The message was brought by Rev. Tim Powers Oct 5, 2025.
John 8:1 Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. 2 And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. 3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, 4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? 6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. 7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. 9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? 11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
The Pharisees would have nothing to do with anyone unlike themselves. They were full of pride, wanting people to lock up to them, to look at them. The world is looking for something to help them. We can’t do much, but God can. But we cannot have a “Pharisee attitude.” The Pharisees brought a woman caught in the act of adultery to Jesus. They wanted to embarrass her–call her out in public. What do we do? Remember we are not good in ourselves; nothing is good about us outside of Jesus. If we embarrass others by calling out their sin publicly, how will they see Jesus? Don’t do what the Pharisees did.
Deuteronomy 22:22 does say she was to be stoned, but it was both the man and the woman. They brought no man to Jesus, just the woman. Where was he? We know they were also up to something else. We don’t know her story. That’s why we can’t judge what someone else does. Past trauma can affect the brain. We have no idea what people have been through. We need to have compassion like Jesus did, always remembering God is the judge.
I think the worst degrees of hell are for the “religious” crowd who is ready to call others out while ignoring their own sin. What did Jesus do? Verse 6 says he stooped down to write on the ground. He could have condemned her. He could have condemned the Pharisees. Instead, he wrote something. We don’t know what it was, but whatever it was convicted their own conscience. It got to them. We are to preach against sin and tell others they need to be saved. However, embarrassing them won’t get them there. It pushes them away. It takes the Word of God to be saved. When we get saved, we aren’t perfect. No one is. All need to get into the Word and learn from it. Apply it to our heart.
Proverbs tells us that there are some abominations that God hates, among them pride, sowing discord, gossip. Many are guilty of these. That’s why we can’t call others out. We don’t broadcast a person’s sin. Pray for them. The Pharisees left one by one when hearing with their hearts the words Jesus wrote on the ground. He asked the woman where her accusers were. He didn’t condemn her; he saved her. That’s what he came to do: save people. One day he will judge, but right now there is a space of grace. Jesus told the woman to go and sin no more. We need to bear fruit in our lives, so the work of the Lord continues. Help people. Show compassion. Look inside your heart first. Yes, we do tell people sin will lead them to hell, but we do it personally and with compassion. I don’t condone sin; the Bible does that. Try to live better every day. Get in the book. Be equipped to tell others about Jesus.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 