[2026. 3. 15.] Let Him Who Is Without Sin Cast the First Stone | John 8:1–11

[2026. 3. 15.] Let Him Who Is Without Sin Cast the First Stone | John 8:1–11

Sermon by Rev. Jinkook (Danny) Sohn (Hope of Heaven Baptist Chuch) 

 

2026. 3. 15. 주일예배 설교- 요한복음 강해 24
본문: 요한복음 8:1-11
제목: 죄 없는 자가 먼저 돌로 치라

설교자: 손진국 목사 (하늘소망교회)

 

Murder—one person killing another—occurred not long after humanity was created. Cain, the first son of Adam and Eve, killed his brother Abel. Since then, human society has always been filled with killing and being killed. Beneath such actions lie anger, resentment, and curses in the human heart. Even the current war between Iran and the U.S./Israel is rooted in mutual anger, resentment, and curses.

Today’s passage also shows this aspect of humanity. The scribes and Pharisees bring a woman to Jesus, saying she was caught in the act of adultery. [Verse 3] The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group
[Verse 5] and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.”
Is this woman a sinner or not? She is clearly a sinner. [Leviticus 20:10] “If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death.”

But as we read today’s passage, something seems strange. Where is the man? If she was caught in the act, the man should have been brought as well. Something smells suspicious. The clue is in verse 6. [Verse 6] They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. They were plotting to accuse and arrest Jesus. In other words, this woman may have been a victim caught in a trap designed to capture Jesus. But since Scripture does not specify, we do not know whether the man ran away or whether he was part of the scheme and hid after playing his role. What is clear is that the woman committed adultery and the Law commanded that such a person be stoned.

What was their purpose in bringing her to Jesus? To trap Him and ultimately kill Him. In such a situation, there are two possible answers: “Stone her” or “Do not stone her.”

(1) If Jesus said, “Stone her,” what would happen? He would violate Roman law. Jews did not have the authority to execute anyone. The Sanhedrin could recommend execution but could not carry it out without the Roman governor’s approval. Also, if Jesus said to kill her, it would contradict His teachings on love and forgiveness. They wanted people to say Jesus had no love and turn away from Him.

(2) If Jesus said, “Do not stone her,” what would happen? He would be accused of breaking the Law of Moses, and the Sanhedrin would condemn Him.

In today’s passage, we see two responses to a sinner caught in adultery: the response of the Pharisees, scribes, and the crowd stirred up by them, and the response of Jesus. First, let us look at those who brought the woman.

 

1. See the hidden anger and resentment.

What was the attitude of the Pharisees and scribes toward this sinner? Anger and condemnation. They stood with stones in their hands, ready to throw them at the sinner.

What they shouted was the Law—God’s Word. They claimed they were upholding the Law and defending justice. But in reality, hidden within them was anger toward Jesus. Their “justice” was a disguised justice.

I myself had a lot of anger when I was young. In college, under the banner of democratization, I joined protests almost daily, often holding stones or Molotov cocktails. I drank heavily, and fights broke out whenever there was a disagreement. After graduating, I wanted to escape my parents’ interference, so I volunteered to work at a factory lab in Ulsan. But running away did not remove the anger and resentment inside me. I got along with people normally, but whenever I drank, I fought. Later, when I was transferred back to the Seoul headquarters, I still felt like I was carrying fire inside me. Conflicts with my father increased, so I secretly obtained permanent residency and told my parents I would be gone for only a year. With just a carry-on suitcase and a laptop, I immigrated.

But after I came to believe in Jesus, I realized something: everyone has anger and resentment inside them. Most of the time it is hidden, but when someone touches a weak or wounded area, that anger surfaces.

What about you? Find the hidden anger within you. Whom are you angry at? Whom do you resent?

The Pharisees and scribes also had anger inside them. Directly, it was anger toward Jesus for threatening their power. But fundamentally, it was anger and resentment toward God. They claimed to keep the Law, but can anyone keep the Law by human strength? Impossible. So when no one was watching, they broke the Law, and when people were watching, they pretended to keep it. This created a double life, and resentment toward God accumulated inside them. Yet they did not realize it. They claimed to love God and keep the Law and boasted of their righteousness. Then they brought this woman and wanted to stone her.

Romans 7 explains the role of the Law. [Romans 7:7] What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” The Law reveals our sin so that we may realize we are sinners and place our hope in God’s grace.

What is most important in life? Relationships. [Matthew 22:37–40] Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
The most important relationship is between me and God, and then between me and others.

Why did I have so much anger inside me? The root of anger is broken relationships. First, my relationship with my parents was broken. I resented them because I wanted to apply to medical school, but they opposed it and refused to submit the application, so I ended up in a major I did not want. I hated studying. My inner resentment aligned perfectly with the social climate of the time. I shouted for justice and the overthrow of the military dictatorship, holding stones and Molotov cocktails. But the real cause was broken relationships.

Second, fundamentally, my relationship with God was broken. As an atheist, I never imagined that this was the root cause. Like Cain, whose relationship with God was broken, anger filled me. That anger turned into resentment toward my parents, then into social anger and a sense of justice, leading me to pick up stones. When drunk, that anger exploded into fights and destruction.

Are you holding stones? Students and young adults—are you holding stones toward your parents? Husbands or wives—are you holding stones toward each other? Are you holding stones toward your children, neighbors, society, or even the church? Are you resentful toward God because of broken relationships in your life?

Those who wanted to stone the adulterous woman were actually angry at Jesus and wanted to stone Him. Are you holding stones toward Jesus?

The adulterous woman was no different. Why did she commit adultery? Why did she sleep with another man while having a husband? Because she was wounded by her husband. Because she did not receive love from him. Perhaps she resented God for giving her such a husband. Anger and resentment toward her husband and toward God accumulated inside her, and it manifested as adultery. She was no different from the Pharisees—only the form was different.

Look deeply into your inner self. If we do not resolve the anger and resentment inside us, the rest of our lives will continue in worry, fear, and conflict.

[Application] Is there hidden anger inside me? Toward whom is my anger and resentment directed?

So what should we do? How can we resolve the anger and resentment that come from broken relationships? We cannot fix it by our own effort. Today’s passage gives us the answer.

 

2. No one has the authority to condemn.

Look at Jesus in today’s passage. When the people holding stones demanded that He answer whether the woman should be stoned according to the Law, what did Jesus say first? [Verse 7] When they kept on questioning him, 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.”

Then something astonishing happened. The people, filled with righteous anger, quietly put down their stones and walked away one by one. How was this possible? If Jesus said this to us, what would we think? “Do I have no sin?” The people, filled with a condemning spirit, realized through Jesus’ words that they too were sinners.

Yes. Before exposing and condemning someone else’s sin, we must recognize that we ourselves are sinners. Even if we have not committed the same sin as the adulterous woman, we have committed other kinds of sins. To resolve broken relationships and anger, we must first examine ourselves.

Those who held stones had forgotten that they were sinners. Like them, when we hear of someone’s sin, we think, “They deserve punishment.” We express strong anger in the name of justice. But before condemning others, we must consider whether we are guilty of similar sins.

There is only one kind of humanity in this world: sinners. The only difference is between sinners who have been caught and sinners who have not been caught.

When we deal with someone’s sin, we often focus only on that particular sin and become proud because we think we do not commit that sin. Then we condemn and judge. But in reality, we are all sinners in different ways.

What happened when Jesus said, “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone”? Something remarkable. [Verse 9] At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Those who had been holding stones and shouting for justice were convicted in their conscience. They realized they too were sinners—still committing sins, still harboring resentment and anger, still directing it toward others. Their conscience was pierced, and they put down their stones and left.

Dear believers, where are you standing? Among those holding stones? Or among those who have put down their stones? Are you standing among the crowd, judging and condemning someone? Is it exhausting? Put the stone down.

[Application] Have I put down my stone? Or am I still holding it? Do I acknowledge that I am a sinner who cannot condemn others?

 

3. Let go of your strength and widen your heart.

All those who condemned the woman left. Only the woman—caught in sin—and the merciful Jesus remained. But even though her accusers left, something did not leave her: the guilt that Satan gives.

If Jesus had simply sent her away without saying anything, she would have lived her whole life in guilt. She was a caught sinner. Everyone knew her sin. Even if others forgave her, she would condemn herself. She would not be able to lift her head.

Jesus wanted to heal the wounds and shame in her heart. [Verse 10] Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” When she answered, “No one, sir,” Jesus said, [Verse 11] “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Jesus not only made the crowd put down their stones, but He Himself—God in the flesh—did not pick up a stone. Instead, He forgave her so she would no longer live bound by guilt.

He did not assert His righteousness but had compassion on the sinner, loved her, and sat in the place of the sinner. Then He instructed her: she had once lived as a slave to sin, but now, as one forgiven and made new, she must no longer sin.

As I meditate, I often create short phrases to remind myself. While preparing this sermon, I kept repeating, “Faith is not theory. Faith is life.” And I formed another short phrase: “Faith is letting go of strength.” And I often say, “Growing in faith means widening your heart.”

The people who held stones—the scribes and Pharisees—probably held them with a sense of religious duty. They believed they were doing God’s will according to the Law. Sometimes we become like this. The more we practice our faith, the more rigid we become, using God’s Word to judge others, condemning with moral and ethical standards. Then we lose inner joy and peace and become hardened without realizing it.

The more we grow in faith, the more we must let go of our strength. We must put down the measuring sticks we hold. We must put down the stones we carry. We are not judges. What the Lord desires is not judgment or condemnation but compassion and love that embraces others with a wide heart.

I once read a testimony during my QT time that said, “Being good can itself be evil—because when you do not see your own sin, you boast in your goodness and righteousness.” Instead of lifting stones with our goodness and righteousness, may we put down our stones and embrace others with the love and compassion of Jesus, who covers all our sins and failures with His cross.

[Application] As I grow in faith, am I becoming more forceful in my opinions? Whom must I embrace with a wider heart?

 

 

하늘소망교회(담임 손진국 목사)는 뉴질랜드 오클랜드 북부 실버데일에 세워진 한인교회로 '하나님의 마음으로 사람을 살리는 교회'입니다.

Hope of Heaven Baptist Church (Senior Pastor: Rev. Jinkook Sohn) is a Korean church established in Silverdale, Auckland, New Zealand. It is a church that saves people with the heart of God.