The Woman Taken in Adultery. John 8, 1-11.
The arraignment of the guilty woman: V. l. Jesus went into the Mount of Olives. V. 2. 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. V. 3. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto Him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, V. 4. they say unto Him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
The members of the Sanhedrin, after the excited discussion which.. broke up their meeting, went each one to his house. But Jesus, having no home or definite place of sojourn in Jerusalem, went to the Mount of Olives, very likely to the town of Bethany, where His friends Martha, Mary, and Lazarus lived, in whose house He was always a welcome guest.
But very early the next morning, as soon as the Temple-gates were opened for the morning sacrifices, He was back again, to continue His work of teaching the people. The Lord was indefatigable in His labors for the salvation of mankind, a shining example to all His servants. Jesus had no trouble in getting an audience; all the people that came to the Temple went to Him, and He addressed the assembly, teaching them words of eternal life. As a teacher in the Temple-school, as a teacher in the house of God, He sat before the people and instructed them.
But the scribes and Pharisees, whose vindictive hatred would hardly give them any rest, were planning some way of taking the Lord unawares and ruining His standing with the common people. They brought an adulteress and placed her before Him, indicating that they were arraigning her before Him as judge.
This was an altogether irregular proceeding, for they had their church courts, as well as their civil judges; but they were seeking occasion against Him. The woman was placed in the midst, to expose her shame before all, whereupon they stated their accusation, incidentally addressing Jesus, with mock courtesy, as "teacher."