Yes, the story teaches that God is willing to forgive, but expects growth in spirituality after forgiveness.
Les Feldick highlights that Jesus, despite the Pharisees' demand for stoning, does not condemn the woman but tells her to 'go and sin no more.' This shows forgiveness without excusing sin, and the expectation that she will leave her old life and grow in righteousness.
John 8:1-11 — The full account of the adulterous woman, showing Jesus's response and the lesson of forgiveness and repentance.
In John 8, the scribes and Pharisees bring a woman caught in adultery to Jesus, reminding Him that the Law of Moses commanded stoning. They ask Jesus for His judgment to trap Him. Jesus stoops down and writes on the ground, as if not hearing them. When they continue, He says, 'He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.' One by one, the accusers leave. Jesus then asks the woman, 'Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?' She replies, 'No man, Lord.' Jesus says, 'Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.'
Les Feldick uses this passage to illustrate that Jesus did not excuse the woman's sin but showed grace and mercy. He emphasizes that God's forgiveness is freely given but comes with a command to leave sin behind and pursue a life of holiness. This aligns with his broader teaching that salvation should produce spiritual growth and a changed life.
Jesus does not engage in their trap but stoops to write on the ground, showing His mastery over the situation. He then challenges the sinless among them to cast the first stone, shaming the accusers and revealing their own guilt.
Jesus does not condemn the woman, meaning He does not pronounce judgment or penalty. However, He tells her to 'sin no more,' implying that forgiveness is not a license to continue in sin but a call to repentance and transformation.
The Adulterous Woman
Les Feldick recounts the story of the woman taken in adultery, emphasizing that Jesus, though tempted by the Pharisees, responded with grace and a call to 'go and sin no more.'
God's Divine Appointments in Scripture – Ruth, John 4 & The Tabernacle Explained | Bible Study
But it was her hap to land in the very field where she had to be to meet her future husband, which in turn put her in the genealogy of Christ. Now another interesting one just comes to mind. Leave that one and come all the way back to John's Gospel, chapter 4, because when I get on a line of thought, I just can't help it.
What the Bible Really Says About Marriage — 1 Corinthians 7 Explained
And I said, What in the world is the problem? And she said, My husband John. And I said, Yeah, I've heard about John. He was something else. He had more than one mistress, and she knew it, and as a result of her salvation, he became her number one burden. And I guess I happened to have a New Testament in my suit pocket, it was at a wedding, and so I showed her these two or three verses.
The Mark of the Beast & the Unholy Trinity Explained
And Jesus, of course, is speaking to the church of Thyatira, and He says, "...and notwithstanding, I have a few things against thee, because thou permittest that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach, and to seduce My servants, to commit fornication, or immorality, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols." Would you like to be that woman? Why, no. See, it's in a bad light.
Why Even "Good People" Can't Escape God's Judgment — Romans 2
Oh no, it goes into that subconscious and it just lays there until just the right time, and then boom, it comes up into the conscience, and they remember it. Verse 2. "...but we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them who commit such things, even if it's only covertly.
Why Jesus Told His Disciples: Don't Go to Gentiles
But she comes back, and she says, "...truth Lord, yet the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table." Now I didn't realize until I was brushing over some of these things in preparation for today, that the word woman as it's used here, and as Jesus addressed Mary, was not as we would think of it today as more or less a degrading term.
Genesis 2-3 Bible Study: How the Fall of Man Changed Everything
And all I want you to see here is that we have the very same set of circumstances listed that we're to be warned of that Eve faced at the forbidden tree. Verse 15 of 1 John 2. Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world, for if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Now here it comes, verse 16.
Did Adam Sin Out of Love? The Hebrew Servant Explained
Go back with me again to 1 John, chapter 2, because if you remember last week, we were looking at the set of circumstances that Eve had to face, and I think all the Bible makes it so clear that every one of us, none of us escape it, are faced with these same set of circumstances in the area of temptation.
John 8:3-4: And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
Shows the woman's guilt is undeniable, setting the stage for Jesus's response.
John 8:5: Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?
The accusers present the legal demand to test Jesus.
John 8:7: So 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.
Jesus silences the accusers by pointing to their own sinfulness.
John 8:10-11: When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
Jesus extends forgiveness and commands her to leave her life of sin.
No, Jesus does not approve. He tells her to 'go and sin no more,' showing that forgiveness is not an endorsement of sin but a call to repentance.
Les Feldick suggests Jesus was demonstrating His authority and calmness, not being drawn into the Pharisees' trap. The Bible does not specify what He wrote.
Watch the Teaching: Godly Sorrow vs. Worldly Sorrow — 2 Corinthians 7:10 Explained