So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said to them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
and said.
John 7:46 The officers answered, Never man spake like this man.
Proverbs 12:18 There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.
Proverbs 26:4,5 Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him…
He that.
Deuteronomy 17:6 At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.
Psalm 50:16-20 But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth? …
Matthew 7:1-5 Judge not, that ye be not judged…
He straightened up and said to them
Jesus' physical action of straightening up signifies a moment of authority and readiness to address the accusers. This gesture can be seen as a transition from contemplation to confrontation. It underscores His calm and composed demeanor in the face of hostility, contrasting with the agitation of the accusers. This moment also emphasizes Jesus' role as a teacher who speaks with divine authority.
Let him who is without sin among you
This statement challenges the accusers to self-reflect on their own sinfulness. It echoes the biblical principle that all have sinned (Romans 3:23) and underscores the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, who were quick to judge others while ignoring their own faults. This phrase calls for introspection and humility, reminding the audience of the need for grace and mercy.
be the first to cast a stone at her
The act of casting a stone was a literal execution method prescribed by the Law for certain sins. Jesus' challenge turns the situation on its head, emphasizing the moral and spiritual qualifications required to judge others. This phrase connects to the broader biblical theme of justice tempered with mercy (Micah 6:8) and foreshadows the New Testament emphasis on forgiveness and redemption through Christ. It also highlights Jesus as the ultimate judge, who alone is without sin and has the authority to condemn or forgive.
BSB: “When they continued to question Him”
• The religious leaders refuse to drop the matter (Matthew 22:15–18).
• They are pressing for a verdict that will trap Jesus between Roman law and Moses’ law (Deuteronomy 17:5–7; John 18:31).
• Their persistence exposes hearts set on accusation rather than restoration (Revelation 12:10).
BSB: “He straightened up”
• Jesus rises, assuming the posture of rightful Judge (Isaiah 11:3–4; Acts 10:42).
• His calm authority contrasts their agitated demands (Psalm 2:1–6).
• By physically standing, He signals that the final word is coming from Him, not them (Matthew 7:29).
BSB: “and said to them”
• Divine wisdom will answer human scheming (1 Corinthians 1:25).
• Jesus addresses accusers directly, emphasizing personal accountability (Romans 2:1–3).
• His words will turn the spotlight from the woman’s sin to their own (Psalm 51:3).
BSB: “Let him who is without sin among you”
• The standard is absolute moral perfection (Ecclesiastes 7:20; James 2:10).
• Jesus reminds them that all humanity shares guilt before God (Romans 3:23).
• The phrase disarms self-righteousness and invites self-examination (Psalm 139:23–24).
BSB: “be the first to cast a stone at her.”
• Mosaic Law required the witnesses to begin the execution (Deuteronomy 17:7).
• By tying judgment to moral purity, Jesus upholds the Law yet exposes their unfitness to carry it out (Galatians 3:24).
• Mercy triumphs over judgment when sinners recognize their own need for grace (Micah 6:8; Matthew 9:13).
John 8:7 reveals Jesus as the flawless Judge who exposes hidden sin, upholds divine Law, and extends transforming mercy. His challenge strips away hypocrisy, leveling every heart before God and pointing sinners to the only One truly qualified to bear justice—yet willing to offer grace.
(7) So when they continued asking him.--He would have avoided their question, and continued, as is here implied, for some time in the action of writing; but they will now interrupt that action. It seems to them that He cannot avoid the snare in which they have placed Him, and that He is seeking the only escape in silence. But there is an answer of which they think not, and this He stands up to give.He that is without sin among you.--The word rendered "without sin" is frequent in the classical writers, but is found in this place only in the New Testament. It takes here a special meaning from the context, and is to be understood of the class of sins of which her sin was an instance. (Comp. the word "sinner" as used in Luke 7:37.) Of the immorality among the Jewish rulers, which gives force to these words, evidence is not wanting. Still the wider meaning is probably not excluded. They who ask this question about the Seventh Commandment were themselves breaking the Sixth and the Ninth. It is to be noted, in the application of this answer, that our Lord does not lay down sinlessness as the necessary condition of fitness for taking part in the punishment of guilt. This would be to nullify law, for there could be then no human executive power. He is not speaking in a case brought before the appointed tribunal, but in a case where men assume to themselves the position of judges of another's guilt. In the judge, while he wears the robe of justice, the individual man ceases to exist, and he becomes the representative of God; but these can now speak only as men, and condemn her only by the contrast of a higher purity. (Comp. Notes on John 10:34 et seq.)
Let him first cast a stone at her.--The Received text and some MSS. (not including the Cambridge MS.) read "the stone," the stone referred to in John 8:5. "Let him first" means "let him first of you"; not "let him cast the first stone." This was the duty of the witnesses. (See marginal reference.) We must not take the words to express permission only; it is an imperative, expressing command.
Verses 7, 8. - But when they continued asking him; he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and with his finger was writing on the ground. The imperfect tense of ἔγραφεν, twice repeated, seems more in harmony with the symbolic meaning of the act than with the record on his part of any special sentence of his supreme wisdom. Christ refused to act the part of the civil magistrate, or to countenance stormy outbreak of murderous passion against this flagrant sinner, to save himself from their bitter malice. He rose, when the appearance of indifference could not be maintained, and at once arrested the outbreak of their unscrupulous fury without presuming to repudiate the letter of the Law. He lifted the discussion from the judicial to the moral sphere. He does not mean that none but the sinless can condemn, or pronounce verdict upon the guilty; but he calls for special freedom from similar offence on the part of any man who should wish or dare to display his own purity by taking part in the execution. The narrative would not suggest that every one of these accusers had been in his time guilty of like offence, but ἀναμάρτητος must at least mean that he was free from the desires which might lead to the commission of such sin, and Christ calls for inward saintliness and freedom from all irregular propension. He calls for personal chastity as the only possible moral condition for precipitately executing this ancient and severe law. The question before the crowd (asked so craftily) was, not whether Moses' Law was to stand or not, but whether these particular men, with their foul hearts and spurious zeal, were or were not at that particular moment to encounter the displeasure of Roman power by dashing the stones at the head of this poor trembling creature of sin and shame; whether they were morally competent to condemn to immediate death, and carry the verdict into execution. Before this tremendous summons from the Holy One, conscience could sleep no longer. The hypocrisy of the entire manoeuvre stared them in the face.