John 8:1-30 - Lesson Ten Outline

 

I.          The Woman Caught in Adultery  (VV. 1-11)  Chapter  8 begins with the story of the woman caught in adultery, a story which is an interruption of Jesus' discourse in the Temple.  Roger L. Fredrikson  (The Preacher's Commentary: John)  believes the story is placed at the beginning of Chapter 8  because it makes visible the meaning of judgment.  All through the Feast of the Tabernacles Jesus is being judged by the Jewish religious leaders. They say that He has never studied (7:15), or He has a demon (7:20), or He comes from the wrong place to be the Messiah (7:27).  They claim that His witness is not true (8:13), that He is a Samaritan (8:48) and repeatedly seek to take Him by force (7:30). 

 

"But paradoxically Jesus becomes their judge, not because He came to judge them, but because of who He is, 'the true witness,' the 'One who has come from above.'  So as light reveals darkness, Jesus unmasks His enemies' angry motives."  (Roger L. Fredrikson).

 

II.         Grace and Law .

 

A.        The Trap.  According to James Montgomery Boice (The Glory of God's Grace) this trap was despicable but shrewd.   Three important matters were at stake: (1) the life of the woman, (2) Jesus' teaching about the gracious nature of His kingdom and (3) the law of Moses, which had been given by God.              If Jesus showed love to the woman and recommended that her life be spared, He would be setting Himself against the divinely given law of Moses.  If Jesus should uphold the law, then He would have to sacrifice both the life of the woman and His teaching about the compassionate nature of His kingdom. 

 

B.        The Problem.  The real problem for all humankind arising from this story is, how can God show love to the sinner without being unjust?

 

C.        The Answer.  The answer is, because of Jesus' atoning work on the cross by which He took upon Himself the punishment for the sins of us all.

 

D.        Grace and Law.   According to Dr. Boice, here are some characteristics of the rule of law versus the rule of grace, which comes to us by Jesus Christ:

 

"1.       Under law God demands righteousness from His people; under grace God gives righteousness to them.

 2.        Under law righteousness is based upon Moses and good works; under grace righteousness is based upon Christ and Christ's character.

 3.        Under law blessings accompany obedience; under grace God bestows blessings as a free gift.

 4.        Under law there is nothing in men or women by which we can achieve what God demands; under grace that power is made available."

 

E.        The Story's End.  Not only did "grace" come through Jesus Christ, but "truth" did also (John 1:17).  Dr. Boice says that the truth in this matter is that God still requires holiness of His people.  Jesus forgave the woman but in doing so added that she should go and leave her life of sin.

 

1.            The religious rulers went from Jesus into increasing spiritual darkness.    "They had their law, but it did not save them.  It hardened them, and they perished by it."  (Dr. Boice)

 

2.            Only the woman caught in adultery was saved, and "it was because she had discovered that, although law had come through Moses and condemned her, grace and truth had come through Jesus Christ."  (Dr. Boice)

 

F.         How does the story itself speak to us today?

 

1.            First, Jesus made clear that only those who are without fault have the right to express judgment on the faults of others.    Only God and His Son have the right to judge.

 

2.            By example Jesus taught that our first emotion towards anyone who has made a mistake should be one of compassion. 

 

"The basic difference between Jesus and the scribes and Pharisees was that they wished to condemn; he wished to forgive.  If we read between the lines of this story, it is quite clear that they wished to stone this woman to death and were going to take pleasure in doing so.  They knew the thrill of exercising the power to condemn; Jesus knew the thrill of exercising the power to forgive.  Jesus regarded sinners with pity born of love; the scribes and Pharisees regarded them with disgust born of self-righteousness."  (William Barclay)

 

III.        Light and Darkness  (V. 12).

 

A.        Setting.  Following the story in the Gospel of John, we find that Jesus is still at the Feast of Tabernacles.  Light is Jesus' theme in 8:12 which contains the second "I am" statement found in John's Gospel:  "I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."  The rest of Chapter 8 forms an important unity with Chapter 9 in which Jesus plays out the message that He is the light of the world by giving light to a blind man.  "A man who once lived in darkness experiences divine light, and (ironically) those who claim to possess the light (the Pharisees) are told that they live in darkness."  (Gary M. Burge - The NIV Application Commentary: John) 

             

B.        Secular and Theological Contexts.   

 

1.            The Feast of the Tabernacles occurred in late fall and celebrated the harvest.  The autumn equinox (where day and night are of equal length and thereafter the nights become longer and the days shorter) formed the context for a light ceremony during the Feast.   

           

2.            Light is a rich Old Testament symbol.  The exodus background to the Feast would remind the people of the pillar of cloud and fire by which God led the people. John's gospel refers to three "wilderness images": the manna (Ch. 6), the water flowing from the rock (Ch. 7) and the pillar of fire (Ch. 8)  The Psalmist stated that "the Lord is my light" (Ps. 27:1).  The coming age of the kingdom would be a time when "the Servant of the Lord" would be as "a light to the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth." (Is. 49:6) and when God Himself would be His people's light (Is. 60:19-22).  Job said "By his light I walked through darkness" (29:3) and Micah wrote: "When I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me" (7:8).  Zechariah 14 described a union of light and living water in the "Day of the Lord."

 

3.            The Feast's ceremonies bring together multiple motifs: harvest, drought, the coming winter darkness, desert wandering and a vision of end times.

 

4.            In the very court of the Temple where the lighting ceremony takes place, Jesus stands beneath the sixteen lit bowls of oil and proclaims that He is not only the true light of Jerusalem but of the whole world.

 

C.        Spiritual Context.   

 

1.            Jesus is referring to the countless times that God's saving work in the world is described as "light."  John 1:5 says that "the light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not overcome it."  God's first creation was light (Gen. 1:3).  God led the Israelites in the desert with light (Exodus) and they were taught to sing, "the Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear?" (Ps. 27:1)  God's wisdom given to the world is a light that illumines His people (Prov. 8:22).  Psalm 119:105 says "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path."

 

2.            John in his gospel uses the word "light" to describe the work of Christ 16 times.  Early in his gospel (1:4) John writes "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men."  Even his letters use the term.   I John 1:5 says "God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all."

 

3.            After He declared that He is the light of the world, Jesus went on to say that "whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."  To "follow" Jesus means to believe on Him and to trust Him.  The results are life and light for those who believe.   If Jesus is the light, then walking "in the light" is what discipleship is all about (1:7).  "One of the major messages in this gospel is that the spiritual light is now shining, but people cannot comprehend it - and they try to put it out (John 1:4-5)." (Warren Wiersbe - Be Alive)

 

IV.       The Open Witness  (VV. 13-20).   

 

A.        Jesus is quickly challenged by the religious leaders.  They said that Jesus was bearing witness to Himself, something the Jewish courts did not accept as evidence.  The Jewish leaders had apparently forgotten that during Jesus' last visit to Jerusalem He had showed that there were ample witnesses verifying His claim:  John the Baptist (5:33), His miraculous works (5:36), the Father (5:37) and the Scriptures (5:39). 

 

1.            The very nature of light bears witness to itself.  It tells you it is there.   

 

2.            Jesus used the law to answer their challenge.  He quoted a principle found in the Old Testament that the testimony of two witnesses was valid.  Jesus repeated again that He Himself gave witness and so did His Father.  How does God bear witness to the authority of His Son?  William Barclay suggests that the witness of God is in Jesus' words, His deeds and in the effect of Jesus on people.

 

3.            The word "witness" is used 7 times in these verses.  Jesus made clear that the witness of the Pharisees was not reliable because their judgment was faulty.  They judged by human standards but He judged on the basis of spiritual knowledge. 

 

B.        Jesus' judgment and His witness are true because of their origins:  Jesus comes from the Father.  He does not speak on His own authority but is speaking what the Father has told Him to say (John 3:34).  The word "Father" is used 21 times in Chapter 8.  The root of the problem with the Jewish leaders was that they did not know the Father.  Without a knowledge of God and His love, they cannot recognize His Son.

 

C.        John tells us that Jesus is not seized by the Pharisees at this time because "His time had not yet come."               

 

V.        Life and Death (VV. 21-30).  

 

A.        There are a number of parallels between this section of Chapter 8 and 7:25-36: At the center of the conversation is the question of Jesus' origins.

 

1.            The people do not understand what He is saying.  Jesus will indeed die and leave earth to return to His Father in heaven.  They cannot follow Him there because they do not believe His claims and thus will "die in their sins."

 

2.            Jesus had given the Jewish leaders every evidence that He is the Son of God and they refused His evidence.  They continued to ask "who are you?"  Jesus made several claims to deity in V. 26.  He said that He had much to say in judgment of them and according to the Jews judgment belonged only to God.  He claimed to the sent by God and He claimed to have heard from God the things that He taught. 

 

B.        Jesus then spoke of His own death, when he would be "lifted up" on the cross.  The phrase "lifted up" has a dual meaning in that it referred not only to His death by crucifixion but also His exaltation and glorification

 

C.        Jesus made two more claims.  Not only was He sent by the Father but the Father was with Him because He always did what pleased the Father. (V. 29).

 

D.        In VV 20 and 30 we have again two reactions that parallel what we have read elsewhere in John's gospel:  some of His audience completely oppose Jesus while others are receptive and believe.