Church Fathers Commentary John 8:1-11

"but Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. And the scribes and the Pharisees bring a woman taken in adultery; and having set her in the midst, they say unto him, Teacher, this woman hath been taken in adultery, in the very act. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such: what then sayest thou of her? And this they said, trying him, that they might have [whereof] to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground. But when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground. And they, when they heard it, went out one by one, beginning from the eldest, [even] unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the midst. And Jesus lifted up himself, and said unto her, Woman, where are they? did no man condemn thee? And she said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said, Neither do I condemn thee: go thy way; from henceforth sin no more." — John 8:1-11 (ASV)

Alcuin of York: At the time of His passion, our Lord would spend the day in Jerusalem, preaching in the temple and performing miracles, and then return in the evening to Bethany, where He lodged with the sisters of Lazarus. Thus on the last day of the feast, having preached the whole day in the temple according to His custom, He went to the Mount of Olives in the evening.

St. Augustine of Hippo: And where should Christ teach, except on the Mount of Olives—on the mount of ointment, on the mount of chrism? For the name Christ comes from chrism, which is the Greek word for unction. He has anointed us for wrestling with the devil.

Alcuin of York: The anointing with oil brings relief to weary and pained limbs. The Mount of Olives also symbolizes the height of our Lord’s mercy, as the Greek word for olive signifies mercy. The qualities of oil align with this mystical meaning, for it floats above all other liquids, and the Psalmist says, Your mercy is over all Your works.

His coming again to the temple early in the morning denotes the giving and unfolding of His mercy—that is, the now-dawning light of the New Testament in the faithful, who are His temple. His returning early in the morning signifies the new rise of grace.

The Venerable Bede: Next, this signifies that after He began to dwell by grace in His temple, that is, in the Church, people from all nations would believe in Him: And all the people came to Him, and He sat down and taught them.

Alcuin of York: His sitting down represents the humility of His incarnation. When He sat down—that is, after taking on human nature and thereby becoming visible—many began to hear and believe in Him, knowing Him only as their friend and neighbor. But while these kind and simple people were full of admiration for our Lord’s teaching, the Scribes and Pharisees asked Him questions, not for instruction, but only to entangle the truth in their nets: And the Scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, they say to Him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.

St. Augustine of Hippo: They had already remarked upon Him as being too lenient. Indeed, it had been prophesied of Him, Ride on because of the word of truth, of meekness, and of righteousness. As a teacher, He exhibited truth; as a deliverer, meekness; and as a judge, righteousness. When He spoke, His truth was acknowledged; when He used no violence against His enemies, His meekness was praised.

So they created a scandal on the grounds of justice. They said among themselves, "If He decides to let her go, He will not be just, for the law cannot command what is unjust. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned. But to maintain His meekness, which has already made Him so acceptable to the people, He must decide to let her go." Therefore, they demanded His opinion: "What do You say?" They hoped to find an occasion to accuse Him as a transgressor of the law. And this they said tempting Him, that they might have to accuse Him.

But in His answer, our Lord both maintained His justice and did not depart from meekness. Jesus stooped down, and with His finger wrote on the ground.

This was as if to signify that such persons were to be written in earth, not in heaven, where He told His disciples they should rejoice that they were written. Or, His bowing His head to write on the ground is an expression of humility, signifying that His law was now written on the earth which bears fruit, not on the barren stone, as before.

Alcuin of York: The ground represents the human heart, which yields the fruit of either good or bad actions; the finger, jointed and flexible, represents discretion. He instructs us, then, that when we see any faults in our neighbors, we should not immediately and rashly condemn them. Instead, we should first search our own hearts and then examine them attentively with the finger of discretion.

The Venerable Bede: His writing with His finger on the ground perhaps showed that it was He who had written the law on stone.

St. Augustine of Hippo: He did not say, "Do not stone her," lest He seem to speak contrary to the law. But God forbid that He should say, "Stone her," for He came not to destroy what He found, but to seek what was lost. What then did He answer? He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. This is the voice of justice. Let the sinner be punished, but not by sinners; let the law be carried into effect, but not by transgressors of the law.

St. Gregory the Great: For he who does not judge himself first cannot know how to judge correctly in the case of another. For though he knows what the offense is from being told, he cannot judge another’s deserts if, supposing himself innocent, he will not apply the rule of justice to himself.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Having struck them with the weapon of justice, He did not even deign to look at the fallen, but averted His eyes: And again He stooped down, and wrote on the ground.

Alcuin of York: This is characteristic of our Lord; while His eyes are fixed and He seems to be attending to something else, He gives the bystanders an opportunity to withdraw. This is a tacit admonition to us that we should always consider—both before we condemn a brother for a sin and after we have punished him—whether we ourselves are not guilty of the same fault, or others just as bad.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Thus struck by the voice of justice as if by a weapon, they examined themselves, found themselves guilty, and one by one withdrew: And they which heard it, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest.

Glossa Ordinaria: The more guilty of them, perhaps, or those who were more conscious of their faults.

St. Augustine of Hippo: However, two were left: the pitiable and the pitiful. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. The woman, you may suppose, was in great alarm, expecting punishment from one in whom no sin could be found. But He who had repelled her adversaries with the word of justice lifted on her the eyes of mercy and asked, Woman, where are these your accusers? Has no man condemned you? She said, No man, Lord.

We heard the voice of justice above; let us now hear that of mercy. Jesus said to her, Neither do I condemn you. I, whom you feared would condemn me because you found no fault in me. What then, Lord? Do You favor sin? No, surely. Listen to what follows: Go, and sin no more.

So then, our Lord condemned sin, but not the sinner. For if He favored sin, He would have said, "Go, and live as you will. Depend on my deliverance. However great your sins may be, it does not matter; I will deliver you from hell and its tormentors." But He did not say this.

Let those who love the Lord’s mercy, and fear His truth, pay attention. Truly, Gracious and righteous is the Lord.