John 8:6

"Now in our law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. What then do you say about her?”"

Key Reflection

In this passage, Jesus challenges the Pharisees' readiness to judge and condemn, highlighting the righteousness required for judgment as outlined in their own law. By pointing to the prescribed penalty of stoning, Jesus exposes the hypocrisy of those who fail to live up to the moral standards they enforce on others.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Verse 6. Tempting him. Trying him, or laying a plan that they might have occasion to accuse him. If he decided the case, they expected to be able to bring an accusation against him; for if he decided that she ought to die, they might accuse him of claiming power which belonged to the Romans--the power of life and death. They might allege that it was not the giving an opinion about an abstract case, but that she was formally before him, that he decided her case judicially, and that without authority or form of trial. If he decided otherwise, they would have alleged that he denied the authority of the law, and that it was his intention to abrogate it.

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