The Woman Caught in Adultery

Biblical Account

The account appears in the Gospel of John 7:53–8:11, and the woman's name is not recorded. While Jesus was teaching in the temple early in the morning, the scribes and Pharisees brought to him a woman taken in adultery and set her in the midst. They said that Moses in the law had commanded that such a woman be stoned, and they asked Jesus for his judgment (John 8:4-5). The text explains that they asked this question to test him, so that they might have grounds to accuse him (John 8:6).

Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with his finger. When they continued to question him, he said, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her" (John 8:7). The people then went out one by one, beginning with the eldest. Jesus asked the woman who remained whether anyone had condemned her, and she answered that no one had. Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more" (John 8:11).

Significance Within Scripture

This scene is read as a classic account of the meeting point between the judgment of the law and the forgiveness of Jesus. Jesus did not reject the law, that is, the commandments of the Old Testament. At the same time, he exposed the sin of those who condemned the woman, and in forgiving her he also charged her not to sin again. For this reason the passage is frequently cited to explain the relationship between law and gospel and between grace and repentance.

Interpretation and Points of Discussion

Textual Question

This passage is absent from several of the earliest major Greek manuscripts. In some manuscripts it appears elsewhere in the Gospel of John or after Luke 21. Many scholars therefore regard the passage not as part of the original text of John but as an early tradition that was added later. Several Korean translations also indicate this with brackets or marginal notes.

Others, by contrast, regard it as an ancient tradition recounting an actual event, and some argue that it was originally part of the Gospel of John. Most churches read and preach this passage as part of the biblical text.

What Was Written on the Ground

The text does not reveal what Jesus wrote on the ground. Some interpreters suggest that he wrote the sins of the accusers, while others connect the act with Jeremiah 17:13, but all such interpretations are speculative.

Popular Traditions and Questions

A popular tradition identifies this woman with Mary Magdalene, but there is no basis for this in Scripture. The text also does not explain why the man who committed adultery with her was not brought forward. This point is often discussed as a question about the fairness of the accusation.

In the Korean Church

The saying "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone" is widely quoted even outside the church. In churches it is often used in exhortations not to condemn others and in sermons on forgiveness and new beginnings. In such contexts it is sometimes treated together with passages such as Luke 6:37-42. Sunday school curricula also use it as a story to teach the love and forgiveness of Jesus.