John 8:1-12

John chapter 8 begins with Jesus coming from the Mount of Olives and entering into the temple, in which He began teaching “all the people who came to Him” (John 8:1-2). It was in this setting that the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him “a woman caught in adultery.” (John 8:3). Verses four and five show the scribes and Pharisees explaining the situation further, and asking Jesus what they should do: “they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” (John 8:4-5). The scribes and Pharisees already have their answer in the Law--that is, the law according to the Torah provided by Moses (ultimately, by God). This topic is a lengthy and complex subject to tackle, so I will sum up the law that the scribes and Pharisees address as the standards/moral code of God.

1) God's law

To provide just a little more context, the law provided by Moses in the Old Testament (the first five books: the Torah--or “law” in Hebrew) is the standard in which we are judged by God. These standards are stated throughout the Torah, but the highest of the law is established in the Ten Commandments: you shall serve no other gods before the Lord, you shall have no idols, you shall not say the Lord’s name in vain, you shall remember the Sabbath, you shall honor your father and mother, you shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, and you shall not covet (Exodus 2:2-17).

These Ten Commandments are not simply laws of the Old Testament that have faded in importance with many of the others at the Cross--these commandments remain deeply important to God, so they are still something we should contemplate (to go deeper into what the law of God is could take up many articles… I hope my brief explanation can somewhat suffice).

God’s law accuses us and our sin, as is said in Romans, “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.” (Romans 3:20). There is no salvation in the law; it only serves to make us aware that we are sinful. It is God’s law and it is good, but we--being naturally sinful--are prone to break