Let He Who Is Without Sin Cast The First Stone

Day in and day out, people throw stones at others, but stoning someone to death is unacceptable.

In case you are wondering why I made the statement above, this message, Let He Who Is Without Sin Cast The First Stone, will help you understand better.

As a believer in the Christian sect, I have come to realize that many of the challenges we face originate internally. There’s always that quest from within about who is right or wrong and what should be done to whom, how, and why.

In the midst of it all, something important gets missing, and we will discover what that is in the process.

Meanwhile, have you had a chance to read my article titled, You Are The Light Of The World? You should check it out.

He Who Is Without Sin Cast The First Stone Verse

There is one verse of scripture with the common saying, He who is without sin cast the first stone, and the statement is attributed to the Lord Jesus Christ. That verse is John 8:7.

Most English translations of John 8:7, instead of cast, use the word ‘throw’, and I thought I should mention that anyway.

For instance, John 8:7 WEB (World English Translation, which I use most of the time) says, “But when they continued asking him, he looked up and said to them, ‘He who is without sin among you, let him throw the first stone at her.’”

So the statement in the nature (of cast) is typically from the King James Version. However, it is common knowledge that cast is synonymous with throw.

“So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” John 8:7 KJV.

Let He Who Is Without Sin Cast The First Stone Story (The Pericope Adulterae)

In case you are not familiar with it, the story that led to Jesus saying, He who is without sin should cast the first stone at her, is known as The Pericope Adulterae. It refers to Jesus and the adulterous woman. It is scholarly accepted to run through John 7:53–8:11.

Switching over to WEB, let me share with you what I titled, Let He Who Is Without Sin Cast The First Stone Story!

“Now very early in the morning, he came again into the temple, and all the people came to him. He sat down, and taught them.

The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman taken in adultery. Having set her in the midst,

they told him, ‘Teacher, we found this woman in adultery, in the very act.

Now in our law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. What then do you say about her?’

They said this testing him, that they might have something to accuse him of. But Jesus stooped down, and wrote on the ground with his finger.

But when they continued asking him, he looked up and said to them, ‘He who is without sin among you, let him throw the first stone at her.’

Again he stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground.

They, when they heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning from the oldest, even to the last. Jesus was left alone with the woman where she was, in the middle.

Jesus, standing up, saw her and said, ‘Woman, where are your accusers? Did no one condemn you?’

She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you. Go your way. From now on, sin no more.’” John 8:2–11 WEB

A pericope is usually defined as a combination or set of verses that form a unit of thought. The Pericope Adulterae is believed to be a pseudepigraphical passage of scripture. This suggests that the story was attributed to the wrong author.

Some scholars believe the story was an interruption to the account of John’s Gospel, and there are two main reasons I want to share with you.

1. The story beginning in John 7:53–8:11 was claimed to not have been in older versions of the Gospel of John. This suggests that it was added later.
2. The story was believed and is believed by some naturalistic scholars and critics to have been taken from the apocryphal gospel rather than the Canon Gospel of John.

However, the controversy surrounding the passage makes it even more intriguing. One would ask, Why was the passage added later if it was not in the Canon Gospel of John?

A closer look at the story presents an origin of the controversy having a lot to do with the Law of Moses, which didn’t permit adulterers to live after being caught in the act, and how Jesus pardoned the woman so easily.

This second part presents another face of argument, suggesting that the story was removed from the Gospel of John rather than being added to it in the first place. Why so?

Could it be that the people then were not comfortable with it and decided to omit it from the Gospel of John, thereby creating the vacuum for the first argument? Morality here and upholding the law of Moses seem to be reasons that hold water for me. I believe a critical-thinking scholar would agree.

However the arguments may have gone, it is only obvious that the story has a place and blends into the account, if not for Jesus saying, Let He Who Is Without Sin Cast The First Stone, I Do Not Condemn You, and then, Go and Sin No More.

A moralist who is also a die-hard follower of Moses would see it as lawlessness or injustice to allow a woman condemned to death under the law to go scott-free. But they fail to pay attention to the fact that the one who said, I do not condemn you, also said, Go and SIN NO MORE.

One may asked, Why let her go in the first place when, according to the law, she was supposed to be stoned? You can imagine why Christ was hated by those sects.

This reminds me of the time Jesus was preparing to go to Jerusalem and decided to send messengers ahead of Him into a village in Samaria. The scripture says,

“They didn’t receive him, because he was traveling with his face set towards Jerusalem.

When his disciples, James and John, saw this, they said, ‘Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from the sky, and destroy them, just as Elijah did?’

But he turned and rebuked them, ‘You don’t know of what kind of spirit you are.

For the Son of Man didn’t come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.’ They went to another village.” Luke 9:53–56 WEB.

Let He Who Is Without Sin Cast The First Stone Meaning

Now, what did Jesus mean when He said, Let he who is without sin cast the first stone at her?

To answer the above question, let’s take another look at the story and present key points. Here’s what I’ve got for you below:

1. They came with a woman caught in the act.
2. According to the law, Moses commanded them to stone her, but they didn’t.
3. Instead, they brought her to Jesus to test Him.

Hold on, something seems to be missing there! If she was caught in the act, it means there were two of them. What did they do with the man? No details.

However, it seems the reason for bringing the woman before Jesus Christ was basically to test Him. Yet they missed it! The law of Moses says:

“If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away evil from Israel.” Deuteronomy 22:22 WEB.

Going down the line, it would be lawful under Moses if they had presented both the man and the woman caught in the act before Jesus.

However, that was not the case for them. Testing Jesus Christ to have something against Him was their main goal without any show of care for that woman.

From the story, we learnt that Jesus Christ bent over and wrote on the ground while acting like He didn’t hear them. But when they continued asking Him what He would say about her, He stood up and made a statement, then bent over again and continued writing with His finger.

When her accusers heard the statement, they were convicted in their conscience and left from the eldest, one after another.

A common meaning given to the statement of Jesus, rephrased, Let he who is without sin cast the first stone at her, is that only people who are sinless should judge a sinner.

But then, Jesus was speaking directly to those who wanted to stone the woman (with ‘among you’ as shown in the text). And remember, they came to Jesus with the matter in a bit to have something to accuse him of. It’s very possible that they wanted to use the woman to get Jesus Christ to say something incriminating and do away with Him.

While they have committed sins in the past, they all had sin in them. The intent of their hearts was sinful, while they seemed to uphold Moses.

Jesus Christ already knew that and told them in the previous chapter. He said:

“‘Didn’t Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill me?’ The multitude answered, ‘You have a demon! Who seeks to kill you?’” John 7:19–20 WEB.

Even though they didn’t admit it, it was obvious they wanted Him out! They were full of hatred, not only for Jesus Christ but also for other humans they found wanting in their law.

When I looked at the picture from the story, I saw that love was missing on the part of those who took on the responsibility of enforcing the Law of Moses on that woman. Only Jesus Christ introduced the missing mark in the scene.

When He stood up again, He noticed that her accusers had gone. Instead of condemning her, He told her to go and not continue in sin. That, my friend, was most likely taken on the offensive.

However, we can see that Jesus Christ came to save even the chief of sinners, as Brother Paul puts it, not to destroy them.

“The saying is faithful and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” 1 Timothy 1:15 WEB.

We must follow likewise, and we must put love for humanity before any religion or traditions of men.

In essence, as The Believers Today, we should understand that it is not in our place to condemn to death but to correct in love. Let love lead in our hearts.