John 8:11

Context

This is the final verse of the so-called story of the woman taken in adultery in John 7:53–8:11. While Jesus is teaching in the temple early in the morning, the scribes and Pharisees bring him a woman whom they say was caught in the act of adultery. They test Jesus by asking whether she should be stoned according to the law of Moses (8:5-6). Jesus stoops down and writes on the ground, then answers, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her" (8:7). The accusers then leave one by one, beginning with the eldest. When Jesus asks the woman whether anyone has condemned her, she answers, "No man, Lord." This verse records Jesus' reply to her answer.

Interpretation

• Forgiveness comes first: Preachers from many denominations note that "Neither do I condemn thee" precedes "go, and sin no more." In this reading, grace is given before a new life is required. The Reformed tradition sometimes explains this as the order of justification (God's declaring the sinner righteous) and sanctification (the process of being made holy).
• Emphasis on the call to a holy life: Wesleyan theology and the Holiness tradition read "sin no more" as a call that can actually be obeyed. They treat the verse as a basis for the view that a forgiven person can live a life that has turned away from sin.
• No legal verdict: Some commentators take the verse to mean that, because all the accusing witnesses had left, Jesus did not assume the role of judge (compare Deuteronomy 19:15). In this reading, his words are not a declaration that the woman was without sin but a statement that he would not carry out the penalty.
• Augustine, in his Tractates on the Gospel of John, is reported to have described this scene in words to the effect that "two were left: misery and mercy."

Controversies and Issues

• Manuscript question: John 7:53–8:11 does not appear in the oldest surviving Greek manuscripts, and some manuscripts place the passage elsewhere (for example, after Luke 21). For this reason, many scholars hold that the passage was not originally part of the Gospel of John but was added later. Others maintain that it preserves a tradition about Jesus that circulated in the early church. Most churches today read and preach the passage as part of the canon. Several Korean translations indicate the manuscript situation with brackets or marginal notes.
• Quotation out of context: The verse is sometimes cited solely in the sense of "do not condemn" and used as grounds for rejecting all church discipline or any correction of sin. Conversely, "sin no more" is sometimes isolated and used to make forgiveness conditional. Some point out that in both cases the verse must be read together with the verses around it.

In the Korean Church

The verse is frequently cited in sermons on forgiveness and repentance. In sermons warning against a tendency to judge others hastily, it is read together with 8:7.

Related Passages

• John 5:14
• John 3:17-18
• Romans 2:1
• Galatians 6:1
• John 8:34-36