Lent 2023: John 8:1-11

1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

An Adulteress Forgiven

2 At dawn he went to the temple again, and all the people were coming to him. He sat down and began to teach them.

3 Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, making her stand in the center. 4 “Teacher,” they said to him, “this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery. 5 In the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 They asked this to trap him, in order that they might have evidence to accuse him.

Jesus stooped down and started writing on the ground with his finger. 7 When they persisted in questioning him, he stood up and said to them, “The one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Then he stooped down again and continued writing on the ground. 9 When they heard this, they left one by one, starting with the older men. Only he was left, with the woman in the center. 10 When Jesus stood up, he said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

11 “No one, Lord,” she answered.

“Neither do I condemn you,” said Jesus. “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”

—John 8:1-11

Read & Journal

Read John 8:1-11 today. Meditate on the passage by considering these questions:

• What does this passage teach you about Jesus? His character? His purpose?

• Consider Jesus’ interactions with the various other people in this passage, including the Pharisees, the woman and the crowd. What do these interactions reveal about Jesus’ character or purpose? Explain.

• By arresting the woman without the man involved, the Jewish leaders had already disregarded the law, yet the law was what they sought to trap him with. Have there been moments in your faith journey when you’ve gotten so caught up in your ideas of right and wrong or the “way we do things” that you’ve missed what Jesus was trying to teach you? What have you learned from those situations?

• No one seemingly questions the woman’s sinfulness in this passage, but the sin Jesus quietly points out is that of the religious leaders. When have you been quick to notice other’s sin but ignore your own? Why is that dangerous?

• When Jesus spoke to the woman, his directive was simple: go and sin no more. When Jesus brings us face-to-face with our own sinfulness, we have the choice of two responses: confession and repentance or trusting in our own merit, like the Pharisees. Which better describes you today? Why?

• Jesus doesn’t want us to remain in our sin, whether it’s apparent like the woman in today’s passage or a little harder to see, like the Pharisees’ judgment and dependence on their own innate goodness. Take some time today to let the Holy Spirit reveal any sin in your life so that you can repent and walk forward into the life Jesus has called you to.