The Seven Signs in John: The Fifth Sign: The Adulterous Woman (John 7:1–8:59)

The proposition of this sermon is to see Jesus for who he is to believe so that his forgiveness results in repentance. The proposition is supported by examining the time markers, discourses, festival, sayings, and prologue themes in the passage. The background of the festival of Tabernacles or the Feast of Booths in the OT, Mishnah, and Talmud demonstrates that Jesus’ sayings in the discourses use the imagery of the Tabernacles rituals to claim messianic prophecy is fulfilled in him as the Messiah who possesses the divine identity and forgiveness of sins (7:38; 8:12). The repetition of the theme of judgment in the discourses shows that the Jews were unable to recognize Jesus as the Messiah due to their faulty judgments based in part on preconceptions about the Christ from popular level Jewish Messianism. Several evidences are offered that indicate the account of the “Woman Caught in Adultery” has the “literary function” of the sign by pointing to Jesus’ divine identity as the authoritative divine messianic judge who forgives sins and calls to repentance. The sign of the adulterous woman: challenges unbelievers to examine their preconceptions about Christianity and both assures believers of forgiveness and convicts them to repent.