Brought a woman…

John 8

JOHN 8:01-59

1But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them. 3The scribes and the Pharisees *brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, 4they *said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. 5“Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” 6They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. 7But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court. 10Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” 11She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”]

12Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” 13So the Pharisees said to Him, “You are testifying about Yourself; Your testimony is not true.” 14Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. 15“You judge according to the flesh; I am not judging anyone. 16“But even if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone in it, but I and the Father who sent Me. 17“Even in your law it has been written that the testimony of two men is true. 18“I am He who testifies about Myself, and the Father who sent Me testifies about Me.” 19So they were saying to Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.” 20These words He spoke in the treasury, as He taught in the temple; and no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come.

21Then He said again to them, “I go away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.” 22So the Jews were saying, “Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?” 23And He was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. 24“Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”25So they were saying to Him, “Who are You?” Jesus said to them, “What have I been saying to you from the beginning?26“I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world.” 27They did not realize that He had been speaking to them about the Father. 28So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. 29“And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.” 30As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him.

31So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” 33They answered Him, “We are Abraham's descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”

34Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. 35“The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever.36“So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. 37“I know that you are Abraham's descendants; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38“I speak the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.”

39They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus *said to them, “If you are Abraham's children, do the deeds of Abraham. 40“But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. 41“You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.” 42Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. 43“Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. 44“You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature,for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45“But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. 46“Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? 47“He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”

48The Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?” 49Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. 50“But I do not seek My glory; there is One who seeks and judges. 51“Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he will never see death.” 52The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets also; and You say, ‘If anyone keeps My word, he will never taste of death.’ 53“Surely You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died? The prophets died too; whom do You make Yourself out to be? ” 54Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’;55and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him; and if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you, but I do know Him and keep His word. 56“Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” 57So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” 58Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” 59Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.

JOHN 8:01-11

Introduction to the Eighth Chapter of John

The eighth chapter of John is an alarming one as Jesus attacks the very essence of Jewish religious leadership in their own courtyard. It deals with the nature of Satan, the nature of satanic leadership and surprise—it’s not some “cult” of fanatic worshippers outside of the religion—it IS the leadership and their religious views.

This confrontation was started by the Jewish leaders’ treatment of a woman in the public square. Their attack on her, led to Jesus’ condemnation of them. It is a dark chapter on truth, lies and leadership.

Who are the groups that Religious Leaders attack today? We would no-doubt find Jesus standing in public advocacy of those people. To be “like Jesus” is to be an advocate for those who are attacked publicly by such leaders. Such advocates would stand firm against racism, cultural bias, blocking immigration, admonishing sexual orientation and injustice against the impoverished. It would include both personal bias and social bias. There are no minced words in this chapter and no pulling-the-punches. Jesus calls the religious leaders Children of Satan in the most public space of the temple, even going so far as to attack them in their own treasury.

The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery

This is typical of many misogynistic religious movements. The leaders brought forward only the woman caught in adultery, it’s obvious the man was caught too—and let go—because she was found “in the very act.”

How often do legal and religious institutions blame crimes by men on women; prostitution, pornography, slave trading, abortion? This is largely the fault of men who fear they can’t control (or have lost control of) their own temptations so they outlaw the external cause of the temptation rather than take responsibility for their own passions. For example, it’s been decades now, that the Catholic Church has been trapped by issues around sexuality, homosexuality, abortion, birth control and child sexual abuse. It is this emphasis—on what male leaders in the church seem to fear the most—that has made the church most irrelevant.

They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him

There could only be two reasons the religious leaders brought this woman before Jesus and neither reason had to do with compassion or forgiveness. If Jesus said, “let her go,” then the leaders could blame Christ for breaking Jewish law. If he said, “Stone her” they could blame him for breaking Roman law.

This woman wasn’t a person to the religious leaders, she was a “thing” they would use to condemn Jesus, a point they were trying to make. Her shame, life or death didn’t matter to them at all, just exposing Jesus and trying to bring him down was all that mattered. She was just a means to an end.

Watch that phrase, “Means to an end,” it generally indicates people are justifying wrong actions with their beliefs and what always results is that if you can’t control the means, you won’t be able to control the ends.

But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground

Two things happen when Jesus stoops down. The questions and accusations stop and that makes room for reflection. Today we might call this a mindfulness moment. We might imagine the crowd surged in upon Jesus, both the religious leaders, the woman and the observers, all pressing in, some yelling accusations, others chiming in. Meanwhile, Jesus “bows out.” He gets lower to the ground, lower than anyone else.

I used to do something similar in classrooms that were noisy, I would make myself smaller and quieter, the louder the students became. Eventually (if uninterrupted by another teacher), the students would quiet down. Rather than make myself bigger and louder than the class, I would make an example for them to follow. In training teachers, it’s important to let them know, “If you have to shout to get attention, you’ve lost control.”

In jails, I would do similarly, rather than start sessions with inmates by telling them all my accomplishments, I would ask them to quietly think of someone they valued to whom they would like to dedicate the class. When I gave them time to remember that person, I would ask, “Who would like to share about the person you picked?” Doing this lowered the volume of the class and lowered the bravado and competition so teaching was possible.

There are all sorts of questions about what Jesus might have been writing, but the leaders and the observers all had to bend down to see it.

It’s all conjecture, but some believe he wrote the commandments, so when he asked his next question, they would have had to reflect on their own sins.

Similarly, when we are dealing with an anxious person or a child melting down, we have to slow down and get to their level before we can teach anything. This is called co-regulation. The brain is incapable of learning when it is in panic mode. First, it must be calmed. We can only do this when someone peacefully meets us at our level and takes us to theirs. This is the essence of co-regulation, which is the core of working with people who have experienced adverse childhood experiences and may have ongoing trauma.

“Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?”

It is interesting that John notes the crowd left, beginning with the eldest members. With the written word so expensive, why is this fact so important? The number of people who could write or read were few and access to the tools of writing were costly. It is important to John that we know the crowd dispersed by age, so it is important for us to learn why he might emphasize it.

Erik Erickson tells us that the last stage of life is the balance between integration and disintegration. Our lives lead us to a place where either everything comes together or everything falls apart. It is a time of great peace or great sorrow as we examine our past.

Perhaps, for those who have begun to see their lives integrate, they begin to make sense of the mistakes they’ve made and seek forgiveness—including self-forgiveness and compassion. If we cannot forgive ourselves, we will not forgive others. Not everyone gets wiser as they age, some people just become more isolated and angry (disintegrated).

It is possible that—beginning with the eldest—the crowd began to recount their own transgressions. Given their bloodlust, this may have taken a long time. Did Jesus remain bent and writing in the sand. All signs said he did. What we can say is that this response—of the crowd slowly walking away—would not have occurred without the mindful pause Jesus took. If he had argued with the leaders or the crowd, the result would have been wholly different.

Do we know when it’s time to argue and when it’s time to be mindful? Most of the situations in our world call for a mindful response not an argumentative one. People who come to their own truth are usually much more deeply transformed than people upon whom we try to force our truth.

Often, we want to force a resolution on someone so we can act like we were their savior. It is good to see how Jesus didn’t use that technique.

“I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”

It is so important to remember the meaning of sin, “missing the mark.” People generally don’t miss the mark intentionally. I was so intrigued by this concept that I looked up the most common mistake among archers; “The most common issue among new archers is shooting a bow with the incorrect draw length. The improper draw length is generally the result of using hand-me-down-bows or used bows.” —Jace Bauserman [https://www.themeateater.com/hunt/gear-hunt/the-4-most-common-archery-mistakes].

In other words, most of our “sins” are a result of the bow we have been given rather than the intentionality of our aim.

I’ve learned this repetitively watching incarcerated youth and adults. The majority of people in our penal institutions are there because of childhood trauma and multiple adverse childhood experiences. In other words, we are punishing people for the abuse they received in childhood.

When we look at the majority of so-called “sexual sin” in women throughout history, we can usually find the role of men’s abuse in their past. Whether that abuse is the result of a person or a system.

Jesus doesn’t condemn the woman for drawing on an incorrect bow. He tells her to “sin no more.”

Perhaps his compassion was the gift she needed to rise about the improper bow that was given her in life.

· Condemn [Katakrinō] 2632, to give judgment against, to condemn to cast down or out

· Sin [Hamartanō] 264, to miss the mark, to do wrong

JOHN 8:12-31

“I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

Light is one of the recurring themes of John’s Gospel, he uses the word 30 times! Most of the objects we see are based upon a reflection of light from an alternative source; the sun, stars or moon. But the Greek word used here is the root of Phosphorescence, a chemical light that comes from within an object.

The light of the Gospel is a light that burns from within us out to others. A number of things result from light:

1. Clarity

Light brings clarity to whatever space it occupies.

2. Truth

Light exposes the reality of whatever space it occupies. That revelation has two sides. It exposes in detail—sometimes harsh detail—all the beauty but also all the cracks and wrinkles.

3. Vision

Light gives us better vision; we can see further, and our way is better illuminated.

Light—and darkness—not only affect our lives but affect other people in our lives in a similar manner. It’s not only that light gives us clarity, truth, and vision, it’s that other people received light because of our presence. In like manner, if we are in darkness, we pass those traits on to those around us as well. Let’s look at the results of darkness in our lives:

1. Obscurity

The word for darkness in Spanish is oscura, when we are in darkness our lives become obscure. As we mentioned, above, in Erikson’s language, our lives disintegrate rather than integrate. People often fear obscurity more than they fear darkness.

2. Deception

One of the names for Satan is the Great Deceiver. Darkness not only deceives us, but it also prevents us from seeing clearly. We mentioned earlier that sin means to “miss the mark.” It is nearly impossible to see the mark, let alone miss it, if we are in the dark. The worst scenario is when people become committed to their darkness and lead others into it. Sadly, darkness has a tendency to “go social.” We don’t want to be alone in our darkness and the darker it is, the more we try to heal our emptiness with others. Darkness is not only deceptive, its communal.

3. Emptiness

Instead of living fuller lives, rich and deep with meaning, living in darkness makes us feel hollow and hungry for adulation. The darker our lives, the shallower our lives.

Review these six words and ask which direction your life is honestly heading? One of the best examinations is to look at the people in your circle. Which direction (based on these six indicators) are they heading?

· Light, phōs, [5457], light, daylight, firelight from Phainō, [5316], to shine, flash, appear, become evident

· Darkness, scotia, [4653], darkness, dark

These words He spoke in the treasury

If we didn’t think that Jesus was involved in “money and politics,” these words should remind us. There was probably not a more political place in the life of Israel than the treasury and that is exactly where Jesus sets up shop. This was the Wall Street of his day.

No one could enter the Temple without going by the treasury at any of the gates. There was one at the right gate and one at the left gate and outside the Nicanor Gate so that even women and Gentiles had access to it (though they could not go beyond the Nicanor Gate).

Many of the sermons and actions Jesus shared were done in this area so that women, children and Gentiles could witness them. No doubt the incident with the woman caught in adultery happened in this courtyard, The Court of Women. It is important to note Jesus must have moved from the Courtyard, directly into one of the two temples to share these words.

Wall Street may not be the Capital of the US, but one cannot deny the power of Wall Street in making political and legal policy. Does the light I shine also shine on these institutions? Helping those in need also means impacting the institutions around them. Do I bring clarity, truth and vision to those places and challenge them when they offer obscurity, deception and emptiness to the least of these? Can my voice be heard in halls where gentiles, woman and children gather as well as the centers of politics and greed?

“When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative”

How many people could say that their actions are not self-driven or automatically arise from self-aggrandizement? Jesus is unable to stay silent on behalf of the least of these (including the woman caught in adultery), he is also unable to speak on behalf of himself. He speaks out of compassion and for justice.

Justice prevents him from being silent. Is it the same for us? Can we also say there is no self-interest in our motives?

· Lift Up [Hupsoō] 5311, raise up, exalt

· Initiative [Emautou] 1683, for my own sake, from [Emou] 1700 and [autos] 846, meaning “driven by me,” self-driven, automatically driven by self.

JOHN 8:32-49

39They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus *said to them, “If you are Abraham's children, do the deeds of Abraham. 40“But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. 41“You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father: God.” 42Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me. 43“Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. 44“You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45“But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. 46“Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? 47“He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.”

“We are Abraham's descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”

It is important to see that Jesus is saying these words to those who were only just beginning to believe in him. Harsh words for new followers. Jesus had many followers already, but most followed because they were hoping for miracles or to receive free bread. These are not the kind of followers Jesus wanted to cultivate.

He sought those who would be true disciples and who would live in truth. These first words indicate these were not the people surrounding him at the moment. They are aghast he would tell them that they were not free, that they did not know truth and that they were enslaved by their beliefs.

For them to say “we have never yet been enslaved by anyone” was a wild misconception. They were currently subjects of Rome and had been subjects of many world powers before that. In fact, the whole history of Israel had been mostly one of subjugation. Even in their moments of freedom, they had often been enslaved by their own political and religious leaders.

One might say they were free to worship, but their freedom was dictated by Rome on nearly all fronts. This was exemplified in the trial of Jesus and the trial by which the religious leaders tried to condemn the woman caught in adultery. The Jews could condemn her, but they could not kill her. They could condemn Jesus, but they needed Pilate’s approval to kill Jesus.

Sadly, research indicates that it doesn’t take repeating an uncontested lie many times for it to be accepted as truth. Even as little as 3-4 times. A more accurate statement might have been, “We are free, except…”

But doesn’t that make the concept of freedom a “half-truth?” And isn’t a half-truth worse than a lie because it carries just enough deception to make it acceptable?

It’s important to root out the half-truths in my own life and beliefs if I’m going to truly be free.

You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father.

I can’t imagine any statement that would raise the ire of the religious leaders more than this one that Jesus makes in the public arena. My major reason for focusing on this sentence is to study the Greek word for desires. Epithumia, any time you see the term “Epi” it means above. Thumias (from Thumos) means fierce anger or wrath. The word that John selects implies a meltdown, a child’s tantrum of lost emotional control.

Jesus’ accusation is that the religious leaders have lost control of their ability to control themselves in their lust to serve the devil. They have made their lust into a quest; it is their mission to serve Satan. It is so deeply embedded in their desires that they have turned Satan into their God, their Father.

I can’t help but think of the golden statue of Donald Trump at the CPAC Convention in 2021 as I read this reprimand of Jesus in the Temple. We, humans, have a tendency to turn our deepest desires into a god we worship.

· Desire ,epithumia, coveting, longing, lust from Epi, [1909] above, against, and Thumos, [2372] fierce, angry, passion, wrath

Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

The id, according to Freud, is the primitive and instinctual part of the mind. It contains sexual and aggressive drives as well as hidden memories.

Freud spent a lifetime studying mentally ill people and—as a result—most of his theories emphasize what is mentally wrong with people.

Comparisons can be made between Freud’s Id and the concept of “his own nature” that Jesus is discussing here.

Anytime you see the Greek word Psuedo (or Psuedes), it means to lie or be false.

Satan is passionate about lying, it is his very being (nature) to be false, even painful for him to be truthful (unless it is half-truthful).

He lives in a vacuum of truth.

By saying these leaders resembled their father, Jesus was saying the cultures they had created were vacuums of truth. Black holes to all that was light: clarity, truth and vision. Instead, their culture was filled with obscurity, deception and emptiness.

The best way to identify these types of cultures will be by the fact that they will attach to anyone or anything that supports their half-truth and—like a black hole—suck all the light from them before then discarding them.

We make a mistake when we believe that these people, groups or Satan are after us personally, they are after our light, there is no intent for relationship. Once, we are dried husks, they will look for other victims to fill their frenetic desires and sooth their id.

· Nature [idios] 2938, own’s distinctness, individuality

· Liar [psuestēs] 5583, from [psuedomai] 5574, false, lying