Juan 8

VBL · Chapter 8/21

1pero Jesús fue al Monte de los Olivos.

2Temprano por la mañana, Jesús regresó al Templo donde muchas personas se reunieron alrededor de él, y él se sentó y les enseñaba.

3Los maestros y los fariseos le trajeron una mujer que fue atrapada mientras cometía adulterio y la hicieron permanecer ahí en pie, delante de todos.

4Ellos le dijeron a Jesús: “Maestro, esta mujer fue atrapada en el acto del adulterio.

5Ahora, en la Ley, Moisés ordenó que debemos apedrear a estas mujeres. ¿Qué dices tú?”

6Ellos decían esto para ponerle una trampa a Jesús, a fin de condenarlo. Pero Jesús se arrodilló y escribía en la tierra con su dedo.

7Ellos seguían exigiendo una respuesta, así que él se levantó y les dijo: “Cualquiera de ustedes que nunca haya pecado puede lanzar la primera piedra sobre ella”.

8Entonces se arrodilló otra vez y siguió escribiendo en la tierra.

9Cuando ellos escucharon esto, comenzaron a marcharse, uno a uno, comenzado desde el más anciano hasta que Jesús quedó en medio de la multitud con la mujer que aún estaba allí.

10Jesús se levantó y le preguntó: “¿Dónde están ellos? ¿No quedó ninguno para condenarte?”

11“Ninguno, Señor”, respondió ella.

12Jesús habló una vez más al pueblo, diciéndoles: “Yo soy la luz del mundo. Si me siguen, no caminarán en la oscuridad, porque tendrán la luz de la vida”.

13Los fariseos respondieron: “¡Tú no puedes ser tu propio testigo! ¡Lo que dices no prueba nada!”

14“Incluso si yo soy mi propio testigo, mi testimonio es verdadero”, les dijo Jesús, “porque sé de dónde vengo y hacia dónde voy. Pero ustedes no saben de dónde vengo ni hacia dónde voy.

15Ustedes juzgan humanamente, pero yo no juzgo a nadie.

16Incluso si yo juzgara, mi juicio sería justo porque no estoy haciendo esto por mi cuenta. El Padre que me envió está conmigo.

17La misma ley de ustedes dice que el testimonio de dos testigos es válido.

18Yo soy mi propio testigo, y mi otro testigo es mi Padre que me envió.

19“¿Dónde está tu padre?” le preguntaron.

20Jesús explicaba esto mientras enseñaba cerca de la tesorería del Templo. Sin embargo, nadie lo arrestó porque aún no había llegado su tiempo.

21Jesús les dijo de nuevo: “Yo me voy y ustedes me buscarán, pero morirán en su pecado. Adonde yo voy, ustedes no pueden ir”.

22Los judíos preguntaban en voz alta: “¿Acaso va a matarse a sí mismo? ¿Es eso a lo que se refiere cuando dice ‘adonde yo voy ustedes no pueden ir’?”

23Jesús les dijo: “Ustedes son de abajo, yo soy de arriba. Ustedes son de este mundo; yo no soy de este mundo.

24Es por eso que les dije que ustedes morirán en sus pecados. Porque si no creen en mí, en el ‘Yo soy,’ morirán en sus pecados”.

25Entonces ellos le preguntaron, “¿Quién eres tú?”

26“Hay muchas cosas que yo podría decir de ustedes, y muchas cosas que podría condenar. Pero el que me envió dice la verdad, y lo que yo les digo aquí en este mundo es lo que escuché de Él”.

27Ellos no entendían que él estaba hablando del Padre. Así que Jesús les explicó:

28“Cuando ustedes hayan levantado al Hijo del hombre sabrán entonces que yo soy el ‘Yo soy,’ y que no hago nada por mí mismo, sino que digo lo que el Padre me enseñó.

29Aquél que me envió está conmigo; Él no me ha abandonado, porque yo siempre hago lo que a Él le agrada”.

30Muchos de los que escucharon a Jesús decir estas cosas, creyeron en Él.

31Entonces Jesús le dijo a los judíos que creyeron en él: “Si siguen mi enseñanza, entonces ustedes son realmente mis discípulos.

32Conocerán la verdad y la verdad los hará libres”.

33“¡Nosotros somos descendientes de Abraham! Nosotros nunca hemos sido esclavos de nadie”, respondieron ellos. “¿Cómo puedes decir que seremos libres?”

34Jesús respondió: “Les digo la verdad, todo el que peca es un esclavo del pecado.

35Un esclavo no tiene un lugar permanente en la familia, pero el hijo siempre es parte de la familia.

36Si el Hijo los libera, entonces ustedes son verdaderamente libres.

37Yo sé que ustedes son descendientes de Abraham. Sin embargo, ustedes están tratando de matarme porque se niegan a aceptar mis palabras.

38Yo les estoy diciendo lo que el Padre me ha revelado, mientras que ustedes hacen lo que su padre les ha enseñado”.

39“Nuestro padre es Abraham”, respondieron ellos.

40“Pero ustedes están tratando de matarme ahora, porque les dije la verdad que yo escuché de Dios. Abraham nunca habría hecho eso.

41Ustedes están haciendo lo que hace el padre de ustedes”.

42Jesús respondió: “Si Dios fuese realmente el padre de ustedes, ustedes me amarían. Yo vine de Dios y estoy aquí. No fue mi propia decisión venir, sino la de Uno que me envió.

43¿Por qué no pueden entender lo que estoy diciendo? ¡Es porque ustedes se niegan a escuchar mi mensaje!

44El padre de ustedes es el diablo, y ustedes aman seguir los deseos malos de él. Él fue un asesino desde el principio. Nunca estuvo de parte de la verdad, porque no hay verdad en él. Cuando él miente, revela su verdadero carácter, porque él es un mentiroso y padre de mentiras.

45¡Entonces, como yo les digo la verdad, ustedes no me creen!

46¿Acaso puede alguno de ustedes demostrarme que soy culpable de pecado? Si les estoy diciendo la verdad, ¿por qué no me creen?

47Todo el que pertenece a Dios, escucha lo que Dios dice. La razón por la que ustedes no escuchan es porque ustedes no pertenecen a Dios”.

48“¿Acaso no tenemos razón en decir que eres un samaritano poseído por el demonio?” dijeron los judíos.

49“No, yo no tengo demonio alguno”, respondió Jesús. “Yo glorifico a mi padre, pero ustedes me deshonran.

50Yo no vine aquí buscando honra para mí mismo. Pero hay Uno que lo hace por mí y quien juzga a mi favor.

51Les digo la verdad, cualquiera que sigue mi enseñanza, no morirá jamás”.

52“Ahora sabemos que estás poseído por el demonio”, dijeron los judíos. “Abraham murió, y los profetas también, ¡y tú estás diciéndonos ‘cualquiera que sigue mi enseñanza, no morirá jamás!’

53¿Acaso eres tú más grande que nuestro padre Abraham? Él murió, y los profetas también murieron. ¿Quién crees que eres?”

54Jesús respondió: “Si yo me glorifico a mí mismo, mi Gloria no significa nada. Pero es Dios mismo quien me glorifica, el mismo del cual ustedes dicen ‘Él es nuestro Dios’.

55Ustedes no lo conocen, pero yo sí lo conozco. Si yo dijera ‘No lo conozco,’ sería un mentiroso, tal como ustedes. Pero yo sí lo conozco, y hago lo que Él dice.

56Abrahám se deleitó en esperar mi venida, y se alegró cuando la vio”.

57Los judíos respondieron: “Aún no tienes ni cincuenta años de edad, ¿y dices que has visto a Abraham?”

58“Les digo la verdad: antes de que Abraham naciera, Yo soy”, dijo Jesús.

59Ante esto, ellos tomaron piedras para arrojárselas, pero Jesús se ocultó de ellos y se fue del Templo.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Jesus forgives a woman caught in adultery and challenges her accusers to judge her only if they themselves are without sin. He declares himself 'the light of the world' and engages in intense debate with Jewish leaders about his origin and identity, claiming to exist before Abraham.

Explanation

The scene with the adulterous woman exposes the trap set by her accusers, who sought to incriminate Jesus either through mercy or excessive rigor, but he responds with a statement that exposes their collective hypocrisy: 'let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone' (v.7). The declaration 'I am the light of the world' (v.12) picks up the theme of light already introduced in chapter 1. The climax of the chapter is the statement 'before Abraham was, I am' (v.58), using the same divine expression from Exodus 3:14, which the listeners understood as blasphemy—prompting them to try to stone him. The application today is to examine one's own heart before judging others, and to recognize that genuine forgiveness comes with a call to sin no more.

Fun facts

  • This episode of the adulterous woman (v.1-11) does not appear in the oldest Greek manuscripts of John's Gospel, and is likely an authentic tradition about Jesus that was inserted into the text in later manuscripts—which is why some Bibles include a note explaining this textual issue.
  • The penalty prescribed by the Law of Moses for adultery (Leviticus 20:10, Deuteronomy 22:22) called for the death of both guilty parties, not just the woman, which exposes the bias of the accusers who brought only her before Jesus.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Juan 8:1After everyone went home at the end of the previous chapter, Jesus, who had no house of His own in Jerusalem, goes to spend the night on the Mount of Olives, a hill near the city.
  2. Juan 8:2He returns to the temple early in the morning, and sitting down to teach was a common posture among religious teachers of the time — the people approach Him in this calmer setting.
  3. Juan 8:3Scribes and Pharisees bring in a woman caught in adultery — the start of a trap meant to put Jesus in a difficult spot.
  4. Juan 8:4They insist she was caught in the very act, leaving no room to doubt her guilt, though they don’t bring along the man involved, whom the law also condemned.
  5. Juan 8:5The law of Moses did prescribe stoning for this kind of case, but it held both people involved guilty; bringing only the woman already shows that the accusation had a bigger goal than applying the law correctly.
  6. Juan 8:6No one knows for sure what Jesus wrote on the ground — the text doesn’t say. It may have simply been a way to buy time and avoid a direct confrontation. It’s worth knowing that this whole scene, of the woman caught in adultery, is a well-known case among scholars: it doesn’t appear in the oldest manuscripts of John’s gospel, and it sometimes turns up elsewhere in the New Testament in ancient copies. That doesn’t prove the story was invented — it’s an old tradition about Jesus that was only later inserted here — but in fairness, it’s worth knowing it probably wasn’t part of the original text John wrote.
  7. Juan 8:7Jesus’ response shifts the focus from the woman’s guilt to the consciences of her accusers themselves, challenging whoever was without sin to cast the first stone.
  8. Juan 8:8Jesus stoops down again and writes on the ground, repeating the gesture from verse 6, whose content the text never reveals.
  9. Juan 8:9One by one, starting with the oldest, the accusers walk away, probably recognizing their own faults — leaving only Jesus and the woman standing there.
  10. Juan 8:10Jesus stands up and asks about the accusers, realizing that none of them stayed to formally condemn her.
  11. Juan 8:11Jesus’ response combines forgiveness with a clear instruction: He doesn’t condemn her, but He also doesn’t treat what she did as unimportant, telling her to sin no more.
  12. Juan 8:12This is another of the ‘I am’ declarations in John’s gospel, and it has a direct connection to the Feast of Tabernacles still going on: during the feast, huge lampstands were lit in the temple courtyard at night, lighting up all of Jerusalem. It’s quite possible Jesus said this literally standing in front of those lit lamps.
  13. Juan 8:13The Pharisees use the same legal rule mentioned earlier in chapter 5: a single person’s testimony about himself doesn’t count as proof.
  14. Juan 8:14Jesus answers that His case is different, because He knows for certain where He came from and where He is going, while they don’t have that same certainty about His origin.
  15. Juan 8:15He contrasts human judgment, based on appearance and surface-level rules, with the way Jesus prefers to act, condemning no one.
  16. Juan 8:16Even when He does judge, Jesus says His judgment is valid because He doesn’t decide alone: the Father who sent Him agrees with Him.
  17. Juan 8:17Jesus cites Jewish law itself, which requires the testimony of two people to be considered valid.
  18. Juan 8:18He presents Himself as one witness, and the Father who sent Him as the second — fulfilling, in a unique way, the requirement of two witnesses.
  19. Juan 8:19The question ‘Where is thy Father?’ sounds provocative, perhaps hinting at doubt about Jesus’ origin; He answers that knowing one means knowing the other, since the two are united.
  20. Juan 8:20The ‘treasury’ was a specific area of the temple, in the Court of the Women, where the offering boxes stood; the geographical detail shows that Jesus was teaching openly, even though He still hadn’t been arrested.
  21. Juan 8:21Jesus repeats a serious warning: He is going to leave, He will be sought, and whoever dies without believing in Him will die in his own sin, unable to follow Him to where He is going.
  22. Juan 8:22The Jews take the statement literally, imagining that Jesus intends to kill Himself, since that’s the only way the words ‘whither I go, ye cannot come’ would make sense to them.
  23. Juan 8:23Jesus corrects the misunderstanding by explaining the real difference: they belong to this world, from beneath; He comes from above, from a completely different origin.
  24. Juan 8:24He reinforces that dying in sin is tied to not believing that He is who He says He is — the expression ‘I am,’ left without any completion, echoes the same formula God used to identify Himself in the book of Exodus.
  25. Juan 8:25Faced with the direct question ‘Who art thou?’, Jesus answers in an almost evasive way, saying He is exactly what He had already been claiming from the start of the conversation.
  26. Juan 8:26Jesus insists that He tells the world exactly what He heard from the One who sent Him, reinforcing that His message isn’t a personal invention.
  27. Juan 8:27The narrator clarifies that, despite all this, the listeners didn’t understand that Jesus had been speaking about the Father the whole time.
  28. Juan 8:28Jesus predicts that when He is ‘lifted up’ — a reference to the crucifixion — some of these people will finally recognize who He really is.
  29. Juan 8:29He describes a relationship of constant companionship: the Father never leaves Jesus alone, because He always does what pleases God.
  30. Juan 8:30Despite all the tension in the conversation, many who heard Jesus say these things end up believing in Him.
  31. Juan 8:31Jesus speaks specifically to these Jews who had just believed, saying that being a true disciple requires continuing to follow His teaching, not just an initial decision.
  32. Juan 8:32One of the best-known lines in the gospel: knowing Jesus’ truth is what truly sets a person free, not just any kind of knowledge.
  33. Juan 8:33They react defensively, claiming that, as Abraham’s descendants, they have never been anyone’s slaves — a claim that ignores historical episodes like the captivity in Egypt and the current Roman rule over them.
  34. Juan 8:34Jesus shifts the meaning of freedom: He isn’t talking about political slavery but spiritual — whoever keeps sinning is a slave to his own sin, even while technically free.
  35. Juan 8:35He uses the image of a household: a slave can be sold or cast out at any moment, but a son has a guaranteed place forever — a subtle allusion to Jesus’ own unique place as Son.
  36. Juan 8:36He concludes that only a freedom granted by the Son is complete and final, unlike any freedom that depends on social status or ancestry.
  37. Juan 8:37Jesus acknowledges their descent from Abraham, but shows that this doesn’t stop them from wanting to kill Him, because His message finds no room in their hearts.
  38. Juan 8:38He contrasts the source of what each one does: Jesus speaks of what He has seen with the Father; they act according to what they learned from their own father, without yet revealing who that father is.
  39. Juan 8:39They answer that their father is Abraham; Jesus counters that if that were true in the spiritual sense, they would act as Abraham acted, not merely inherit his name.
  40. Juan 8:40He contrasts their attitude — wanting to kill someone who only speaks the truth received from God — with Abraham’s, who never did anything like that, reinforcing that blood descent doesn’t guarantee a likeness of character.
  41. Juan 8:41Faced with Jesus’ indirect accusation, they defend themselves by claiming they aren’t children of an illegitimate union and assert that they have one Father, God Himself — setting up Jesus’ harsher response that follows.
  42. Juan 8:42Jesus disputes that claim: if God were really their Father, they would love Jesus, since He came directly from God and not on His own initiative.
  43. Juan 8:43He explains that their difficulty understanding His speech isn’t a lack of clarity — it’s a deeper resistance: they simply cannot bear to hear what He says.
  44. Juan 8:44It’s the strongest accusation in the chapter: Jesus says their true spiritual father is the devil, described as a liar and a murderer from the beginning — a direct response to their claim of being children of God.
  45. Juan 8:45It’s precisely because Jesus speaks the truth, not lies, that they don’t believe Him — a logical conclusion tied to the previous verse’s description of who loves lies.
  46. Juan 8:46Jesus challenges any of them to prove that He has committed any sin; since no one can, their refusal to believe has no logical justification.
  47. Juan 8:47He concludes the argument: whoever belongs to God hears God’s words; the fact that they don’t listen shows they don’t belong to Him, despite all their earlier claims.
  48. Juan 8:48The Jews respond with a double insult, calling Jesus a Samaritan — almost an ethnic and religious slur — and demon-possessed.
  49. Juan 8:49Jesus denies having a demon, saying that, on the contrary, He honors the Father, while it is they who dishonor Him with these accusations.
  50. Juan 8:50Jesus clarifies that He isn’t after His own fame; there is someone, God Himself, who takes on the task of judging and recognizing that on His behalf.
  51. Juan 8:51He makes a strong promise: whoever keeps Jesus’ word will never see death — a statement about eternal life that the crowd is about to misunderstand.
  52. Juan 8:52The Jews take the promise literally, about physical death, and find it absurd, since even Abraham and the prophets died — the same kind of literal misunderstanding that appears elsewhere in the gospel.
  53. Juan 8:53They question whether Jesus thinks He is greater than Abraham and the prophets, all of them already dead, asking who He thinks He is.
  54. Juan 8:54Jesus answers that if He sought His own fame, it would be worth nothing; it is the Father, the very God they claim to serve, who truly glorifies Him.
  55. Juan 8:55Jesus states that He knows God in a way they don’t, despite everything they say about serving Him, and assures them that He faithfully keeps the Father’s word.
  56. Juan 8:56Jesus mentions a tradition about Abraham having rejoiced in advance over Jesus’ coming, as though he had seen this moment from afar with gladness.
  57. Juan 8:57The listeners misunderstand again, thinking Jesus is saying He met Abraham in person, which sounds impossible given His age — only in the next verse does the answer clear everything up.
  58. Juan 8:58The Jews find it strange because Jesus, still relatively young, would be speaking as though He had known Abraham, who lived almost two thousand years earlier. His answer goes further than that: He doesn’t just say He existed before Abraham — He uses the same ‘I am’ expression that appears elsewhere in the gospel, which left the crowd so enraged they wanted to stone Him right afterward.
  59. Juan 8:59Stoning was the punishment prescribed in Jewish law for blasphemy, speaking in a way considered offensive against God. The crowd’s immediate reaction shows that they understood Jesus’ previous statement as blasphemy, not as some ordinary remark.

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