Jesus returns again to the temple and the people all gather to hear what He has to say. But the religious authorities decide to set a trap for him. They bring in a woman who has been caught committing adultery and explain that the law requires that they stone her. That means they get to beat her to death with heavy rocks—not good!. The religious authorities want to know what Jesus thinks they should do. Some scholars think that the Romans might have forbidden the Jewish people from putting anyone to death, which, if that's right, means that Jesus is now caught in a pretty tough delemma…. If Jesus says the woman should be stoned, He'll be rejecting Roman law. If He says that she shouldn't be stoned, then He'll be rejecting Jewish law. Seems like a no-win situation. But Jesus is much too smart to be tricked by these guys. Instead of responding to their questions, He says nothing and bends down to write on the ground. The religious authorities aren't having it. They keep questioning Jesus about the woman. Finally, Jesus stands up and tells them, "Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." So, go ahead, throw a rock. After they hear His answer, the religious authorities leave one by one, until no one is left standing there but Jesus and the woman. Jesus asks her if there is anyone left to condemn her. Nope. They're standing there all alone, so the woman tells Him that everyone who accused her is gone. Jesus replies that He won't condemn her either and that she should go on her way and not sin again.
Jesus speaks to the crowd again. He tells the crowd that He is "the light of the world." If anyone follows Him, they will be constantly illuminated with life instead of following the dark path that leads to evil. Light = good. Dark = bad. But the religious authorities, who also swooped back in, tell Him that He's just talking about himself—that means what he says isn't true. You can't witness to yourself, can you? Too bad the religious authorities have no idea what they're talking about. Jesus knows where He's been and where He's going, but these guys have no clue. The religious authorities judge people by human standards, but Jesus doesn't judge anyone. But, if He did judge, He would totally have every right to, being that He's been sent by His Father. When the religious elite hear Jesus calling God "Father" again, they want to know where Jesus's father is. But Jesus tells them that they don't know Him or His Father. If they did, they wouldn't be asking such questions. Jesus says all this in the temple, but no one tries to arrest Him there. But we're guessing the religious authorities aren't very happy with the lecture they just got.
Jesus explains again that soon He's going to be gone. Non-believers will look for Him, but they won't find Him. Instead, they'll die weighted down by their own sin. Jesus repeats again that He is from heaven and will be returning there, while those who refuse to believe in Him will die in sin. The wages of sin is death. The people are confused and ask Jesus who He is. This makes Jesus wonder why He even tries talking to these people—they clearly don't seem to get it. He explains, yet again, that when He's gone, they'll realize who He is. Lots of people start to jump on the believers' bandwagon after they hear this comment. Jesus tells the Jewish people who believe in Him that if they continue following Him, they are His disciples and will be set free by the truth of God. So… they're in. Jesus explains that anyone who sins is a slave to sin. A slave doesn't have his or her own room in the big house, but the Master's Son has a room there. If the Master's Son frees these slaves, they will always be free.
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