Book of John,  Discipleship

#28 John 8:1-11

October 26, 2021 /

Let’s get started…

Leader:  Have your Student write down the Passage and the Questions. Then, give them a week to prepare.

Passage: John 8:1-11

Questions: 

  • 1) What is it the woman deserved?
  • 2) What does Jesus give her?
  • 3) Why do the Pharisees leave?
  • 4) What questions do you have?

Then, this week the Student will:  

  • Read the Passage every day!
  • Handwrite the Passage
  • Answer the questions 

When you do meet again, you will go over this… 

John 8:1-11

8 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

11 “No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Notes for Leader:

Open your time together with prayer. Be sure to ask the Holy Spirit to lead the conversation and teach what needs to be learned and heard during your discussion. He will give you the words that you need! May you grow closer together and closer to Jesus.

Briefly review what you learned last week. Now, let’s see what else we can discover about who Jesus is…

1) What is it the woman deserved?

According to Leviticus 20:10, she deserved to be stoned – death!

2) What does Jesus give her?

Grace and mercy.

Grace is getting what you do not deserve… for this woman, life.

Mercy is not getting what you do deserve… for this woman, death.

Jesus says, ““Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

11 “No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Jesus first gives her grace, since she comes before him as a repentant sinner, then he reminds her of the truth, to leave her life of sin. In Jesus, we have grace AND truth. 

3) Why do the Pharisees leave?

The Pharisees leave (oldest first), as they recognize that we all have sinned!  Even themselves!  We learn more about sin in Romans 3:9-26

These Pharisees are righteous, and though they recognize that they have sinned, they do not recognize their personal need for a savior. They turn and walk away without repenting of any of the sins that they just recognized. The Law that they are trying to uphold has just convicted them of breaking it, yet, they do not judge themselves with the same measure that they judge this woman. 

Be careful of what you call out as sin in others’ lives if you are not willing to use the same judgment in your own life.

In order to know God, we all must be given Grace.  God gave us Jesus to pay for our sins so that we can come before Him and have life!

Notes: 

This passage is full of intrigue.  The Pharisees have, most likely set a trap for Jesus (where is the man in this adulterous occurrence, according to the law he, too, should be stoned). They have created a scenario where Jesus will have to choose to save this woman and therefore not obey the Jewish Law, or obey the law and hurt his growing image as the “Savior of Sinners”.

This passage also allows us to lean into the sinful nature of every person!  The openly immoral person needs Jesus’ grace and mercy, obviously.  However, the highly religious are just as sinful before our Holy God. These Pharisees, are hiding their intent to kill Jesus behind upholding the Law and are scheming to bring harm to Jesus (and this girl!). They need of Jesus’ saving love as much as the girl in the center of this story.

Remember in Romans 3:23 it says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”… EVERYONE.

4) What questions do you have?

Don’t be nervous about this one… the Holy Spirit will help you answer. If you are discipling a young child (and most others!), remember that they are not expecting a doctoral dissertation when you answer, so keep it simple and true. And, it is ok to say, “I am not sure, let’s look into that together.” And then add that question to your study for next week. 

Allow the Spirit to lead a great conversation!

***Here is the passage and questions for next week’s study. Give your student the week to write out the passage and prepare for your discussion.

Passage: John 8:12

Questions: 

  • 1) What does the phrase “I am” mean?
  • 2) Where else in John have we learned about light, darkness, and life?
  • 3) Memorize John 8:12
  • 4) What questions do you have?