WHEN JESUS GETS ANGRY – PRELUDE

Background:

Pharisees – A Jewish religious and political group that maintained a strict observance of the Mosaic Law (the first five books of the Bible and more specifically Deuteronomy) as well as oral laws and traditions passed down by word of mouth over a period of centuries. The Pharisees asserted that the Scriptures were not complete and could therefore not be understood on their own terms. In other words, God was not specific enough when He gave the Law to Moses. The oral laws and traditions functioned to elaborate and explain what was written. Pharisees taught that these oral laws and traditions had the same authority as the Law/God’s Word. Guess who were the only ones who knew these oral laws and traditions?

Example – the Law says that a person is to observe the Sabbath and keep it holy by not working. What qualifies as work? The Pharisees “added” to God’s word by defining what is work – spitting on the ground to make clay, brushing one’s hair, wearing a hairclip, starting or extinguishing a fire, carrying a mat, writing or erasing letters. Items normally used for work could not even be touched on the Sabbath. They were off-limits for fear of "accidental" use. Examples – touching a hammer or looking in a mirror. In all, the Pharisees developed 39 categories of work prohibited on the Sabbath. Within these 39 categories, well established by the time of Jesus, came the thousands of specific rules governing each situation and contingency to avoid desecrating the Sabbath. In addition to oral laws and tradition related to the Sabbath, there were thousands and thousands more to explain the Law God gave to Moses. Written all down, they would make the IRS code look like a children’s book. According to the Pharisees, a person who fails to abide by these man-made rules is a sinner despised by God and man.

The Pharisees were the religious examples for the Jewish people. They went out of their way to let everyone know how godly/holy they were in the way they dressed (phylacteries – boxes containing Scriptures [Exodus 1:9; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Deuteronomy 11:13-21] worn on forehead and arm; tassels – remember God’s commandments/God’s deliverance symbol of holiness [Numbers 15:37-41] – longer the tassels the holier you were, worshipped (pray, tithe, fast), and related to others (avoided unclean people – sick, poor, Gentiles, tax collectors.)

The Pharisees regarded themselves as the sole interpreters of the Law. The people were to listen to them if they wanted to know what it took to receive God’s love and blessings The Pharisees’ knowledge of the Law, the oral traditions, and extreme devotion to God earned them the respect of the people which enabled the Pharisees to greatly influence public opinion.

The Pharisees despised Jesus for the following reasons. He taught as one who had authority to interpret God’s Law/to speak on behalf of God but that authority did not come from the Pharisees. Also, Jesus regularly broke the oral laws and traditions espoused by the Pharisees – He “worked” on the Sabbath, touched sick people, fraternized with “sinners,” etc. Finally, Jesus’ growing popularity among the people undermined the Pharisees’ influence over the people.

Teachers of the Law/Scribes – Jewish scholars who were professionally trained in the development, teaching, and application of Old Testament law.

Read John 8:1-11

1. vs. 2 Where was Jesus and what was he doing? In front of the temple, teaching the people. Jesus was on Pharisee/teachers of the law turf. The people came to the temple to offer sacrifices and hear God’s word as taught by the Pharisees/teachers of the Law. What Jesus taught differed from what they taught. Read the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew chapters 5-7. “You have heard it said this (from Pharisees/teachers of the Law) … but I (Jesus) tell you this.” Angered the Pharisees/teachers of the Law. Why? They did not give Jesus the authority to teach. What Jesus taught differed from their “official” teaching.

2. What happens in verse 3 and 4? Put yourself in the crowd that day, describe in your words what you see and hear. As you are listening to Jesus’ words, you hear a big commotion behind you. Men dragging a woman, perhaps covered with only a blanket, through the crowd. They are screaming epithets at her … spitting on her … she may be bruised and bleeding. They drop her in the middle of the huge crowd right in front of Jesus.

3. What did the Pharisees and teachers of the law say to Jesus? This woman was caught in the act of adultery. We saw it with our eyes. The Law of Moses (the Scriptures/Word of God) commanded that such women be stoned. What do you say Jesus?

4. What was their motive for asking this question? They wanted to trap Jesus.

5. How was this situation a trap for Jesus?

A) If Jesus said, “This woman is to be stoned to death! Give me a rock! I will be the first to strike her!” Jesus’ reputation among the people would be damaged. Jesus’ teaching was one of love, mercy, compassion for sinners. He would have been viewed by the people as a hypocrite.

B) Only the Roman authorities could carry out death sentences. If Jesus said “stone her,” the Pharisees and teachers of the Law could have him arrested and put on trial by the Romans.

C) If Jesus said “do not stone her,” the Pharisees and teachers of the Law could accuse him before all the people in the temple court of violating the Mosaic Law. Jesus’ ministry would come to a halt.

6. How did John, author of this Gospel and disciple of Jesus, know this was a trap for Jesus? Read Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22 – Where’s the man? How did the Pharisees and teachers of the Law catch this woman committing adultery? Perhaps the man she committed adultery with was one of her accusers? The Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were responsible for teaching and explaining to the people God’s word so that they could live righteous lives. At this moment, they are perverting it for their own selfish gain. Let’s be real. What’s happening here was not about the woman. She was just a tool the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were using in order to damage Jesus’ reputation in the eyes of the people.

7. If you were the woman, what are you thinking/feeling at this moment? Afraid, humiliated, ashamed

8. In the last half of verse 6, what did Jesus do and why? Jesus bent down and began writing on the ground. Greg’s interpretation – He was letting the Pharisees and teachers of the Law have their say. Get it all out before He said His piece.

9. vs. 7 and 8. What did Jesus say and do? Why? Jesus stood up and said “if any one of you is without any sin … if any of you have never sinned or cannot sin … you can cast the first stone.” And then Jesus bent down and began writing on the ground again. Greg’s interpretation – Jesus wanted to give his words time to sink in to the hearts of the woman’s, and His, accusers and convict them.

10. vs. 9 What happened? Was there a pattern? What was significant about the pattern? One by one the woman’s accusers walked away starting with the oldest down to the youngest. The oldest had committed more sins than the youngest.

11. What do you think the woman was thinking/feeling at this moment? Shock, amazement.

12. What questions did Jesus ask the woman? Was there someone there who could?
Where did everybody go? Is there no one left to condemn you? Is there no one left to pass judgment on you? The woman’s response was “No one, master.” Was there someone left who could? Yes – Jesus. He was the only one left who had never sinned or could not sin. He could pass judgment upon the adulteress woman and stone her.

13. vs. 11. What did Jesus say to the woman? I don’t condemn you either. Go. And from this point on sin no more.

14. What lessons do we learn from the actions of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law? Men who were responsible for teaching and explaining God’s Word to the people so that they could live righteous lives used/perverted God’s Word for their own selfish gain. Men who praised themselves for being holy and Godly used ungodly methods in order to trap Jesus. They were being hypocrites. The hypocrisy of the Pharisees and teachers of the Law angered Jesus. From the actions of Jesus? John 3:17 – “For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world but that world through Him might be saved.”