August 30, 2026
This message explores Jesus’ encounter with the woman caught in adultery.
(John 7:53-8:11)
Sermon Outline
Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:10-11)
Grace is sometimes messy.
- The Scarlet Letter “A”
- John 8:1-11
- Early Greek manuscripts do not include John 7:53–8:11
Jesus loves for people to be in the presence of the Father.
- John 7:53-8:2 … John 7:53 “Then they all went home,”… John 8:1 “but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.”
Jesus sees people as precious, not as pawns.
- John 8:3-6… “They made her stand before the group… They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.“
Jesus, the King always has the last move.
- Legend of painting called “Checkmate”
- John 8:7-9… “he straightened up and said to them, ‘Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’”
Jesus does not condone sin.
- Is Jesus soft on sin?
- How does God deal with sin and sinners?
- How can God be gracious without being unjust?
Jesus does not condemn sinners.
- John 8:10-11
- He offers new life, new identity, a new future with new freedom.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
- What does this story teach us about how God’s grace can enter complicated,
- broken, and messy situations? Why do we sometimes struggle to extend grace
- when someone’s situation is messy?
- 2. The religious leaders were using this woman to accomplish their own agenda. How
- can we sometimes treat people as problems to solve, examples to make, or issues
- to prove rather than as people made in God’s image?
- 3. The religious leaders thought they had Jesus trapped. What does Jesus’ response
- teach us about responding when people try to manipulate, accuse, shame, or trap us?
- 4. Why do you think Jesus made the accusers examine their own hearts before
- dealing with the woman’s sin? What is the difference between conviction and
- condemnation?
- 5. How can Christians hold these two truths together: sin matters to God, and
- sinners matter to God? What happens when we emphasize one truth while
- neglecting the other?
- 6. Jesus told her, “Go now and leave your life of sin.” How is this command actually an
- invitation to freedom rather than simply another rule to follow?
DIG DEEPER
- Exploring Faith—The disciples were still learning who Jesus was in the gospel, as He revealed Himself through each of the seven signs. What does this story of Jesus and the woman and crowd speak to you about His character and ways? What questions does it raise that you want to explore further?
- Growing in Faith—In what ways are you living like someone who has been forgiven—or like someone who is still carrying the stone of condemnation, either toward yourself or someone else?
- Centered in Faith—Is there someone in your sphere of influence that needs to encounter Jesus in the midst of a messy life? Pray about this person, and that God would give you an opportunity to speak to them. Look for and pursue them in some way this week.