| Online Bible Study - John Series - Lesson 15 |
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Goal The Goal of This LessonLearning how Jesus judges “with righteous judgment”.
John 8:15-16 (NKJV)*
15 You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one. 16 And yet if I do judge, My judgment is true; for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent Me.
At the end of this Lesson, you should be able to understand and share with others the answers to the following questions:
1. How did Jesus “judge with righteous judgment” the woman caught in the very act of adultery?
2. Why were the acts of the scribes and Pharisees reprehensible in bringing to Jesus the woman caught in the very act of adultery?
3. Why didn’t Jesus condemn the woman who had clearly violated the Law?
*All referenced Scripture is in the New King James Version unless otherwise noted.
Summary
Jesus judges no one.
When you look at the Gospels, you will not find Jesus judging anyone under the Law. Even though it appears that Jesus judged the scribes and Pharisees, in actuality, Jesus spoke the truth about their spiritual condition in order to reveal to the scribes and Pharisees their blindness to their own sin and how they fell short of God’s glory. Jesus rebuked them only after they justified themselves before His Father. Please notice that Jesus also commended them for their zeal, but upbraided them for not hearing the Word of the Lord; that is Jesus Himself (John 8:47).
The woman caught in adultery.
The story about the woman caught in the very act of adultery demonstrates Jesus’ love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness.
The Pharisees looked to the Law for justice, Jesus forgave and showed mercy to her by saying: “’Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?’ 11 She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more’”(John 8:11). Jesus did not condemn her even though He could under the Law. We are to follow Jesus’ example and not to condemn or judge people even if they fall into sin. We are told, “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted” (Galatians 6:1).
Lesson
Jesus judges no one.
Key Scripture: “You judge according to the flesh; I judge no one” (John 8:15).
When you read the Gospels, you will not find Jesus judging anyone under the Law. Yes, that is correct; nowhere in the Gospels do you find Jesus judging or condemning anyone. Well, what about the scribes and Pharisees? Didn’t Jesus judge them?
No.
Even though it appears that Jesus judged the scribes and Pharisees (see Matthew 23), in actuality, Jesus spoke the truth about their spiritual condition in order to reveal to the scribes and Pharisees their blindness to their own sin and how they fell short of God’s glory. Indeed, as Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind” (John 9:39). Jesus said to the Pharisees,“’If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, “We see.”’ Therefore your sin remains” (John 9:41).
Jesus chastened the scribes and Pharisees because they bound the people with heavy burdens, yet they did not do anything to help them. “For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers” (Matthew 23:4).
The Woman Caught in Adultery.
Now, Jesus did not come to condemn, He came to save. “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:17). Hearing these words and His other teaching on judging “Judge not, that you be not judged” (Matthew 7:1), the Pharisees devised a plan in which they were going to trap Jesus into a situation where He would be forced to judge someone caught in the very act of adultery.
When confronted by the Pharisees, Jesus only stooped down and with His finger wrote something on the ground (John 8:6). The Pharisees persisted. Jesus then stood up and said to them: “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first”(John 8:7). Jesus then stooped down and wrote on the ground as before.
It is easy to judge and condemn others; it is harder to forgive because we want retribution and our “pound of flesh”. Some call it justice; Jesus calls it condemnation. Yet, Jesus was not sent to condemn the world, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17).
If Jesus were to do “justice”, all of mankind would be condemned to the lake of fire for there is no one who is righteous before the Father except Jesus alone (Revelation 20:15). By Jesus’ sacrificing His Life on the Cross and by the Father’s great love and mercy, however, Jesus provided us salvation and when we received Him into our lives, our names were then written in His book of Life.
In the next Lesson, we will learn that if we are called to judge with righteous judgment we can only do so if we are abiding in Jesus.
Harmony of the Gospel
Missing in the Scriptures?
The story of the woman caught in adultery is in the earliest manuscripts, but other early manuscripts do not have this story and there is no corresponding story in the other gospels. Does this mean that this event did not occur?
Absolutely, not.
It is in the earliest manuscripts and that should settle the question. But there are those who question why the story is not in some of the manuscripts. A simple explanation is this: the story that Jesus forgave the adulteress may have been considered as some as extremely scandalous. Remember, during Jesus’ time, the Gentile world was given over to debauchery and the fact that Jesus forgave the woman could be viewed as condoning her actions. However, as we know from the account, Jesus told the woman: “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more” (John 8:11). Jesus lovingly instructed her to “sin no more”.
This story is all about love . . . mercy . . . grace . . . and forgiveness.
If we ever would want to understand what God’s love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness is about, learn from this true life story. It shocked the sensibility of the Pharisees because it was absolutely clear that the Law required her to be put to death. “The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death” (Leviticus 20:10).
But, Jesus, in wisdom asked those who accused the woman, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first” (John 8:7). They could not lift the stones to condemn her. Can you?
DiscussionDiscussion
 You should now understand the answers to the questions posed at the beginning of the lesson. The answers are provided below:
1. How did Jesus “judge with righteous judgment” the woman caught in the very act of adultery?
Answer. Jesus did not judge her. Jesus demonstrated love, grace, and forgiveness to her by saying: “’Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?’ 11 She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more’”(John 8:11). Jesus did not condemn her even though He could under the Law. We are to follow Jesus’ example and not to condemn or judge people even if they fall into sin. We are told, “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted” (Galatians 6:1).
2. Why were the acts of the scribes and Pharisees reprehensible in bringing to Jesus the woman caught in the very act of adultery?
Answer. The scribes and Pharisees act of bringing to Jesus just the woman caught in the very act of adultery was reprehensible because they failed to bring the man as well. They were not seeking justice under the Law for the Law required the man’s presence as well, but they used to woman to test “Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him” (John 8:6).
3. Why didn’t Jesus condemn the woman who clearly violated the Law?
Answer. Jesus was not sent from the Father to judge or condemn man, but to save him. “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:17).
Practical Application
 Can you live judgment free?Yes. We need to understand that we are to judge righteous judgment as Jesus does. Do not confuse this with judging between doing what is right and what is wrong. We are to discern that from the Word, which is confirmed by the Holy Spirit. To judge with righteous judgment means to judge a person with the eyes and heart of Jesus.
To judge with righteous judgment means to judge as Jesus does. What this means (as we will learn in the next Lesson) is that we are to be continually abiding in Him. We need to see that Jesus always seeks reconciliation, even if the person is in the midst of sin as the woman caught in adultery. That is His heart. There will come a time when Jesus will judge us according to what we have done for Him, but not for sin. The Father judged sin on a Cross 2,000 years ago and settled the issue with the bodily resurrection of His only begotten Son, Jesus the Messiah.
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