Pastor Ralph Posted December 21, 2014 Report Share Posted December 21, 2014 Q1. (John 8:3-6) What was the trap Jesus’ enemies tried to spring on him with the woman taken in adultery? What might be the consequence if he upheld stoning her? What might be the consequence if he said not to stone her? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoiKosum Posted January 17, 2015 Report Share Posted January 17, 2015 (John 8:3-6) What was the trap Jesus’ enemies tried to spring on him with the woman taken in adultery? What might be the consequence if he upheld stoning her? What might be the consequence if he said not to stone her? Jesus' enemies tried to spring a trap on him designed to embarrass Jesus and get Him into trouble. If Jesus were to say the woman should be stoned, he would be going contrary to his longstanding reputation for showing mercy to the broken and disreputable. And it could get him in trouble with the Romans, who might view stoning as overstepping the Jews' authority to exercise the death penalty. if Jesus said she shouldn't be stoned, he could be accused of teaching against the Law of Moses and undermining the social order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pickledilly Posted January 17, 2015 Report Share Posted January 17, 2015 Even with the dispute about this passage, it’s interesting to me that, here, this account immediately follows the disdain of the Pharisees as they challenged Nicodemus, who had defended the right of the accused to a hearing under Jewish Law. The corrupt leadership appears to have been quite selective in who got to claim that right or about upholding the Law at all! These religious enemies were trying to entrap Jesus with an impossible legalistic game in order to confuse, embarrass, and disgrace Him in front of all the “common people” who they considered nothing more than ignorant and foolish. They set Him up to look bad no matter which way He went with an answer to their question of what to do with the adulterous woman. If He said she should be stoned, He would be acting as a Judge against her. But Jesus did not come as a magistrate of the Law (that is for the coming day of His return!). If He judged her, He could not be true to His mission of compassion and mercy, and would violate the glory of His own message of grace to the captive and downtrodden – grace that He brought into the world to ultimately supercede the Law. He’d be unable to do anything greater than what the Law already did – convict and execute judgment. And the woman would have died unjustly, as they did not even bring the charges against her accurately according to the Law. If Jesus said she should not be stoned, He would have been accused of despising and betraying the Law, and would have been discredited as an unreliable sham who couldn’t be trusted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarence Posted January 18, 2015 Report Share Posted January 18, 2015 Q1. (John 8:3-6) What was the trap Jesus’ enemies tried to spring on him with the woman taken in adultery? What might be the consequence if he upheld stoning her? What might be the consequence if he said not to stone her? So it would be against his nature to agree that the woman should be stoned. Jesus is merciful and taught his followers about mercy and love (Luke 6:32). (In addition the law was misquoted as the woman's partner would also be stoned according to the law -see Leviticus 20:10). The notes add that the Roman authorities would take a dim view of a stoning as they were the ruling authority not the Jews. Conversely, if Jesus had said, do not stone her he would also have been in trouble, as the people would have accused him of going against the teachings of Moses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blezed Posted January 18, 2015 Report Share Posted January 18, 2015 (John 8:3-6) What was the trap Jesus’ enemies tried to spring on him with the woman taken in adultery? What might be the consequence if he upheld stoning her? What might be the consequence if he said not to stone her? Jesus was in a no win situation. If Jesus were to say the woman should be stoned, he would be going contrary to his longstanding reputation for showing mercy to the broken and disreputable. And they could arrest him for violating Moses's law. But if Jesus said she shouldn't be stoned, he could be accused of teaching against the Law of Moses and undermining the social order. Jews did not have authority to exercise the death penalty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delivered Posted January 18, 2015 Report Share Posted January 18, 2015 Q1. (John 8:3-6) What was the trap Jesus' enemies tried to spring on him with the woman taken in adultery? The enemies of the Messiah were these men whose hearts were not circumcised, they were determined to trap Jesus with the purpose of finally being able to bring charges against him; Man might have much knowledge of God’s words, but without the love of God’s words and the willingness to follow, will leave room for the “flesh” to rule, therefore, the ones I see in the “trap” are these enemies of the Messiah, the question they asked was not because they were concerned about following God’s rule, or even that they cared that this woman sinned, their reason was to trap and destroy this man that so many were following and believed on, this looks like the flesh in action, and it looks much like the trap of “jealousy”. Q2. What might be the consequence if he upheld stoning her? If Jesus answer was to “stone her” he might have been given over to the Roman courts which did not permit Jews to carry out their own executions. Q3. What might be the consequence if he said not to stone her? Jesus took his time to answer these men as he stooped down and wrote on the ground, what he wrote we do not know, but these men did, and when he finally did speak those heart wrenching words, “You who are without sin, let him cast the “FIRST” stone at her” and again stooped down to write, that these men’s stony hearts were convicted, and one by one they left Jesus to give his answer to the woman, Jesus answer upheld the Torah, God’s law, as Mercy was offered to her, for “LOVE” sums up all of the law, however, it is important that we understand fully the last words Jesus spoke to the woman - “GO AND SIN NO MORE” for without God’s judgment there would be no need for his Mercy to be given. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanMary Posted January 18, 2015 Report Share Posted January 18, 2015 Q1. (John 8:3-6) What was the trap Jesus’ enemies tried to spring on him with the woman taken in adultery? The trap was to discredit Jesus with either the authorities or the people to whom He preached about God's love and compassion for the sinner. To embarrass and humiliate Him...to thwart His message. What might be the consequence if he upheld stoning her? If He upheld stoning her, His message about the love and compassion of God would be challenged or negated. What might be the consequence if he said not to stone her? If He said "No" to the stoning the authorities would turn against Him and accuse Him of not upholding the Law. What I personally love about this story, is that when He stooped down to write with His finger on the dusty stones of the courtyard, He was demonstrating that He is the great I AM who wrote the law with his finger on the stone tablets given to Moses. I believe He wrote the laws broken by the woman's accusers, and most likely the male adulterer was probably also in the crowd. (That also could have been a trap to set her up as well) I also love that God cannot & will not be manipulated...His boundaries and wisdom are unfathomable! He used the very law they were trying to use against the woman, and to try to trap Jesus, to convict the accusers of their own sin and cowardice. Even that was compassionate...in that He didn't call them out one by one and humiliate them publicly. They left on their own in shame and defeat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanMary Posted January 18, 2015 Report Share Posted January 18, 2015 Q1. (John 8:3-6) What was the trap Jesus’ enemies tried to spring on him with the woman taken in adultery Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
royk Posted January 19, 2015 Report Share Posted January 19, 2015 Q1. (John 8:3-6) What was the trap Jesus' enemies tried to spring on him with the woman taken in adultery? What might be the consequence if he upheld stoning her? What might be the consequence if he said not to stone her? What Jesus did is very interesting. He didn't rush in to reply to them. Then He answered their question with His own question. So He never agreed or disagreed with them. He asked for someone perfect to pass judgement on her. He asked the impossible of humans and stunned them into not taking action. This is a very useful and wise model of communication. Ask a question based on the adversary's question. Or reform the question to gain time and think, and to let God speak for you. Jesus was not trying to "Win" He was asking them to honestly think about who could condemn a person to death. Certainly not right for a mob on the street to do this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haar Posted January 20, 2015 Report Share Posted January 20, 2015 Q1. (John 8:3-6) What was the trap Jesus' enemies tried to spring on him with the woman taken in adultery? What might be the consequence if he upheld stoning her? What might be the consequence if he said not to stone her? They wanted to trap him by setting a no-win situation; to see whether he would endorse stoning the woman or setting her free. If he had upheld stoning the woman, they would acuse him of not showing mercy as he had always taught and acted. Further more, this would set him against the Romans authority as the decision would have been above his bounds. I had said that she should be set free, they would have acused him of violeting the law of Moses that required the stoning of such an offender. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen Posted January 21, 2015 Report Share Posted January 21, 2015 1. (John 8:3-6) What was the trap Jesus' enemies tried to spring on him with the woman taken in adultery? What might be the consequence if he upheld stoning her? What might be the consequence if he said not to stone her? They wanted to catch Him in an inconsistency with the law. They wanted an excuse to pick a quarrel to have an excuse to accuse Him. He would be accused of condoning sin ( not enforcing the law of Moses) or enforcing the law of Moses and going against His own teaching to have mercy. God bless! Jen Numbers 6:24-26 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quilter Posted January 21, 2015 Report Share Posted January 21, 2015 1. If Jesus said the woman should not be stoned He would be accused of violating Moses Law. If He told them to execute her they would report him to the Romans, who did not permit Jews to carry out their own executions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lighthouse2014 Posted January 22, 2015 Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 Q1. (John 8:3-6) What was the trap Jesus’ enemies tried to spring on him with the woman taken in adultery? What might be the consequence if he upheld stoning her? What might be the consequence if he said not to stone her? The trap the enemies of Jesus used when they brought the woman caught in the act of adultery was that if Jesus said to stone her then the Roman's may see this as Jews over steeping their authority. If he said she should not be stoned, then they could accuse him of teaching against the law of Moses. If He upheld the law and said to stone her, then he would be accused of inciting a riot or going against Rome and their authority concerning the Jews. This account of the Jewish rulers bringing the woman to Jesus was not lawful according to Mosaic law anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanks Posted January 23, 2015 Report Share Posted January 23, 2015 Q1. (John 8:3-6) What was the trap Jesus' enemies tried to spring on him with the woman taken in adultery? What might be the consequence if he upheld stoning her? What might be the consequence if he said not to stone her? They were desperate to trick the Lord Jesus into saying something wrong and making the wrong decision. Previously they did not like His attitude towards the Sabbath and if they could nail Him here, they might be able to prove to all that He is a self-proclaimed heretic. The Law of Moses states that a person taken in the act of adultery should be stoned to death. The consequence of agreeing to have her stoned would enable them to report Jesus to the Roman authorities for disobeying their laws, as only the Romans had the authority to carry out the sentence of death. The consequence of not having her stoned and letting her go free would be opposing the Law of Moses and they would then accuse Jesus of being unjust. This whole trap was most probably orchestrated by the Pharisees - a complete setup trying to discredit our Lord Jesus. Also, by arresting only the woman they had already disregarded The Law as both the man and the woman were required to be stoned to death (Deuteronomy 22:22). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebeccaMallinson Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 They tried to trap him by giving him a test which they thought he could not pass. Either he would fall into the hands of the Romans for going against their law if he agreed to condemn her to death or he would go against Mosaic Law if he simply forgave her sin, as he had so often done. They also thought they could accuse him of a lack of mercy if he agreed to stone her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteD Posted January 26, 2015 Report Share Posted January 26, 2015 The author John states that this was a trap and as the commentary states it was a "no win situation". It seemed obvious that there was only two possible answers each of which would have been harmful to Jesus. But Jesus knowing their motives exposed them. But he also was able to teach a valuable lesson to all of us about judging, sin and mercy. He masterfully demonstrated that we all sin and that our consciences do indeed do the judging. Yet he also was able in the moment to offer mercy with the warning for her not to go on sinning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grace2free Posted February 16, 2015 Report Share Posted February 16, 2015 Q1. (John 8:3-6) What was the trap Jesus’ enemies tried to spring on him with the woman taken in adultery? It was a trick, a trap to turn the authorities -- and the people -- against Jesus. To have a basis of accusing Jesus v6a. What might be the consequence if he upheld stoning her? If Jesus were to say the woman should be stoned, he would be going contrary to his longstanding reputation for showing mercy to the broken and disreputable. And it could get him in trouble with the Romans, who might view stoning as overstepping the Jews' authority to exercise the death penalty. What might be the consequence if he said not to stone her? But if Jesus said she shouldn't be stoned, he could be accused of teaching against the Law of Moses and undermining the social order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stanley Tavaziva Posted March 11, 2015 Report Share Posted March 11, 2015 Q1. (John 8:3-6) What was the trap Jesus' enemies tried to spring on him with the woman taken in adultery? What might be the consequence if he upheld stoning her? What might be the consequence if he said not to stone her? The Jewish leaders had already disregarded the law by arresting the woman without the man. The law required that both parties to adultery be stoned (Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22). The leaders were using the woman as a trap so they could trick Jesus. If Jesus said the woman should not be stoned, they would accuse him of violating Moses’ law. If he urged them to execute her, they would report him to the Romans, who did not permit the Jews to carry out their own executions (18:31). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoanG Posted June 8, 2015 Report Share Posted June 8, 2015 The Pharisees felt that they had Jesus in a trap. No matter what he tried to do, they could have him arrested or seen as a fraud. To have her stoned by the Mosaic Law, he would have been going against his own teachings of love and forgiveness. He would have lost his followers. However, to go against the law of the land, he would have been arrested on the spot for causing a riot and trying to be above the laws of the land. And at the time, these were also considered the laws from God. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe_Applegarth Posted August 3, 2015 Report Share Posted August 3, 2015 Q1. (John 8:3-6) What was the trap Jesus' enemies tried to spring on him with the woman taken in adultery? What might be the consequence if he upheld stoning her? What might be the consequence if he said not to stone her? In a nutshell, they were attempting to discredit him as a teacher by presenting Him with an unsolvable situation. Jesus taught forgiveness and since adultery was a crime punishable by death under Mosiac Law they believed that if He failed to come up with a viable solution, his position of moral authority will be undermined. If that were to happen, they believed the people will be less likely to listen to Him which would diminish the danger that He posed to them. He was aware that the Romans had stripped the Jewish leaders of the ability to inflict the death penalty so upholding the sentence of death on the woman would be condoning a blatant violation of Roman law and could be arrested. If He said that they should let her off He would be defying the Law of Moses which would put Him further on the outs with the Sanhedrin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Jerry Posted July 30, 2018 Report Share Posted July 30, 2018 They were trying to trap him into saying something against the Law of Moses and if he didn’t rule against the Law of Moses then they could show that he didn’t have any compassion. If he would have upheld stoning her then he would be breaking the law of the land. If he said not to stone her he would be breaking the Law of Moses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godswriter Posted March 18, 2019 Report Share Posted March 18, 2019 Q1. (John 8:3-6) What was the trap Jesus’ enemies tried to spring on him with the woman taken in adultery? What might be the consequence if he upheld stoning her? What might be the consequence if he said not to stone her? They were trying to trap him into telling Him to stone her for adultery. They wanted Him to say something against the law of Moses with the woman who was caught in it. However, He knew it was a trap to began with since only the woman was brought before Him and not the man and the woman both. If he upholds it he would not be showing compassion to her at all and he would not be God's Son. If He didn't uphold it He would be breaking the law of the land. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paula Price Posted September 7, 2019 Report Share Posted September 7, 2019 The religious leaders were trying to trap Jesus so that they could say he was teaching against the law of Moses. Which ever way Jesus answer, they thought they would be able to prove Jesus wrong and guilty. If He said the woman was guilty and should be stoned then He was not the compassionate person he claim to be by healing the sick showing mercy to all. They did not understand nor did they want to that Jesus was sent to fulfil the law of Moses and to make it possible for all men, not just the Jew, to be forgiven of sin and have a chance at salvation,...This was Jesus's mission from God the Father... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Edwards Posted October 7, 2021 Report Share Posted October 7, 2021 The trap set up was either he must give a verdict that the woman must be stoned in accordance with the law of Moses. However; the Jews were not allowed to override Roman law. Christ would appear to be much stricter than the Rabbinical authorities. If he replied that the woman should be freed from death; Jesus's would appear as a Rabbi not faithfull to the Mosaic Law. Stoning her would be tantamount to overriding Roman law. This would be the start of murder or a riot.. Not stoning her-Christ would appear as a Rabbi not faithful to the Mosaic Law. The Rabbinical authorities could denounce Christ to their people as a blaspheme who had no regard for the Torah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irmela Posted July 20, 2022 Report Share Posted July 20, 2022 Q1. (John 8:3-6) What was the trap Jesus' enemies tried to spring on him with the woman taken in adultery? What might be the consequence if he upheld stoning her? What might be the consequence if he said not to stone her? They tried to turn the authorities -- and the people -- against Jesus. If Jesus were to say the woman should be stoned, he would be going contrary to his longstanding reputation for showing mercy to the broken and disreputable. And it could get him in trouble with the Romans, who might view stoning as overstepping the Jews' authority to exercise the death penalty. But if Jesus said she shouldn't be stoned, he could be accused of teaching against the Law of Moses and undermining the social order. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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