John 8 - NIV Application Bible

8:6b–8 It is impossible to know what Jesus wrote in the dust. Jesus responds with his often-quoted statement, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” This is a direct reference to Dt 13:9 or 17:7, which says that those who witness a crime and bring home a successful accusation must be the first to stone the victim.

In the world of antiquity, women who engaged in sexual sin could often find themselves in jeopardy much more quickly than their partners. Jesus may be cutting through the double standard to force the men who accuse the woman to test Jesus and to reflect on their own hypocrisy.

8:8–11 Jesus resumes his writing, and the religious leaders begin departing one by one. In the end, Jesus and the woman are left alone. Because Jesus must have been sitting and the woman standing, he now straightens up (v. 10) and speaks to her for the first time. His questions do not imply that the woman is innocent, since in v. 11 he warns her to leave a sinful life that has been her habit. He simply points to the absence of accusers. They have disappeared. The woman’s response shows considerable respect for Jesus, who has likely literally saved her life.

✜ 7:53—8:11 The motive among these men is to trap Jesus; their strategy includes trapping the woman. Perhaps entrapment characterizes a good portion of their religious effort. They are religious police, although people with religious obsessions like this rarely see themselves this way. Christians who take godly righteousness seriously rarely see themselves this way either. Are we religious police? Does our healthy commitment to righteousness ever lapse into an obsessive preoccupation with the details of people’s personal lives?

Sin is sin, and sexual sin is sin. Yet as we look at the contemporary church, it is fascinating to observe how we do not share the same reaction as Jesus to this woman and her sin. Is our reflex to judge and expel or to forgive and heal? We are not compromising the seriousness of sexual sin when we raise this question. Neither was Jesus. But Jesus had different reflexes.

8:12 This verse records Jesus’ second “I am” saying. The Festival of Tabernacles occurred in the late autumn and celebrated the harvest. The autumnal equinox (where night and day are of equal length) provided the context for a light ceremony that was popular in Jerusalem and was orchestrated during Tabernacles.

Four large stands each held four golden bowls; these were placed in the heavily used court of women. These sixteen golden bowls (reached by ladders) were filled with oil. When they were lit at night, all Jerusalem was illumined. In the very court where the lighting ceremony takes place, Jesus says that he is the true light of Jerusalem and the whole world.

8:13–18 Jesus’ reference to himself as the light that guides people through darkness (as the pillar of light guided the Israelites in the desert) is quickly challenged. The Pharisees’ argument echoes what occurred in Ch. 5. Unfortunately, his opponents have forgotten that in the earlier Jerusalem debate, Jesus demonstrated he had ample witnesses to verify his claim. Now Jesus must repeat again that his Father is a second witness (v. 18).

But something important has now been added. Jesus’ states that his judgment is true and his words are true because of their origins. This is a new and unexpected authority behind Jesus’ testimony.

8:19–20 The root problem with Jesus’ opponents is that they do not know the Father. Without a deep knowledge of God and his love, it is impossible to recognize his Son.

8:21–24 When Jesus says that he is leaving them, the crowd concludes that Jesus must be going to his death. Jesus will indeed die, and this departure will be a return to his Father in heaven.

8:25–28 Once the opportunity to hear and believe in Jesus is gone, the world is lost. But the crowd misses the point altogether. He is not a man with religious insight (from below), but God’s Son (from above). This prompts his audience to ask its most important question. Not “What do you mean?” but “Who are you?”

The supreme moment of revelation is when Jesus is “lifted up,” which is not merely the cross but the series of events that lead to his glorification: betrayal, trial, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. Through these events, the world will see not that Jesus is simply telling the truth but that he is the bearer of God’s divine name (“I am”).

8:30 The faith of some of the Jews in his audience provides an interesting counterpoint to what we learned in v. 20. Some completely oppose him, while others are receptive and welcoming.

8:31–35 With their history of slavery and bondage, Jews viewed freedom as a precious treasure. But here Jesus claims religious heritage does not bring true freedom: truth does (v. 32). Indeed, “the truth will set you free.” But to be set free implies that there is a bondage from which one needs to be freed. The Jews consider themselves to be free (sons of Abraham), but Jesus insists they are slaves (of sin).

8:36–38 Lineage from Abraham is a matter of faith. Any claim to blood heritage that brings spiritual privilege always stands in question. The “Son” who is secure and permanent is likely Jesus himself. If the son in such a large household sets a slave free, he will be free indeed (v. 36). Imagine, then, if the Son of God sets a slave free. The freedom enjoyed would be indescribable.

Jesus acknowledges the leaders descend from Abraham, but their desire to kill him proves that their lives are not guided by the Father. Jesus implies that their activity points to another spiritual father.

8:39–41a As the argument unfolds, Jesus’ opponents see clearly where he is leading. Without Abraham, they cannot belong to God’s people. “We are not illegitimate children” (v. 41) is now a defense and an attack. “We” is emphatic and implies comparison: We are not illegitimate (but you certainly are).

8:41b–42 If Jesus will not permit them Abraham, certainly (they think) he cannot forbid them an appeal to God. But Jesus rejects this as well. Since Jesus himself has come from God the Father, he declares that if their parentage also stemmed from God the Father, they would love the things of Jesus. The problem is not intellectual, but spiritual.

8:43–47 The climax of these implications is finally given in v. 44. His opponents’ desire to kill Jesus unmasks the true nature of their spiritual ancestry: Satan. The murder the devil promoted “from the beginning” refers to Cain and Abel or to Satan’s work that brought death into the world. This is contrasted with Jesus, the architect of truth and life.

8:48–50 The opponents of Jesus now turn back accusations on him (v. 48). This is a radical dishonoring, as the hostility between Jews and Samaritans was intense. This slur likely had become a curse, much like heretic or unbeliever, so Jesus does not even take the time to refute it.

8:51–55 Next, Jesus makes a claim about life and death. Jesus can promise life eternal to those who obey him, which sets him apart from every spiritual luminary in Judaism, Abraham included. At this the leaders answer aggressively. But Jesus’ defense is that he is not glorifying himself; instead, he is faithfully witnessing to his relationship with the Father.

8:56–57 No rabbi would object to Jesus’ claim that Abraham saw the messianic era. But Jesus does not say this. Instead, he says: “Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad” (emphasis added). But how can Jesus and Abraham know each other since Jesus is not even fifty years old?

8:58 The climax of the entire chapter arrives in this verse. “I am” echoes the Greek translation of God’s divine name given in Ex 3:14. To exist before the birth of Abraham—and yet to stand here today—is the boldest claim Jesus has yet made. It recalls John’s affirmation in the prologue (1:1–18) that the Word existed even at the beginning of time.

8:59 Jesus’ audience interprets his words as a divine claim; they are furious because they believe they have heard blasphemy, for which stoning is the legal punishment. Yet Jesus slips away because God has appointed an hour when his death will be necessary. There is a divine plan, and no mob action will interrupt it.

✜ 8:12–59 If Jesus walked into our evangelical churches, if he picked up a religious symbol and challenged the symbol’s original meaning, would we cheer or would we fight? Suddenly we might find ourselves defending Christendom instead of the Christian faith. The reflex that cannot see God in the prophetic voice of Jesus, that rebels and fights and attacks, is the work of Satan among religious people. It is a work that appeared within Judaism and that also appears within the Christian church. It is the work of darkness that is commonplace to the human heart. Above all, it is an evil work that makes a human voice louder than the voice of God.

John 8:12–59 is a severe call to Judaism that it must repent. But it is a call for us too, for those of us who have taken up the mantle worn by the temple leadership of Jerusalem.