do and get. Christianity is the opposite. 
It's get and do. There's an indicative. That means 
the mood of reality. The fact is, is that when we 
believe the gospel, by the grace of God, we pass from death to 
life. As we heard in the reading in 
1 Peter, we're called out of darkness into marvelous light. 
The sovereign God of heaven and earth makes us alive. The sovereign 
God of heaven and earth gives us faith and repentance. The 
sovereign God of heaven and earth gives us the ability to believe 
on the Lord Jesus and thus be forgiven of our sins and receive 
that righteousness that comes from Christ. And then it's on 
the heels of that that we go live in a manner that is consistent 
with the gospel of our salvation. Not in order that we may be saved, 
but because by grace we have been saved. He upholds that theology. He says, neither do I condemn 
you. Go and sin this particular sin no more. And as a general 
rule, go and sin no more. Be faithful, be holy. Pursue 
those things that are pleasing in the sight of God. Never forgetting 
1 John 2, 1 and 2, where John says, my little children, I write 
these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, 
we have an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the 
righteous. So the goal is, go and sin no 
more. But God knows us, God has spoken to this in Romans 7 and 
Galatians 5, that there is in our hearts as believers a proneness 
to wander, a proneness to leave the God that we love. Pursue 
sinlessness, pursue holiness, pursue righteousness, but when 
you falter, when you stumble, when you fall, we have an advocate 
with the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous. It's about Him. 
We're not going to heaven because of us. We're not going to heaven 
because we're good. We're not going to heaven because 
we're wise. We're not going to heaven because 
we've stumbled onto some truth. We're going to heaven because 
Christ came from heaven, lived in perfect obedience to the law 
of His Father, died as a sacrifice at the cross, and was raised 
again the third day. The Apostle summarizes that beautiful 
transaction in Romans 4. He says that Jesus was delivered 
up because of our offenses. Why did Christ go to that cross? 
He was holy, harmless, and undefiled. He went because we're unholy, 
we're full of harm, and we're thoroughly defiled. He went to 
that cross for us. He did everything that pleased 
the father. He says that in John's gospel. 
My meat is to do the will of him who sent me. I always do 
that which my father commands. None of us can say that. We can't 
say that for a millisecond. We can't wake up on a Sunday 
morning, you know, get the gunk out of our eyes and have any 
thought whatsoever that we're perfectly obedient to the law 
of God. If the law of God is summarized 
in the two main heads, love to God, love to neighbor as yourself, 
you have to see and appreciate you fail miserably. I fail miserably. That's why nobody enters into 
heaven based on their failing miserably. They enter into heaven 
based on Christ's success, Christ's righteousness, Christ's perfection, 
Christ's blood. Remember Paul in Ephesians 1-7, 
in him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, I'm sorry, 
we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, 
and then he says, according to the riches of his grace. We'll 
see more of that tonight in Ephesians chapter two. Brethren, it is 
the riches of God's grace that advances the kingdom of Christ 
on earth. It's not the riches of man's 
accomplishment, the riches of man's wisdom, the riches of man's 
law-keeping, the riches of man's merit, it's the riches of grace. And the good news for any and 
all here, you may not have been caught in adultery this morning 
and sort of brought out here, you know, for some sort of public 
tribunal, but you're a sinner. Every single one of us has sinned 
against a holy God. Every single one, all we like 
sheep have gone astray. The apostle says, there is an 
unrighteous, no, not one. There's none who seeks after 
God. There's no fear of God before the eyes of man or in the hearts 
of men. And we should fear this God. Both Jeremiah and John the 
Apostle ask the question, who would not fear the O king of 
the nations? For indeed it is I do. In other 
words, he's a great and awesome God. We should fear him. We should 
revere him. We should honor and praise him. 
But by nature, because we're dead in Adam, we don't. But by 
grace, by the riches of His grace, when we respond in light of John 
7, 37, when the thirsty, needy, guilty sinner comes to the Lord 
Jesus Christ in faith, he receives everlasting life. He receives 
that living water. He receives the Holy Spirit. 
He receives every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ 
Jesus. So Christ deals with this woman 
according to compassion. Christ deals with the scenario 
according to the law. Christ upholds both in terms 
of their particular dilemma, and he shows himself to be the 
friend of sinners. Again, brethren, she was not 
the conventional one. She didn't come to church willingly 
that morning wanting her sins exposed, wanting conviction for 
sin, so that she could close with the Savior. She was pulled 
out of whatever wretched situation she was in, She was used as a 
pawn, she was brought before the Savior, and now she goes 
justified by His blood. She goes justified by grace through 
faith in Him. She goes now as one who has received 
the Holy Spirit, that blessed possession of God's people. It is a wonderful display of 
the wisdom of our Savior. It's a wonderful display of his 
commitment to the law of God. And it is a wonderful demonstration 
of his role as Savior for sinners. In conclusion, We won't deal 
with objections to the death penalty. He's not objecting to 
the death penalty. The Bible tells us in Genesis 
9 and in Romans 13 that the civil government is armed with the 
sword to execute God's wrath in history. That's Bible. That's biblical. That's the truth. Now, when men say, well, we're 
not going to do that, that seems harsh and barbaric. No, when 
God commands something for civil polity, our responsibility is 
to obey. And I dare say if our government 
spent more time wielding the sword against criminal elements, 
instead of messing with every other jot and tittle of our lives, 
they would be actually doing what God ordained them to do. 
But in terms of the narrative, notice the wretchedness of the 
leaders. Again, I submit they're going tit for tat. Jesus exposed 
them in John 17, 19. Nicodemus exposed them in John 
7, 51. What's the response from godly 
men? Thank you for showing me my sin, 
now I can repent. What's the response of ungodly 
men? They lash out. They attack. They 
say, well, what about you? What about your issue? What about 
your shortcoming? And that is precisely what they're 
trying to expose here. They want to show Jesus is a 
fraud. That the one who says or exclaims his fidelity to the 
law of Moses really isn't. And the one who says that he's 
a friend for sinners, he'll give you up in a second and watch 
you bleed to death for your crimes. That's their tactic. As well, 
the leaders do not have regard for the law at all. Whatever 
they're doing here, it is hypocritical. Whatever they're doing here, 
it is a sham. Whatever they're doing here is 
a fake. John tells us in verse six, this 
they said to test him. As well, the leaders are engaged 
in testing Jesus that they might accuse him. So this is where 
we're at in the narrative. Now, we all know where it's going, 
unless you've never read the gospel accounts, unless you've 
never been exposed to Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. Let me tell 
you what's going on. There is this rising opposition 
against Jesus. I mean, rising welcome, rising 
reception, rising persons who come to him and want to hear 
him and in faith lay hold of him. But there's this enmity 
growing, this animosity growing, this wickedness on the part of 
the religious leadership. Well, it's gonna culminate in 
the end part of this gospel record when the crowds say, away with 
him, away with him, crucify him. Pontius Pilate is gonna try to 
make a deal with the Jews because Pontius Pilate knows that Jesus 
isn't guilty. He knows that he's not guilty. 
In fact, he confesses it three times in the trial that Jesus 
is guiltless. I find no guilt in this man. 
I find no guilt in this man. I find no guilt in this man. 
It's kind of like the angels in Isaiah 6 when they threefold 
say, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth 
is filled with his glory. So Pilate says, oh, I've got 
a custom and we've got a custom during the Passover. I can release 
a prisoner to you. I can release one to you that'll 
hopefully satisfy your bloodlust and we'll get this done." Because 
he knew that the leadership had ended up Jesus because of envy. 
So there's two men, Jesus, and then there's a man by the name 
of Barabbas. Barabbas was a nasty man. Barabbas was an insurrectionist. Barabbas was, dare I say it, 
a domestic terrorist. He was a bad egg. He was a bad 
guy. He was destined to be crucified 
on that day by the civil state for being an insurrectionist. 
So what do you think the crowd does? Well, we don't want, you 
know, Barabbas. The guy's wicked. He blows up 
buildings. He walks in, you know, plants 
his charge, does his thing. He's a beast of a man. You know 
the narrative. Give us Barabbas? What do you 
want me to do with this king of Israel? Away with him. Away 
with him. Crucify him. So this opposition 
to him, this enmity to him is rising. It's growing. Now see, 
they probably would have to concede that what Nicodemus said is right. Doesn't our law stipulate that 
a man must actually be guilty before we get rid of him? They 
knew, of course, that it did. So what are they trying to do 
now? They're trying to hide under the cover of law to get rid of 
Jesus. But again, they don't care one 
bit about the law. Notice their lack of love for 
humanity. We see this in our own political 
climate wherein persons are used as pawns for politics. You see 
it with the immigration situation. You see it as well with shootings, 
mass shootings. Those people become pawns to 
take away guns from persons that don't engage in mass shooting. 
It's a wretched way to do politics. It is a wretched and beastly 
mistreatment of human beings. That's how they treat this woman. 
She was caught in the very act. And of course, according to verse 
9, these men too had been in the very act. These men too were, 
you know, superior to this woman. They were looking down their 
noses at this woman. They in their self-righteousness, 
their smugness, their absolute wickedness, completely testify 
to their utter hatred, not only for Jesus, but for Moses as well. They don't care about the law. 
They don't care about Moses. They have gotten rid of the very 
God of heaven and earth in their conduct. The leaders are guilty 
of violating the seventh commandment, they're guilty of violating the 
sixth commandment, and it will culminate in the death of our 
Savior. And I want to end on the Savior. 
The Lord Jesus navigates the horns of a dilemma. Not only 
does He uphold the law, He shows mercy and compassion, and He 
silences these fools. Now, obviously there's discourse 
on the heels of what he says in verse 12, which we'll pick 
up, but it's going to get pretty strong in chapter 8. I mean, 
they're going to go head-to-head in terms of confrontation. Later 
they're going to say, when he disregards their notion of a 
true commitment, or a true attachment to the living and true God, or 
to even Abraham. And they're like, we weren't 
born of fornication, hint, hint, wink, wink, like you were, Jesus. They had an idea of what had 
happened in terms of the virgin birth, but of course they put 
the worst possible spin on it. So the Lord Jesus is going to 
go head to head with these particular men. At this point, he silences 
them. And the Lord Jesus as well demonstrates 
the truthfulness of John 7, 37 and 38. The woman was guilty 
of the sin of adultery. You ever heard somebody preach 
the gospel or tell you about the gospel and they say, you 
know, God's a holy God, man is a sinful man and Christ is the 
only way for salvation. We don't usually get into, well, 
what kind of sins? Is it just the respectable sins? He forgives gossip. He forgives 
a bit of self-righteousness. He forgives covetousness. He 
forgives sin. in whom we have redemption through 
his blood, the forgiveness of sins. And if anyone does sin, 
we have an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ, the 
righteous. What's the psalmist saying? Psalm 
133 and four, he says, if thou, Lord, should smirk iniquities, 
O Lord, who could stand? I'm gonna have to check out if 
God has his ink pen and his pad of paper, and he's watching, 
and he's checking boxes every moment of every day that I'm 
sinning. If you, oh Lord, should do that, then who could stand? 
If that psalm ended there, that would be very depressing, wouldn't 
it? We'd probably say, oh man, that's terrible. I just wanna 
go crawl under a rock now. But the psalmist doesn't end 
there. He says, but there is forgiveness with you. that you 
may be feared. In 1 John 1, 9, we hear, if we 
confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to 
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So if we ask the question, maybe 
we're thinking about it in our own heads. Well, you know, I 
don't know about my sin. Maybe some of these other people's 
sins, they seem to be a respectable lot. They seem to have gotten 
their, you know, their act together in some way, shape or form. Nobody 
in here ever got their act together in any way, shape or form. God, 
in his grace, picked us up out of the miry clay, washed us in 
the precious blood of the Lord Jesus, and cleansed us, or clothed 
us, rather, with his righteousness. None of us had a come-to-Jesus 
moment that originated with us. It's God's grace. It does not 
depend upon him who wills or upon him who runs, but on God 
who shows mercy. And Jesus evidences that on the 
heels of the declaration, if anyone thirsts, let him come 
to me and drink. He shows that that fountain of 
living water avails even for a woman caught in adultery in 
the very act. A capital offense. Moses said 
she should be stoned to death. What say you? Neither do I condemn 
you. Go and sin no more. Paul was 
right on when he said, do you not know that the unrighteous 
will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither 
fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, 
nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor 
revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God." 
Again, if he stopped there, wow, let's find a rock to go crawl 
under. But he says to the Corinthians, and such were some of you, but 
you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified 
in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. So if you are a believer here 
this morning, rejoice in the Savior who has delivered you 
from your sin. If you are not a believer here 
this morning, come. You're thirsty. You may not recognize 
it, but you've got a thirst that only one can satisfy, and that 
is the Lord Jesus Christ. He makes it very clear, very 
obvious, and very evident what is in view. If anyone thirsts, 
let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me. It's by 
grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. May God bless and 
may God call out of darkness into marvelous light and may 
we rejoice in his goodness and kindness to us. Well, let us 
pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank 
you for your word. We thank you for the clarity 
in John 8, verses 1 to 11. We thank you for the Savior and 
his wisdom and the way that he dealt with these religious leaders 
wanting to kill him. As well, we thank you that he 
is in fact a friend for sinners and one who does give that living 
water to all who come to him in faith. May you bless the word 
as it goes forth today. May you indeed cause it to go 
forth, conquering and to conquer. And we pray that you would be 
glorified and that sinners would be done good by salvation through 
faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And we pray in his most blessed 
name. Amen. We can take your hymn books and 
turn to 568 568 will stand as we sing together. is ♪ Praise the Father, Son, and Holy 
Ghost ♪ O Israel, hope in the Lord, for 
with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is abundant redemption. And He shall redeem Israel from 
all his iniquities. Amen. Father, thank You for the 
Savior, for sinners. Thank You for the Church of the 
Lord Jesus Christ. Thank You for the privilege that 
is ours, gathering together to come to the Father through the 
Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. And we confess that God 
Most High is all in all. May you bless us, may you keep 
us, may you watch over us, and may you help us to glorify you 
this day and every day. And we pray through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen. Well, please be seated 
for a brief time of meditation.