Jesus went to the mount of Olives for the night. Early the next morning He taught in the temple.
A Woman Taken in Adultery
A woman was brought to Jesus by the Scribes and Pharisees. They accused her of adultery, of being taken in the very act. Jesus wrote on the ground.
Consider the destiny of men whose names are written in the earth, when they could have had their names written in heaven. “O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake Thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from Me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters.” Jer. 17:1313O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters. (Jeremiah 17:13).
These Jewish leaders brought this woman to Jesus so that they could accuse Him. If He answered that they need not follow Moses any more, they would accuse Him of setting aside the Word of God, for Moses had said to stone such a one. If He said, Yes, stone her, it would nullify His work of grace.
Finally Jesus looked up and said, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Being convicted, beginning at the oldest, they went out, one by one. The oldest would have had the most guilt because of more years of sinning.
Jesus asked the woman where her accusers were, and had no man condemned her? She answered, "No man, Lord." Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more."
Jesus did not alter the Jewish economy here, He only added sovereign grace. Only He could. He does not speak here of eternal life or being born again. Jesus spoke, saying, "I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."
The Pharisees said, You bear witness of Yourself, which is not true. Jesus answered that His record of witness was true, because He knew where He had come from and where He would go to. He said, I bear witness of Myself and the Father bears witness of Me, because He sent Me.
They ask where His Father was. Jesus answered that they knew neither Him nor His Father, saying, "If ye had known Me, ye should have known My Father also." All this Jesus spoke in the temple, yet no man laid hands on Him, because His time had not come.
Before Abraham Was, I Am
The Pharisees challenged the Person of Jesus, the Father, and Their home. He told them that they could not go where He would go when He left this world. Later they would seek Him and not find Him; they would die in their sins, if they believed not that He was the Christ. He told them that they were from beneath (Satan's realm) but He was from above (the Father's house)-that they were of this world; He was not.
They asked, "Who art Thou?" Jesus said unto them, "Altogether that which I also say to you" (JND). He spoke of the Father as the One who had sent Him, but they did not understand.
Jesus spoke of His death, saying that then they would know that He was the Christ. Many believed, and Jesus said that if they would continue in His Word they really would be His disciples. "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
A disciple, a follower of Jesus, learns what He teaches. Such might not be believers in their hearts. Judas was a disciple, but he was not saved.
Jesus spoke of their servitude to Satan, saying, "Verily, verily, I say to you, Every one that practices sin is the bondman of sin" (JND). "And the servant abideth not in the house forever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed."
Jesus said, "Ye do the deeds of your father." They answered, "We have one Father, even God." He said, "If God were your Father, ye would love Me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of Myself, but He sent Me.... Which of you convinceth Me of sin?... If a man keep My saying, he shall never see death." They said, "Art Thou greater than our father Abraham?" He replied, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day: and he saw it, and was glad." They said that Jesus was not yet fifty years old, and had He seen Abraham? Jesus said, "Before Abraham was, I am." Then they took up stones to stone Him, but Jesus hid Himself and passed by.