Thomas Aquinas 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)

After discussing the origin of Christ’s doctrine, the Evangelist now considers its power. The doctrine of Christ has the power both to enlighten and to give life, because his words are spirit and life.

First, he discusses the power of Christ’s doctrine to enlighten. Second, he discusses its power to give life, beginning with, amen, amen I say to you: he who does not enter by the door into the sheepfold but climbs in another way is a thief and a robber (John 10:1).

He demonstrates the doctrine's power to enlighten first through words, and second through a miracle: and Jesus, passing by, saw a man blind from birth (John 9:1).

Regarding the first point, he does two things. First, he presents Christ's teaching. Second, he shows the power of this teaching, starting at the verse, Jesus spoke to them again (John 8:12).

The role of a teacher involves two things: instructing the sincere and refuting opponents.

Accordingly, Christ first instructs the sincere, and second, he refutes his opponents, beginning with the passage, and the scribes and Pharisees brought to him a woman caught in adultery.

In this first section, the Evangelist does three things: he mentions the place of the teaching, those who listened to it, and the teacher himself.

This teaching took place in the temple, so he first mentions that Jesus left the temple and then that he returned.

1. He mentions that Jesus left the temple, saying, and Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. When our Lord was in Jerusalem for the festival days, he made it his practice to preach in the temple and perform miracles during the day. When evening came, he would return to Bethany on the Mount of Olives as a guest of Lazarus’s sisters, Martha and Mary. Following this pattern, the Evangelist notes that after Jesus had preached in the temple on the last day of the great feast, in the evening, he went to the Mount of Olives, where Bethany was located.
2. This is also symbolically fitting. As Augustine says, where was it appropriate for Christ to teach and show his mercy, if not on the Mount of Olives, the mount of anointing and of grace? The olive signifies mercy; so also in Greek, oleos is the same as mercy. We are told that the Samaritan applied oil and wine, which correspond to mercy and the severity of judgment (Luke 10:34).
3. Again, oil is healing: wounds and bruises and swelling sores are not bandaged or dressed, or soothed with oil (Isaiah 1:6). It also signifies the medicine of spiritual grace which has been transmitted to us by Christ: God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows (Psalms 44:8); and again, like the precious ointment on the head which ran down upon the beard (Psalms 132:2).
4. Christ’s return to the temple is described as early: and early in the morning he came again into the temple. This signifies that he was about to impart knowledge and manifest his grace in his temple—that is, in his believers: we have received your mercy, O God, in the middle of your temple (Psalms 47:10). The fact that he returned early in the morning signifies the rising light of new grace: his going forth is as sure as the dawn (Hosea 6:3).
5. Those who listened to his teaching were the sincere among the people, as it says, all the people came to him: the assembly of the people will surround you (Psalms 7:8).
6. Their teacher is presented as seated—and sitting down—that is, lowering himself to their level so that his teaching would be more easily understood. His sitting down signifies the humility of his incarnation: you knew when I sat down, and when I rose (Psalms 138:2). Because our Lord became visible through the human nature he assumed, we began to be instructed in divine matters more easily. So he says, sitting down, he taught them, that is, the simple, and those who respected his teaching: he will teach his ways to the gentle, and will guide the mild in judgment (Psalms 24:9); he will teach us his ways (Isaiah 2:3).
7. Then, with the verse, and the scribes and Pharisees brought to him a woman caught in adultery, our Lord begins to counter his opponents. First, we see him being tested so that he can then be accused. Second, he rebukes his accusers, starting at the verse, but Jesus, bending down, wrote with his finger on the ground. Regarding the first point, the Evangelist does three things. First, he mentions the occasion for the test. Second, he describes the test itself, at and said to him: Master, this woman was just now caught in adultery. Third, he explains the purpose of those who were testing our Lord, at and they said this tempting him.
8. The occasion for the test is a woman’s adultery. First, her accusers detail the crime, and second, they present the sinner herself. As Augustine says, three things were noteworthy about Christ: his truth, his gentleness, and his justice. Indeed, it was predicted of him: Go forth and reign, because of truth, gentleness, and justice (Psalms 44:5).
9. He set forth the truth as a teacher, and the Pharisees and scribes had noticed this while he was teaching: if I say the truth to you, why do you not believe me? (John 8:46). Since they could find nothing false in his words or teachings, they had stopped accusing him on that point.
10. He showed his gentleness as a liberator or savior, which they saw when he could not be provoked by his enemies and persecutors: when he was reviled, he did not revile (1 Peter 2:23). Thus: learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart (Matthew 11:29). For this reason, they did not accuse him on this point.
11. He also exercised justice as its advocate. He did this because his justice was not yet understood among the Jews, especially in legal proceedings. It was on this point that they wanted to test him, to see if he would abandon justice for the sake of mercy. So they present him with a known crime deserving of denunciation—adultery: every woman who is a harlot will be walked on like dung on the road . Then they present the sinner in person to influence him further: and they set her in the midst. This woman will be brought into the assembly, and among the sons of God .
12. At the verse, and said to him: Master, this woman was just now caught in adultery, the Evangelist shows them proceeding with their test. First, they point out the woman’s sin. Second, they state the requirement of justice according to the Law. Third, they ask him for his verdict.
13. They point out the woman’s sin when they say, this woman was just now caught in adultery. They detail her sin in three ways, calculated to turn Christ from his gentle manner. First, they mention the recency of her sin, saying just now, for an older sin does not affect us as much, because the person might have made amends. Second, they note its certainty, saying, caught, so that she could not excuse herself. This is characteristic of women: she wipes her mouth and says: I have done no evil (Proverbs 30:20). Third, they point out the gravity of her sin, in adultery, which is a serious crime and the cause of many evils. Every woman who is adulterous will sin (Sirach 9), first of all against the law of her God.
14. They appeal to the justice contained in the Law when they remark, in the law—that is, in Leviticus (Leviticus 20:10) and Deuteronomy (Deuteronomy 22:21)—Moses commanded us to stone such a woman.
15. They ask Jesus for his verdict, saying, but what do you say? Their question is a trap. They are saying, in effect, that if he decides she should be let go, he will not be acting according to justice. Yet he cannot condemn her, because he came to seek and save the lost: for God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him (John 3:17). The Law could not command anything unjust. Therefore, Jesus does not say, “Let her go,” lest he seem to be acting in violation of the Law.
16. The Evangelist reveals the malicious intention of those questioning Jesus when he says, they said this tempting him, that they might accuse him. They thought Christ would say she should be let go, so as not to act contrary to his gentle manner. Then they could accuse him of violating the Law: let us not test Christ as they did (1 Corinthians 10:9).
17. Then, at the verse, but Jesus, bending down, wrote with his finger on the ground, Jesus rebukes his enemies with his wisdom. The Pharisees were testing him on two points: his justice and his mercy. But Jesus preserved both in his answer. First, the Evangelist shows how Jesus adhered to what was just. Second, he shows that Jesus did not abandon mercy, beginning at the verse, he lifted himself up and said to them. Regarding the first point, he does two things. First, he mentions the sentence in accordance with justice. Second, he shows the effect of this sentence, starting at, but hearing this, they left one by one. Concerning the first of these, he does three things. First, we see Jesus writing his sentence; then, pronouncing it; and third, continuing to write it down.
18. Jesus wrote his sentence on the earth with his finger: but Jesus, bending down, wrote with his finger on the ground. Some say he wrote the words: O earth, earth, listen . . . write down this man as sterile (Jeremiah 22:29). According to others—and this is the better opinion—Jesus wrote the very words he spoke: he who is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. However, neither of these opinions is certain.
19. Jesus wrote on the earth for three reasons. First, according to Augustine, to show that those who were testing him would be written on the earth: O Lord, all who leave you will be written on the earth (Jeremiah 17:13). But those who are just and the disciples who follow him are written in heaven: rejoice, because your names are written in heaven (Luke 10:20). Second, he wrote on the earth to show that he would perform signs on earth, for one who writes makes signs. Thus, to write on the earth is to make signs. And so it says that Jesus was bending down, signifying the mystery of the incarnation, by which he performed miracles in the flesh he had assumed. Third, he wrote on the earth because the old Law was written on tablets of stone (Exodus 31; 2 Corinthians 3), which signifies its harshness: a man who violates the law of Moses dies without mercy (Hebrews 10:28). The earth, however, is soft. Jesus therefore wrote on the earth to show the gentleness and softness of the new law he gave us.
20. From this, we can see that three things should be considered when giving sentences. First, there should be kindness in humbling oneself before those to be punished; and so it says, Jesus, bending down. As Scripture says, there is judgment without mercy to him who does not have mercy (James 2:13), and, if a man is overtaken in any fault, you who are spiritual instruct him in a spirit of mildness (Galatians 6:1). Second, there should be discretion in determining the judgment, and so it says that Jesus wrote with his finger, which signifies discretion because of its flexibility: the fingers of a man’s hand appeared, writing (Daniel 5:5). Third, there should be certainty about the sentence given, and so it says, Jesus wrote.
21. It was at their insistence that Jesus gave his sentence. The Evangelist says, when they continued asking him, he lifted himself up and said to them: he who is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. The Pharisees were violators of the Law, yet they tried to accuse Christ of violating the Law and attempted to make him condemn the woman. So Christ proposes a sentence in accord with justice, saying, he who is without sin. He is saying, in effect: let the sinner be punished, but not by sinners; let the Law be fulfilled, but not by those who break it, because when you judge another you condemn yourself (Romans 2:1). Therefore, either let this woman go, or suffer the penalty of the Law with her.
22. Here the question arises as to whether a sinful judge sins by passing sentence against another person who has committed the same sin. It is obvious that if the judge who passes sentence is a public sinner, he sins by causing scandal. Yet, this also seems to be true if his sin is hidden, for we read: when you judge another you condemn yourself (Romans 2:1). However, it is clear that no one condemns himself except by sinning. Thus, it seems that he sins by judging another.
23. My answer is that two distinctions must be made. The judge is either continuing in his determination to sin or has repented of his sins. Furthermore, he is either punishing as a minister of the Law or on his own initiative. If he has repented of his sin, he is no longer a sinner, and so he can pass sentence without sinning. But if he continues in his determination to sin, he does not sin by passing sentence if he does this as a minister of the Law, although he would be sinning by doing the very things for which he himself deserves a similar sentence. But if he passes sentence on his own authority, then I say that he sins—not in the act of justice itself, but from some evil root. Otherwise, he would first punish in himself what he notices in someone else, because a just person is the first to accuse himself (Proverbs 18:17).
24. Jesus continued to write: and again bending down, he wrote. He did this, first, to show the firmness of his sentence: God is not like a man, who may lie, or like a son of man, so that he may change (Numbers 23:19). Second, he did it to show that they were not worthy to look at him. Because he had disturbed them with his zeal for justice, he did not think it fitting to look at them, but turned from their sight. Third, he did this out of consideration for their embarrassment, to give them complete freedom to leave.
25. The effect of his justice is their shame: but hearing this, they left one by one. They left both because they had been involved in more serious sins and their consciences gnawed at them more (iniquity came out from the elder judges who were seen to rule the people,Daniel 13:5), and because they better realized the fairness of his sentence (I will go therefore to the great men and speak to them: for they have known the way of the Lord and the judgment of their God, Jeremiah 5:5). And Jesus alone remained, and the woman standing in the midst—that is, mercy and misery remained.
26. Jesus alone remained because he alone was without sin. As the Psalm says, there is no one who does what is good, not even one (Psalms 13:1), except for Christ. So perhaps this woman was afraid and thought she would be punished by him. If only Jesus remained, why does it say the woman was standing in the midst? I answer that the woman was standing in the center of the disciples, so the word alone excludes the outsiders, not the disciples. Or, we could say she was in the midst of doubt, uncertain whether she would be forgiven or condemned. Thus, it is clear that our Lord’s answer preserved justice.
27. Then, at the verse, then Jesus lifting himself up, said to her, the Evangelist shows that Jesus did not abandon mercy but gave a merciful sentence. First, Jesus questions the woman; second, he forgives her; and finally, he cautions her.
28. Jesus questioned her about her accusers. Thus it says that Jesus, lifting himself up—that is, turning from the ground on which he was writing and looking at the woman—said to her: woman, where are they who accused you? He asks about her condemnation, saying, has no man condemned you? She answers, no one, Lord.
29. Jesus forgives her, and so it says, then Jesus said: neither will I condemn you. He says, in effect, “I, whom you perhaps feared would condemn you because you saw that I was without sin, will not condemn you.” This should not surprise us, for God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through him (John 3:17), and I do not desire the death of the sinner (Ezekiel 18:23).
30. He forgave her sin without imposing any penance. This is because by outwardly forgiving her, he also made her inwardly just. He was able to change her heart so completely with sufficient sorrow for her sins that she was freed from any need for penance. This should not be taken as a precedent for anyone to forgive another without confession and the assigning of a penance based on Christ’s example. Christ has power over the sacraments and could confer their effect without the sacrament itself. No mere human can do this.
31. Finally, Jesus cautions her, saying, go, and sin no more. There were two things in that woman: her nature and her sin. Our Lord could have condemned both. For example, he could have condemned her nature if he had ordered them to stone her, and he could have condemned her sin if he had not forgiven her. He was also able to absolve both. For example, he could have given her license to sin, saying: “Go, live as you wish, and put your hope in my deliverance. No matter how much you sin, I will free you even from Gehenna and the tortures of hell.” But our Lord does not love sin and does not condone wrongdoing. Therefore, he condemned her sin but not her nature, saying, go, and sin no more. We see here how kind our Lord is because of his gentleness, and how just he is because of his truth.