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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
THE WOMAN TAKEN IN ADULTERY DISMISSED
IT is surprising to see in what a variety of ways the wickedness of the human heart will betray itself: sometimes in the commission of gross iniquity, and sometimes in apparent indignation against it: sometimes in open hostility against Christ, and sometimes in hypocritical professions of regard for him. Who that had seen the zeal of the Scribes and Pharisees against an adulterous woman, would not have thought them the purest of the human race? Who that had heard their citations of Moses’ law, and their respectful application to Christ as an authorized expositor of that law, would not have supposed that they truly feared God, and desired to perform his holy will? Who would have imagined that the whole was only a murderous plot against the life of Christ? Yet so it was. These accusers had no indignation against the sin of adultery, nor any love to the law of Moses, nor any zeal for the honour of God: they were actuated solely by an inveterate hatred of Christ, and a determination to find, if possible, some occasion against him, that they might accuse him. Their professed object was, to punish the woman; but their real object was, to lay a snare for his life.
We forbear to notice, that in some old manuscript copies this short history is not recorded, because there can be no doubt of its authenticity; and the very care with which the early Christians examined the authenticity of every part of Scripture, is a strong proof of the genuineness of the New Testament, as it has been handed down to us.
That which we wish you particularly to observe, is,
I. In what manner Christ extricated himself—
The snare laid for him was well contrived—
[The Scribes and Pharisees brought him a woman, who had been taken in the very act of adultery, and was therefore incapable of uttering a word in her own defence. The law of Moses had prescribed that all who were guilty of that crime should be put to death. If the woman were not absolutely married, but only espoused, she was still to be put to death, and that by stoning [Note: Lev_20:10. Deu_22:22-24.]. Hence, it should seem, the particular death to which adulterers in general were condemned, was that of stoning [Note: Eze_16:38; Eze_16:40.]. But the point which they referred to our Lord’s decision, was, whether they should execute the law, or not. Now there were but four things which our Lord could do: either he might acquit the woman, or condemn her, or dismiss the matter without any attention to it, or refer them to another tribunal; but whichever of these he should do, they would make it a ground of accusation against him: if he should acquit her, they would represent him as an enemy to Moses, and a patron of iniquity: if he should condemn her, they would accuse him to the Romans as resisting the government of C æ sar, and encouraging sedition: if he should dismiss the matter, they would say he shewed no zeal for the honour of God, whom he pretended to call his Father, and had no pretensions to the office of the Messiah, whose first object would be to “make an end of sins, and to bring in everlasting righteousness.” If he should refer them to any other tribunal, to whomsoever he referred them, whether to the Roman or Jewish authorities, they would equally find matter of accusation against him; either of sanctioning the usurpation of the Romans on the one hand, or of setting himself against it, on the other: so that, whatsoever he should say or do, they would lower him in the estimation of the people, and open a way for his destruction.]
And how did he escape the snare—
[At first he declined giving any answer at all; but stooped down, and wrote upon the ground. What he wrote, we know not: nor are we told precisely what he meant by that significant action [Note: The words “as though he heard them not,” are printed in italics to shew that they are not in the original: and certainly they had better not have been inserted; because it was manifest that he did hear them. But by this action he might intend to intimate, that they should take heed to what was written: or perhaps he wrote the very sentence which he afterwards pronounced.]: but his enemies, conceiving that they had gained their point, became more and more urgent for a decisive answer: he therefore addressed himself to their consciences; and as, in the case of idolatry, the law required that the witnesses should be the first in stoning the offender to death, so he bade the person that was without sin among them begin to inflict the punishment of death upon her. He did not by this intend, that under the Gospel dispensation human laws should not be executed by any who were not themselves without sin; but lie determined to confound these vile hypocrites, who, under a mask of zeal against sin, were perpetrating the greatest of all sins. To give time for his word to operate on their consciences, he stooped down and wrote again: and behold, these accusers, self-condemned in their own minds, and fearful lest their own secret abominations should be exposed to public view, withdrew as privately as they could; the elder part among them, as being most fearful of exposure, retiring first, and gradually the younger also following their example; so that in a little time not a single accuser was left. What an evidence was here of the power of conscience, when awakened by the Spirit of God, and armed against the sinner by a Divine power! Truly, the blindest must see, the most obdurate must feel, the most impudent must blush, and the most confident be confounded, when once the voice of conscience is distinctly heard: and we cannot but think it a good way of silencing a contentious and subtle adversary, to make a direct attack upon his conscience, and to fix his attention upon what has passed within his own bosom.
It is not necessary to suppose that all the accusers had been guilty of the precise sin which they laid to the charge of this woman: there was now enough of their past iniquities presented to their view to produce the desired effect, of constraining them to proclaim their own shame, and to suspend the persecution which they had so wickedly commenced. Thus was our Lord relieved from every difficulty; and his enemies “fell into the pit which they had digged” for him.]
It remains for us now to notice,
II. In what manner he dismissed the woman—
We hear of no triumph that he expressed over his disconcerted adversaries: he merely asks where they were; and finding that they had withdrawn, and no longer chose to appear in the quality of accusers, he dismisses the woman,
1. With condescending kindness—
[“Woman, hath no man condemned thee? neither do I condemn thee: go thy way:” It is not my office to exercise the power of the civil magistrate; nor is it my wish to denounce the judgments of God against thee. “I came not into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through me might be saved [Note: Joh_3:17.].” Go, improve the time that is now unexpectedly allotted thee: be thankful that thou art not now sent into the presence of thy God with all thy sins upon thee: let the “space which is given thee for repentance,” be well employed: lose not an hour in seeking forgiveness with thy God. Go to thy chamber, and pour out thy soul before him: and remember, that the mercy which thou art experiencing at my hands in relation to thy body, is an emblem of what I am ready to bestow upon thy soul. “I came into the world to seek and to save that which was lost:” nor shall the vilest of the human race be condemned before me in the great and awful day, provided he penitently confess his sins, and humbly seek acceptance through me: “Though his sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool [Note: Isa_1:18 and Pro_28:13.].”]
2. With an authoritative admonition—
[Greatly as our Lord delighted in mercy, he would not so exercise it as to give the least countenance to sin. Whilst therefore he dismisses her, he adds a solemn admonition, “Go, and sin no more.” Think not lightly of thy sins, because I have expressed such tenderness towards thee; neither imagine that they will not be punished hereafter, if thou continuest in the commission of them. The “goodness and long-suffering and forbearance which thou hast experienced, should lead thee to repentance:” and, if they do not, they will aggravate thy condemnation to all eternity. Go therefore, and sin no more. Let a sense of thy past dangers deter thee: let a consideration of the mercies vouchsafed to thee stimulate thine exertions: let the hope of future mercies encourage thee: let the prospect of a future judgment fix thy purpose, and strengthen thy resolution. Above all, commit thyself to God, who alone is “able to keep thee from falling, and to present thee faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.”]
Address—
1. The self-satisfied and self-applauding Christian—
[Many who are vehement against flagrant transgressors, and many too who profess an outward reverence for Christ, are yet exceeding vile in the sight of the heart-searching God. Before men, perhaps, they appear in a favourable light: but if all that they have thought and done in secret were written on their foreheads, they could not endure the sight of their fellow-creatures, but would retire from society, as these Scribes and Pharisees retired, filled with shame and confusion. Let each one of us examine the records of his own conscience; and recollect all the transactions which have passed from his youth up to the present hour: ah! who amongst us would venture, after such a survey, to justify himself? Know ye, brethren, that God sees all that has passed, whether ye see it or not: you may have forgotten it; but it is all recorded in the book of his remembrance, and will be exposed by him to the view of the whole assembled universe. Learn then to view yourselves as he views you; and to esteem yourselves as he esteems you: and know, that you never have a just estimate of your own character till you see yourselves to be the chief of sinners. Cast away, I say, your high thoughts of yourselves, and learn to lothe and abhor yourselves in dust and ashes.]
2. The sorrowful and self-condemning Christian—
[You see in the history before us how tender and compassionate the Saviour is. If then conscience have arrested you, and brought you into his presence, remember, that he is rich in mercy, and ready to forgive; and that he will never condemn any but the impenitent and unbelieving [Note: Isa_55:7. 1Ti_1:15-16.] — — —
At the same time, I would affectionately caution you against mistaking the nature of true repentance. Perhaps conscience has condemned you, and you have felt ashamed and confounded on account of your great iniquities. But if you have gone no further, you are no true penitent. The Scribes and Pharisees advanced thus far; but they sought not mercy at the Saviour’s hands: they went from him, fearing more the decrease of their reputation, than the loss of their souls. Had they been truly penitent, they would have blessed him who had thus flashed conviction on their minds, and have implored his more effectual power to change and renew their souls. Be not contented then to resemble them; but seek to know all the hidden abominations of your hearts, and to have them washed away in the Redeemer’s blood. Be assured that true repentance will lead you to Christ: and, if you do not find this effect from your convictions, you may know infallibly that your sorrow is not of “a godly sort,” and that your very repentance needs yet to be repented of.
It is of great importance for you to make these distinctions; because many continue all their days guilty, but not humbled; condemned, but not forgiven.]
3. The Christian who professes to have obtained mercy of the Lord—
[The admonition given to the woman is equally addressed to every true believer. And here must I suggest a caution against a common, but fatal error. If persons abstain from some particular sins which they have before committed, they are ready to think that they have done all that is required of them. But to turn from gross iniquities is a small matter; and to perform some particular duties is a small matter. Pride and self-complacency may carry us thus far: but the grace of God must carry us much farther. We must lay the axe to the root: we must put away “our besetting sin:” and must become “new creatures,” and “be renewed in the spirit of our minds.” Mark this expression: it conveys a more complete idea of sound conversion than almost any other expression in the whole sacred volume: contemplate it: enter into it: beg of God to reveal to you its true import. The bent of your minds was earthly: a directly opposite bent must now be given it; just as a river which recently flowed with rapidity towards the ocean, now flows with equal rapidity towards the fountain-head: the tide has turned, and completely changed its course. Thus must it be with you: heavenly things must now have the place in your affections that earthly things once held; and the delight of your soul must be in them, as that of a licentious man is in his pleasures, or an avaricious man in his wealth. To surrender up all your faculties and powers as a living sacrifice to God, is the proper fruit of his mercies, and the proper evidence of his grace. Never think then that you have yet attained, but press forward for higher degrees of grace and holiness; and make it your endeavour to “stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.”]