Many times these days, we hear people
quoting Jesus statement:
“He who is without sin
among you, let him throw the first stone.”
(John 8:7)
This is usually quoted or paraphrased as a response to whoever dared point
out something as being immoral or sinful. Yet it is evident, those who
quote this passage have, in many cases, never even read the passage it is
from; much less any of the rest of the scriptures. Why then, in so many
cases, does this ignorant misapplication of scripture silence some men’s
opposition to the depraved? Why does this misuse of scripture go
unchallenged by so many? Could it be there are some not ready to
“earnestly contend for
the faith?” (Jude
3).
Scripture is far too often taken out of
context and twisted to meet a fleshly and untruthful conclusion; to fit the
ends of the user. Peter warned us of this, when alluding to Paul’s letters
“… in which are
some things hard to understand, which those who are untaught and unstable
twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the scriptures”
(II Peter 3:16).
Likewise we can not forget, Satan himself misuses scripture to his own ends
(Matt. 4:5-7).
These problems are even more compounded if we do not have understanding of
scripture ourselves, and we become fodder for any false prophet to tell us
what we want to hear.
Therefore, if we do not already know the
context of this passage, it would benefit us to come to a truthful
understanding of it. For, more than likely, you will hear it misused at
some point, and we must be ready to earnestly contend for the truth. The
truth has nothing to fear, but it should be spoken.
“Therefore do not be
ignorant, but understand what the will of the Lord is”
(Eph. 5:17).
First, to understand what Jesus was saying,
we should read the passage (John
8:1-12), and consider what Jesus was
presented with. Seeing too that this passage deals with an issue with the
Law of Moses, we should also have an understanding of what the Law of Moses
required, for us to fully understand the response of our Lord.
Notice, the woman’s accusers were not
taking her before the elders of the people or a judge like the law required
(Deut. 19:15-21).
The Law of Moses was not a law of vigilantism. If they had the required
proof, they would have taken her to the judges. Yet, why did they not do
this? Could it be, they did not have what the law required to accuse her?
Notice too, the Law of Moses does indeed
require death for the adulterer. Yes indeed it does. For both the woman and
the man! (Lev.
20:10). If they had caught her in
the ‘very act’ as they had charged, where was the man? The Law of Moses
also condemned showing partiality in judgment (Ex.
23:1-2; Deut. 1:17).
Jesus knew the law, and would not
“follow the crowd to do
evil” (Ex.
23:1-2). Knowing that either, the
mob had only one witness and he was hypocritical, or there was more than one
and they were judging partially in favor of the guilty man (in either case,
they were acting unlawfully), and Jesus would not go along. Jesus points
out; the accused was not the only one deserving of condemnation, by His
response “he who is without sin among you…” He also knew the Law of Moses
also required the witnesses of the offense to be the first to cast the stone
at the condemned (Deut.
17:6-7); thus, Jesus reference to
“cast the first
stone.”
Now that we understand the implication of
Jesus statement, it is easy to see why Jesus simply said,
“He who is without sin
among you, let him throw the first stone.”
(John
8:7). We also see why, the guilty
men walked away. They knew Jesus had called their bluff knowing they didn’t
have what the law required to put her to death without condemning
themselves. Therefore, they had no recourse, except to walk away.
However, Jesus did not stop here. He went
on to reemphasize the absence of the witnesses, which were required by the
Law. Therefore, He asked
“women where are those
accusers of yours?” (John
8:10). Since, He Himself was not a
witness according to the Law, He said:
“Neither do I condemn
you, go and sin no more” (John
8:11).
Though Jesus was not an “eye witness” to
her sin, He did not condone her sin. On the contrary He emphasizes her
adulterous act as sin, and tells her to sin no more. He goes on in the next
verse to say, “He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the
light of life.” If we are to follow Him, we must not walk in darkness; thus
we will “go and
sin no more.”
Jesus was not overlooking the law and
excusing her sin. He was following the Law of Moses perfectly. Following
the law was Jesus intention from the beginning of His ministry (Matt.
5:17-20). Therefore, it is an utter
misuse of scripture to use this passage as a means to silence God’s word,
because the Christian may have had sin in his life at some point. Remember
the judgments of scripture are from God.
The apostles did not stay silent either.
Paul said, “...have
no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose
them.” (Eph.
5:11). It’s rather hard to expose
them if anyone who has ever sinned, can not even speak. Paul did not keep
silent!
