“Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee?”
The full verse · John 8:10 · KJV
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Asked by
Jesus: the Son of God and promised Messiah, left alone with the woman after her accusers had gone out (John 8:9)
Asked to
Woman Caught in Adultery: the woman the scribes and Pharisees brought to Jesus, "taken in adultery, in the very act," now standing alone before Him (John 8:3-4, 9)
The Scene
After the scribes and Pharisees go out one by one, Jesus is left alone with the woman "standing in the midst" (John 8:9).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionJesus' questions led the woman to see for herself what had happened. His first question points to the empty space where her accusers had stood. His second asks her to say out loud that no one had condemned her. Gill reads the second question as asking whether anyone had been able to carry out the sentence Jesus had proposed (John 8:7). Matthew Henry says Christ aimed to bring both to repentance: the woman by showing her mercy, and her accusers by showing them their sins. The questions prepare her to hear Jesus' own word about her.
The Response
What Scripture recordsShe answered simply: "No man, Lord" (John 8:11). Then Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more." Barnes explains that Jesus meant He would not condemn her "in the sense of judicial condemnation, or of passing sentence as a magistrate." Gill likewise says Christ spoke as Saviour, not as a civil judge, and called her to repentance. Jesus released her and, in the same breath, called her to a changed life.
Historical Context
The world behind the words"Accusers" translates katēgoroi, the word for those who bring a charge in court, and "condemned" translates katekrinen, to pass sentence against. Both are legal words. The accusers had come to use the law of Moses against her (John 8:5), but they had all gone out, "beginning at the eldest, even unto the last" (John 8:9).
Barnes notes that Jesus did not take up the role of a magistrate here. The case had been brought to Him as a test (John 8:6), and He would not pass the civil sentence they wanted. That is why His words focus on her future: "go, and sin no more" (John 8:11).
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyHere the One who had the right to judge chose not to condemn. Later in this chapter Jesus said, "I judge no man" (John 8:15), and earlier John had written that "God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved" (John 3:17). This scene shows that mercy in action.
But Jesus' mercy is never indifference to sin. He called her act sin and told her to leave it behind (John 8:11). The accusers wanted punishment without mercy. Jesus gave mercy that leads to holiness. His questions turned a woman who had been made a public example into a person addressed one to one.
Look Closer
Why did Jesus ask where her accusers were?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Lord Jesus, when I feel surrounded by accusing voices, what do You want me to hear from You?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- Jesus' "Neither do I condemn thee" came with "go, and sin no more." Why do you think mercy and a call to change belong together?
- Tell about a time grace you did not expect made you want to live differently.
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
If you belong to Christ, the voices that condemn you do not have the last word. Jesus is the One who decides, and He did not come to condemn but to save (John 3:17). You can stand before Him honestly, as this woman did, and hear His word instead of theirs.
His mercy is not permission to keep sinning. The same sentence that releases her sends her out to "sin no more" (John 8:11). Receive His mercy as a fresh start, not as a reason to stay the same.
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources