At the start of a new day, Jesus went to the temple to teach the people. But the Jewish leaders brought an adulterous woman to Jesus. They wanted to trap Jesus and kill the woman.
They said the woman was caught in the act of adultery. Probably not very likely. But if it was true, the law stated that they should have stoned both the man and the woman. Again, the Jewish leaders were only partially obeying God’s law.
The trap – If Jesus sided with the woman, He would be breaking the law of Moses and Roman law. (Jews could not inflict capital punishment without Rome’s permission.) If Jesus sided with the Jewish leaders, He would not be compassionate as He claimed to be.
Jesus’ response: “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” One by one, the leaders left until only Jesus and the woman remained. He told her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” He said He didn’t condemn her either. Then He sent her away and told her to leave her life of sin.
After this incident, Jesus spoke to the people. He called Himself the light of the world. For the Jewish people, light is symbolic of God’s presence. Jesus again declared that He was God.
Jesus also claimed that He stood with the Father, that He and the Father testify together in unity, that He will go to a place where His listeners cannot go, that He is from above and not from this world, that the listeners must believe in Him or die in their sins, that God is with Him.
He told the people to follow Him so they won’t be in darkness any longer. He told them that He was going to a place where they could not go. He told them that they will die in their sins because they do not believe in Him as God.
The leaders questioned Jesus’ identity. Jesus defended Himself with God’s Word. Many people believe in Jesus after this conversation.
Next Jesus spoke to the people who decided to believe. They may have believed Jesus’ words without fully believing who He was. So they questioned His next teachings.
Jesus told them that the truth will set them free. The people claimed they were not enslaved and didn’t need to be set free. Not true! The people of God had been enslaved many times in their past and currently were enslaved in their sin. God sent Jesus to free them from spiritual bondage.
The people said Abraham was their father. Jesus told them that if Abraham was their father, they would listen to His teachings and believe that He is the promised Messiah. Jesus told them that the devil was their father because they were selfish, lying, murderous people.
Once again, Jesus slipped away without being arrested because Him time had not come yet.
Things to Think About
- As Jesus exposed people’s sin, some sensed shame and left Him. Others grew more hostile toward Him and plotted to kill Him. And still others recognized something powerful and true in Jesus and were drawn to Him. How do you respond when Jesus exposes your sin?
- Believers no longer are condemned; we stand in victory with Jesus because He paid the penalty for all of our sin. We are free from the guilt of sin.
- Everyone is born enslaved to sin. Jesus wants to liberate us from our sin.
- Jesus is the only one who can save us from our depraved nature and the only one who can free us from spiritual darkness and spiritual bondage.