1: Iesous
went to the mount of Olives 2: And early in the morning he came again
into the temple and all the people came to him and he sat down and taught them 3:
And the scribes and Pharisees brought to him a woman taken in adultery and when
they had set her in the midst 4: They said to him Master this woman was taken
in adultery in the very act 5: Now Moses in the law commanded us that
such should be stoned but what say you 6: This they said testing him
that they might have [reason] to accuse him But Iesous stooped down and
with his finger wrote on the ground as though he heard them not[1] 7:
So when they continued asking him he lifted up himself and said to them any who
are without sin among you let them first cast a stone at her[2] 8:
And again he stooped down and wrote on the ground[3] 9:
And they which heard it being convicted by their own conscience went out one by
one beginning with the elders even to the least and Iesous was left alone and
the woman standing before him[4] 10:
When Iesous
had lifted up himself and saw none but the woman he said to her Madam where are those thine accusers has any condemned you 11: She said No one Lord
and Iesous
said to her Neither do I condemn you
go and sin no more[5] 12: Then spoke Iesous again to them
saying I am the light of the world they who
follow me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life 13: The Pharisees
therefore said to him You bear record of yourself your record is not true 14:
Iesous
answered and said to them Though I bear record of
myself yet my record is true for I know from where I came and to where I go but
you cannot tell from where I come or to where I go 15: You judge after
the flesh I judge no one 16: And yet if I judge my judgment is true for
I am not alone but I and the Father that sent me 17: It is also written
in your law that the testimony of two individuals is true 18: I am one
that bear witness of myself and the Father that sent me bears witness of me 19: Then said they to
him Where is your Father Iesous answered You neither know me nor my Father if you had known me you
should have known my Father also 20: These words spoke Iesous in the treasury as
he taught in the temple and no one laid hands on him for his hour was not yet
come 21: Then said Iesous again to them I go my way and you shall seek me and shall die in your
sins where I go you cannot come 22: Then said the Jews Will he kill himself
because he said Where I go you cannot
come 23: And he said to
them You are from beneath I am from above You are of
this world I am not of this world 24: I said therefore to you that you
shall die in your sins for if you believe not that I AM you shall die in your
sins 25: Then said they to
him Who are you And Iesous said to them Even the same that I
said to you from the beginning 26: I have many things to say and to
judge of you but he that sent me is true and I speak to the world those things
which I have heard from him 27: They understood not that he spoke to them
of the Father 28: Then said Iesous to them When you have lifted up [crucified] the Son of Audawm then shall you know that I AM and
that I do nothing of myself but as my Father hath taught me I speak these
things 29: And he that sent me is with me the Father has not left me
alone for I do always those things that please him 30: As he spoke these
words many believed on him 31: Then said Iesous to those Jews which believed on him If you continue in my
word then are you my disciples indeed 32: And you shall know the truth
and the truth shall make you free 33: They answered him We be Abraham's seed
and were never in bondage to any how say you You shall be made free 34: Iesous
answered them Amen, amen I say to you Whoever commits sin is the servant of sin 35:
And the servant abides not in the house throughout ever but the Son remains
here forever 36: If the Son therefore shall make you free you shall be
free indeed 37: I know that you are Abraham's seed but you seek to kill
me because my word has no place in you 38: I speak that which I have
seen with my Father and you do that which you have seen with your father 39:
They answered and said to him Abraham is our father Jesus said to them If you
were Abraham's children you would do the works of Abraham 40: But now you
seek to kill me a man who has told you the truth which I have heard of ho Theos this did not Abraham 41:
You do the deeds of your father Then said they to him We be not born of
fornication[6]
we have one Father ho Theos
42: Iesous said to them If ho Theos were your Father you would love
me for I proceeded forth and came from ho
Theos neither came I of myself but he
sent me 43: [This is] Why you do not understand [what I am saying to
you][7]
it is because you [have] no power [to] comprehend my words 44: You are
of your father the devil and the desire of your father you will do He was a
murderer from the beginning and stood fast not in the truth because there is no
truth in him When he speaks a lie he speaks of his own for he is a liar and the
father of it 45: And because I tell you the truth you believe me not 46:
Which of you convicts me of sin And if I say the truth why do you not believe
me 47: They that are from ho Theos
hear ho Theos words you therefore
hear them not because you are not from ho
Theos 48: Then answered the
Jews and said to him Say we not well that you are a Samaritan[8]
and have a devil 49: Iesous answered I have not a devil but I honor my Father and you do
dishonor me 50: And I seek not my own glory [but] there is one that seeks
[glory] and judges 51: Amen, amen I say to you If any keep my sayings
they shall never see death 52: Then said the Jews to him Now we know
that you have a devil Abraham is dead and the prophets and you say If any keep
my sayings they shall never taste of death 53: Are you greater than our
father Abraham who is dead and the prophets [who] are dead whom make you yourself
[one of] 54: Iesous answered If I glorify myself my
glory is nothing it is my Father who glorifies me of whom you say that he is
your Theos 55: Yet you have
not known him but I know him and if I should say I know him not I shall be like
you a liar but I know him and keep his sayings 56: Your father Abraham
rejoiced to see my day and he sees it and is glad 57: Then said the
Jews to him you are not yet fifty years old and have you seen Abraham 58:
Iesous
said to them Amen, amen I say to you Before Abraham was I AM 59: Then
took they up stones to cast at him but Iesous hid himself and went out of
the temple going through the midst of them and so passed by
[1] Was Jesus writing,
Leviticus 20:10, And the man that commits adultery with another man's wife even
he that commits adultery with his neighbor's wife [both] the
adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death…? Where was the man?
[2] Jesus was not condoning the woman’s sin
in defending her. He was, rather, confronting the greater sin of using the Word of God with self-serving
motives and by only partially applying it to the situation. Those who had
brought this woman before him, had neglected to bring the other guilty
party—the man—who had also been
caught in the very act with her. This
un-identified man had apparently been paid off and released. This was a cruel
political ploy—in which a woman’s life was held in total disregard—aimed at
ridding themselves of, by publicly discrediting, the wildly popular teacher
from Nazareth.
[3] Was Jesus writing,
Hosea 6:6, For I desired mercy and not sacrifice and the knowledge of God more
than burnt offerings?
[4] Jesus and the woman were not completely
alone. Only her accusers had left. Remember, Jesus was on the Temple grounds
teaching the people when they were all interrupted by the Pharisees dragging in
this woman—who the scriptures say had been set up in a sting operation just to
test and discredit Jesus publicly. This had been strategically timed for
maximum exposure, so there was likely a very large crowd present. We cannot
know the exact size of the crowd that witnessed the episode, from beginning to
end, and then remained (after the woman’s accusers had all left) to witness
Jesus exonerating the woman.
[5] Some claim that the story of The Woman
Caught in Adultery is not a true account, but rather an interpolation (inserted [after the 1st
Century] into the text of John’s
Gospel). There is little authority for this, but the evidence that this story
was indeed penned by the apostle—and is true—is overwhelming. 1.) The passage
is contained in over 5000 extant (existing) manuscripts, so there is no doubt
that this episode did happen exactly as the text relates it. 2.) It would be
curious indeed if this account was fabricated and added into the text later, as
it is well-documented that ancient peoples were all misogynistic in the
extreme. Even the early Christian Church—that began as egalitarian—soon fell
back into the misogyny from which it had so recently been set free. So, for an
unknown scribe to imagine and manufacture a story where a woman commits
adultery against her husband (her lord)
and can go unpunished—in a time when all women were considered little more than
property—is near impossible for any thinking person to believe. Even more
difficult to accept, is that such a fabrication would become so popular and
widely accepted that it was then copied into over 5000 extant Greek Texts (and into how many thousands more that are no longer extant?). The story of The Woman Caught in Adultery is
true. It has as much textual evidence to support it as does the story of Nikodemos’ secret visit to Jesus
(recorded in John chapter three) where Jesus told Nikodemos that he “…must be
born again.”
[6] Nasty put-down, referring to the fact
that his mother was pregnant before she married Joseph
[7] English translations pose this as a
rhetorical question, but Jesus was not seeking for an answer, he was about to
give one.
[8] Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth was in the
province of Galilee, which was north of Samaria but bordered it and was
populated largely by gentiles. The Jews of Jerusalem would have seen little
difference between a Samaritan and a Galilean, and calling a Jew a Samaritan
was as bad an insult as there was in those days. This insult against his
hometown, followed closely after the personal attack against the circumstances
of his conception and birth.
Additional commentary pending for this
chapter. Questions and comments are welcome.
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