John 8 · WEB
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John 8

The woman caught in adultery

but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

Now very early in the morning, he came again into the temple, and all the people came to him. He sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman taken in adultery. Having set her in the middle, they told him, “Teacher, we found this woman in adultery, in the very act. Now in our law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. What then do you say about her?” They said this testing him, that they might have something to accuse him of. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with his finger.

But when they continued asking him, he looked up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw the first stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground with his finger.

They, when they heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning from the oldest, even to the last. Jesus was left alone with the woman where she was, in the middle. Jesus, standing up, saw her and said, “Woman, where are your accusers? Did no one condemn you?”

She said, “No one, Lord.” Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way. From now on, sin no more.”

Early in the morning, as Jesus teaches in the temple, scribes and Pharisees bring a woman caught in adultery and ask whether she should be stoned as the law of Moses commands. Jesus writes on the ground, then says that whoever is without sin should throw the first stone. The accusers leave one by one, and Jesus tells the woman he does not condemn her and to sin no more.

What does this mean?

Scribes were experts in the law of Moses. "Convicted by their own conscience" (KJV) means their consciences accused them. No one knows what Jesus wrote on the ground, and interpreters have offered many guesses.

Historical context

This passage (7:53 to 8:11) is in both the KJV and the WEB, but it is absent from the earliest surviving manuscripts of John, and in some later manuscripts it appears elsewhere in John or in Luke. Most scholars think it was not part of John's original text, while many regard it as an early and authentic tradition about Jesus. The law prescribed death for both partners in adultery (Leviticus 20:10); the man is not brought. Whether Jewish courts could carry out executions under Roman rule is debated.

Why does it matter?

The story turns a trap into a question about the accusers themselves, and has become one of the best-known episodes in the Gospels.

Editorial notes, not scripture.

The light of the world

Again, therefore, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”

The Pharisees therefore said to him, “You testify about yourself. Your testimony is not valid.”

Jesus answered them, “Even if I testify about myself, my testimony is true, for I know where I came from, and where I am going; but you don’t know where I came from, or where I am going. You judge according to the flesh. I judge no one. Even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent me. It’s also written in your law that the testimony of two people is valid. I am one who testifies about myself, and the Father who sent me testifies about me.”

They said therefore to him, “Where is your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither me nor my Father. If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”

Jesus spoke these words in the treasury, as he taught in the temple. Yet no one arrested him, because his hour had not yet come.

Jesus declares, "I am the light of the world," and the Pharisees object that his testimony about himself is not valid. Jesus replies that he knows where he came from and where he is going, and that his Father testifies with him. He is teaching in the temple treasury, yet no one arrests him.

What does this mean?

"Bear record" (KJV) means testify. "Judge after the flesh" (KJV) or "according to the flesh" (WEB) means judging by merely human standards. The treasury was an area of the temple where offerings were received.

Historical context

Later Jewish sources describe great lamps lit in the temple's Court of the Women during the Feast of Booths, lighting up the city; the treasury was nearby. If this setting is in view, Jesus' claim to be the light would have been especially striking. The law required two witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15), which Jesus applies to himself and the Father.

Why does it matter?

Light is one of John's main images, introduced in the prologue (1:4-9) and acted out when Jesus gives sight to a blind man in chapter 9. The note that "his hour had not yet come" again explains why he is not seized.

Editorial notes, not scripture.

"I am going away"

Jesus said therefore again to them, “I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sins. Where I go, you can’t come.”

The Jews therefore said, “Will he kill himself, because he says, ‘Where I am going, you can’t come’?”

He said to them, “You are from beneath. I am from above. You are of this world. I am not of this world. I said therefore to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins.”

They said therefore to him, “Who are you?” Jesus said to them, “Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.

I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you. However, he who sent me is true; and the things which I heard from him, these I say to the world.”

They didn’t understand that he spoke to them about the Father. Jesus therefore said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and I do nothing of myself, but as my Father taught me, I say these things. He who sent me is with me. The Father hasn’t left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.”

As he spoke these things, many believed in him.

Jesus warns that he is going where his hearers cannot follow, and that they will die in their sins unless they believe that "I am he"; they wonder whether he means to kill himself. He says that when they have "lifted up" the Son of Man, they will understand. As he speaks, many believe in him.

What does this mean?

"From beneath" and "from above" contrast the earthly realm with heaven, God's realm. In "I am he" the "he" is supplied in English; the Greek is simply "I am", the same phrase as in 8:58. "Lifted up" again means crucified and exalted.

Historical context

Suicide was regarded as a grave wrong in Jewish tradition, so the hearers' suggestion is a sneer, not a sympathetic guess.

Why does it matter?

The dialogue is full of misunderstanding, as people take Jesus' words at their most literal. This is the second of three sayings about the Son of Man being "lifted up" (3:14, 8:28, 12:32), each pointing to the cross. John presents the crucifixion itself as the moment that reveals who Jesus is.

Editorial notes, not scripture.

Children of Abraham

Jesus therefore said to those Jews who had believed him, “If you remain in my word, then you are truly my disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

They answered him, “We are Abraham’s offspring, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How do you say, ‘You will be made free’?”

Jesus answered them, “Most certainly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is the bondservant of sin. A bondservant doesn’t live in the house forever. A son remains forever. If therefore the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham’s offspring, yet you seek to kill me, because my word finds no place in you. I say the things which I have seen with my Father; and you also do the things which you have seen with your father.”

They answered him, “Our father is Abraham.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham.

But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham didn’t do this. You do the works of your father.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father, God.”

Therefore Jesus said to them, “If God were your father, you would love me, for I came out and have come from God. For I haven’t come of myself, but he sent me. Why don’t you understand my speech? Because you can’t hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn’t stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own; for he is a liar, and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you don’t believe me. Which of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? He who is of God hears the words of God. For this cause you don’t hear, because you are not of God.”

Jesus tells Jews who have believed him that the truth will set them free. They protest that as Abraham's descendants they have never been slaves. The argument grows sharper: Jesus says that those seeking to kill him are not acting as Abraham's children, and finally that their father is the devil.

What does this mean?

"Servant" (KJV) here translates the word for slave; the WEB has "bondservant". "Born of fornication" (KJV) may be a jibe at rumours about Jesus' own birth, though that is debated. The devil is described as a liar and murderer from the beginning, recalling the serpent in Genesis 3.

Historical context

Descent from Abraham was central to Jewish identity. Many scholars read this harsh exchange as reflecting bitter disputes between Jewish followers of Jesus and other Jews when the Gospel was written, an argument within a family. Over many centuries, however, verse 44 was misused to justify hatred and violence against Jewish people, and many churches have since formally repudiated such anti-Jewish teaching.

Why does it matter?

The dispute is with people described as having believed him, which shows that John is distinguishing true discipleship ("if you remain in my word") from a shallow or temporary belief. Jesus and his disciples were themselves Jewish.

Editorial notes, not scripture.

Before Abraham was, I am

Then the Jews answered him, “Don’t we say well that you are a Samaritan, and have a demon?”

Jesus answered, “I don’t have a demon, but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. But I don’t seek my own glory. There is one who seeks and judges. Most certainly, I tell you, if a person keeps my word, he will never see death.”

Then the Jews said to him, “Now we know that you have a demon. Abraham died, as did the prophets; and you say, ‘If a man keeps my word, he will never taste of death.’ Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died. Who do you make yourself out to be?”

Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say that he is our God. You have not known him, but I know him. If I said, ‘I don’t know him,’ I would be like you, a liar. But I know him and keep his word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it and was glad.”

The Jews therefore said to him, “You are not yet fifty years old! Have you seen Abraham?”

Jesus said to them, “Most certainly, I tell you, before Abraham came into existence, I AM.”

Therefore they took up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple, having gone through the middle of them, and so passed by.

The argument escalates as Jesus' opponents call him a Samaritan and possessed, and he answers that whoever keeps his word will never see death and that Abraham rejoiced to see his day. When they scoff that he is not yet fifty, he says, "Before Abraham came into existence, I AM." They pick up stones, but Jesus slips away.

What does this mean?

"Hast a devil" (KJV) means "you are possessed" or "mad". "Not yet fifty" means simply that he is still a relatively young man. The WEB prints "I AM" in capitals to mark it as a divine-sounding phrase.

Historical context

Stoning was the penalty prescribed for blasphemy (Leviticus 24:16). Calling a Jew a Samaritan was an insult, given the hostility between the groups.

Why does it matter?

Many interpreters hear an echo of God's self-description to Moses at the burning bush, "I AM WHO I AM" (Exodus 3:14), and of Isaiah's "I am he" sayings. The hearers' attempt to stone him shows they took it as a claim to divine status. This is the climax of the long argument of chapters 7 and 8.

Editorial notes, not scripture.

Translation

KJVTraditional biblical languageWEBContemporary English

Chapters

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21

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Reading

Translation

KJVTraditional biblical languageWEBContemporary English

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

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