Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. 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. 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. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?  This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him.

John 8:1-6a

The Pharisees failed to take Jesus the day before so now they are going to try to entrap Him in doctrine. If Jesus says to stone the woman as the law says, then they can report Jesus to the Romans for sedition. If He says to not stone her then they can show all the people standing there watching that Jesus does not follow Moses’ law.

Arthur Pink, in his commentary on the Gospel of John says, “The roar of the ‘lion’ had failed, now we will see the wiles of the ‘serpent.’

These leaders show no concern for the woman and they also are not following the law. She was caught in the very act of adultery. That means the man was there as well. BOTH are to be brought to judgment and stoned.

And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.

Leviticus 20:10

John records the reason that they did this. It was not to honor the law. This was to tempt and trick Jesus.  The problem was they were trying to trick the One Who was the Author of the law! Jesus is also infinitely more intelligent that any man in history.

The true purpose of this portion of scripture really has nothing to do with the sin of adultery. This is about the misuse of scripture and religious influence to discredit Jesus.

These men are doing the same thing the devil tried to do when tempting Jesus in the wilderness. They twist and use the word of God to suit their needs. Any who do this are acting like the devil!

The Bible is not for “gotcha” questions or to put down others who do not understand as much as you do. Anyone who uses the Bible to trap or trick people is no better than these men!

The Bible is to tell us the wonders of our Savior Jesus Christ so that we can be set free. The gospel is not designed for, nor should it ever be used for, putting anyone in bondage.