Bible Stories for Adults

Jesus Forgives a Woman Taken in Adultery

John 8:1-11

Next Week - Parables of the Kingdom (Matthew 13:31-50)
Bible Words to Remember:
God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. John 3:17

How did Jesus reveal Himself to His hometown at the beginning of His ministry?
Luke 4:16-21 = He claimed to be the promised Messiah foretold by Isaiah
How did His friends and neighbors respond to His Epiphany that day?
Luke 4:28-29 = Tried to kill Him by throwing Him from a cliff, but He walked away

How did Jesus reveal Himself to Peter, James and John before they were committed to Him?
Luke 5:4-7 = Gave them a huge catch of fish after a fruitless night
How did these fishers respond to His Epiphany that day?
Luke 5:8-11 = Peter repented, they left everything and followed Him

How did Jesus reveal Himself to the masses?
Luke 4:31-35, 40-41 = Taught and healed them, Stopped demons from identifying Him
How did the masses respond to His Epiphany?
Luke 4:36-37, 42-43 = They spread the word, tried to keep Him with them

How did John the Baptist make one last effort to reveal Jesus before he was killed?
Luke 7:18-19, 22 = He sent his disciples to find that Jesus was the promised Messiah
How did those who heard this Epiphany respond to it?
Luke 7:29-30 = The people, including tax collectors, believed; Pharisees didn't

How did Jesus reveal that He came to save sinners?
Luke 5:27-29 = He called Matthew, a tax collector, and ate with him and sinners
How did the leaders of the Jews respond to this Epiphany?
Luke 5:30-32 = They complained that He fellowshipped with sinners

How did Jesus reveal that the Jewish traditions were not in line with God's intent?
Luke 6:1-2, 5, 9-10 = Picked grain & healed on Sabbath - S is for man, not vice-versa
How did the experts in Jewish tradition respond to this Epiphany?
Luke 6:2, 7, 11 = They were furious and began talking about how to get rid of Jesus

How did people respond as Jesus made even deeper revelations later in His ministry?
John 6:60, 66 = Many had trouble accepting His words and left Him
If disciples were leaving Him at this time, how had His relationship with Jewish leaders grown?
John 7:1 = They wanted to kill Him
Did this keep Jesus from going to Jerusalem to celebrate the major Jewish feasts?
John 7:2-3, 6, 8-10, 14 = No, but He waited until midway thru the Feast of Tabernacles
Were the Jewish leaders able to catch Jesus at this time?
John 7:30 = No, His time had not yet come

Did this have any affect on the regular Jews who had not yet seen Him?
John 7:11-13 = They were curious, but very quiet about it
How did they respond when they finally saw His Epiphany?
John 7:15, 25-26, 40-43 = They were amazed & wondered if He was the Messiah
How did the Jewish leaders respond when they heard that the masses were attracted to Him?
John 7:32 = They sent the temple guards to arrest Him
What happened when the guards saw Jesus revealing Himself to the people in the temple?
John 7:45-46 = They returned empty-handed because they accepted His Epiphany

Did the Jewish leaders take this as a sign that Jesus might really be the Messiah?
John 7:47-49 = No, they felt that everyone else was too ignorant to see the truth
What was the result of this attitude?
Matthew 23:13 = They closed the door of heaven to themselves and others
What happened when one of the leaders suggested that they open the door enough to listen?
John 7:50-52 = They blasted him for being open to such a thing

At what point during the 7-day Feast of Tabernacles did all of this take place?
John 7:37a = On the last day
Where would people stay while they visited Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles?
Leviticus 23:34, 42-43 = In tents (tabernacles) to remind them of wilderness tents
Did everyone go home now that the Feast was over?
John 7:53-8:1 = Yes, including Jesus

What do I mean by saying that even Jesus went home?
Luke 21:37-38 = Jesus spent nights on the Mount of Olives when He was in Jerusalem
What did He do there?
Luke 22:39-41 = He talked with His Father - also arrested and ascended there
Did Jesus go to the temple early in the morning as usual, even though the Feast was over?
John 8:2 = Yes, He was there by dawn

Where in the temple did Jesus usually teach?
John 8:20a = In the court of the women by the offerings - everyone would & could go
Who was especially ready for Jesus to show up in this prominent place?
John 8:3-5 = The Jewish leaders, they had a problem for Him to solve
It was common to take difficult questions to a rabbi for decisions. Was this the Jews' intent?
John 8:6a = No, they were trying to catch Him in a trap

What was the penalty for an adulterous affair?
Leviticus 20:10 = Both were to be killed - Mishnah prescribed strangulation
What type of adultery was involved if only the woman was accused & the penalty was stoning?
Deuteronomy 22:13-14, 20-21 = New bride found not to be a virgin
How serious of a sin is adultery in God's eyes?
Exodus 20:14 = It is forbidden specifically in the sixth commandment
Why is adultery so serious? = If you can't be faithful with your closest friend, how can you be faithful to God?
1 Corinthians 6:18-20 = Because it is a sin against God's temple, the place He bought

Does God forbid just the act itself?
Exodus 20:17a = No, even the thought of it - coveting your neighbor's wife
How does Jesus explain this?
Matthew 5:27-28 = Coveting or lusting is committing adultery in your heart
Isn't this stretching the definition? = Sinning in the heart is more significant than the actual act
Matthew 15:19-20 = No, it is the heart that makes you clean or unclean
What can happen if we allow ourselves to be tempted by coveting or lusting?
James 1:13-15 = We get caught up in it and can be led easily into sin and death

How can we resist temptation?
Matthew 26:41 = Only with God's help thru prayer, the body is too weak on its own
What prayer did David write when Nathan reprimanded him for adultery with Bathsheba?
Psalm 51:10-12 = Create in me a clean heart, O God - Offertory in old hymnal

What problem did the Pharisees know Jesus would have with upholding this Law of God?
John 18:31 = The Romans didn't allow the Jews to execute anyone
How would Jesus be seen as contradicting Himself if He were to uphold God's Law?
Matthew 9:12-13 = He preached God's mercy and forgiveness to sinners
But didn't Jesus come to abolish the old law?
Matthew 5:17-20 = No, He came to fulfill the Law so we'd receive His righteousness

How did Jesus make sure everyone understood what the Pharisees were trying to do?
John 8:6b = He didn't say anything for a while, wrote in the dirt with His finger
Although we don't know what He wrote, how could this point to the unchanging Law of God?
Exodus 31:18 = The Ten Commandments were written in stone by the finger of God
Why would some scholars say Jesus was writing the names of the accusers in the dust?
Jeremiah 17:13 = Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust
How did Jesus finally respond? = Word for without sin could mean without sinful desire
John 8:7 = Said that the first stone should be thrown by someone fully innocent
How would this response have been accepted by the Jewish leaders?
Deuteronomy 17:7 = God's Law called for innocent witnesses to cast the first stones

Did Jesus look into the accusers' eyes to see who would claim to be without sin?
John 8:8 = No, He leaned back over and wrote again - Let them examine their own hearts
How do we see that Jesus was letting them condemn themselves?
John 8:9 = They all walked away, the older and wiser ones first
Besides seeing their own guilt, what else may have stopped someone from taking the first stone?
Deut 19:18-19 = False witnesses were to receive the penalty intended for the accused
After all had left, did Jesus tell the woman that everything was alright?
John 8:10-11 = No, He called her into repentance - Go and sin no more
How could Jesus have just let the woman go without condemning her for this great sin?
John 3:17 = God did not send His Son into the world to condemn ... but to save