Many have taken the account of the Woman Caught In Adultery to show that Jesus does not judge here when He says, "neither do I condemn thee." Others cite his response to "go, and sin no more." However, there is an underlying meaning found in the themes of John's Gospel, especially with the Brazen Serpent.
Hint - It's not what you think.
is Greg Matson and I am your host in
this episode we're talking about the
woman caught in adultery what is the
real underlying meaning behind this
account be sure that you go to quick
media.com cwic media.com at the top
there you can sign up for our free
Weekly News letter quick week and there
I write an article every week and all
things quick are included in that
newsletter so go sign up all right I've
done a lot of study on the Brazen
Serpent and the Brazen serpent is a
chapter that I go over in my book and
once you see what's going on with a
Brazen serpent you start finding
different things throughout the
scriptures so let me lay the groundwork
a little bit before we get into the
Gospel of John John here the Brazen
serpent was raised by Moses in the
wilderness we find this in the Book of
Numbers remember the children of Israel
had been bitten by all the poisonous
venomous
snakes and to be saved all they had to
do was look to the Brazen serpent well
the Brazen serpent is Christ that's what
it represents well it seems that this
Brazen serpent was later put into the
Tabernacle and the
temple and then removed it was removed
by King Hezekiah in the time of Isaiah
now you have to ask yourself why would a
symbol that represents Jesus Christ be
removed from the temple and I understand
what the account says but just stop and
think about that for a minute the Brazen
serpent is removed from the temple and
having been removed what would the
reaction to this be well it would be
well we can't talk about that we this
becomes something completely different
the Brazen serpent is corrupted and and
so you can see kind of this
Mainline thought that hey we're going to
push off on the Brazen serpent existing
in the time of Isaiah well of course
Isaiah is writing in reaction it appears
to
me to a loss of Christ in his time this
is why Lehi and Nephi love Isaiah so
much because he's not only prophesying
about their time and about the last days
but he is responding as they are
to a
Jerusalem that had pushed off on Christ
now at the time the Brazen serpent was
thrown out of the temple there would be
some that would still hold on to that
tradition and this tradition would be
passed on from generation to generation
and to those that would listen tying The
Exodus and the events of Moses to Jesus
Christ who would come be born of a woman
and take on the sins of the world and be
the Redeemer of the world well of course
in the book of of Mormon we do get this
we hear about the Brazen serpent in a
few different places and even when it's
not direct we see some examples of the
Brazen Serpent and Illusions to the
Brazen serpent throughout the scriptures
we also get this in the New Testament
showing that the Brazen serpent was
Jesus Christ and that this tradition of
referring to the Brazen serpent is a
very Christ Cent Ed tradition so with
that in mind if we have Christian
writers authors of the scriptures they
would make these Illusions perhaps at
times to the Brazen Serpent and then we
can tie this together well of course we
get this in John with a direct reference
to the Brazen serpent but something else
is going to happen here in the account
of the woman caught in adultery so we
often hear about the reaction of Jesus
in the this account to the woman saying
saying I do not condemn thee in other
words there's no judgment for you don't
worry about it that's not true and of
course there is another response from
Jesus to the woman which is go sin no
more it's about repentance it's about
changing but even then there is much
more underlying meaning I believe and if
we first start in Joseph Smith
translation John 1 the first chapter of
John we're going to see a little
additional oomph to what I'm trying to
say here let's start verse 16 most of
this verse is from Joseph Smith it says
for in the beginning was the word even
the son who is made flesh and sent unto
us by the will of the father and as many
as believe on his name shall receive of
his fullness and of his fullness have
have all we received even immortality
and eternal life through his grace right
so his grace is what gives us that
immortality and eternal life in 17 for
the law was given through Moses but life
and Truth came through Jesus Christ so
he's separating the law from the atoning
sacrifice of Jesus Christ right these
are the two sides this is Justice and
mercy and then in 18 look at this a
little more clarification for the law
was after a carnal commandment to the
administration of death so the law of
Moses given by by God is to administer
to death well the law given to us period
no matter when it is whether it is
during the time of the law of Moses
whether it is today where we have the
Commandments whether it is to Adam and
Eve the law administers to death this is
what happens when they partake of the
fruit of the tree of the knowledge of
Good and Evil which is in my mind in
part a symbol of the law of God it is
the tree of the knowledge of good good
and evil how do you have the knowledge
of Good and Evil you receive the law and
once you have the law you are personally
responsible and therefore once you're
responsible you make mistakes you cannot
return to God and be in his presence you
cannot get to the tree of life without a
savior because judgment now enters the
scene that's the Cherub and are those
cherub are set in front of the Tree of
Life so the law is death and
condemnation and Christ is life and
immortality okay so this is Joseph Smith
adding this in just giving a little bit
more oomph to what we're talking about
here then we move over to chapter 3 and
this is where we get the famous verse in
John 3:16 about God so loved the world
that he said his only begotten son right
this is really important this is part of
an anchor to an understanding of what
happens to the woman caught in adultery
now what is he talking about here he's
talking about being born again he's
speaking to Nicodemus here at the
beginning of the chapter as we move down
through the
verses he says in verse 12 to Nicodemus
if I have told you Earthly things and ye
believe not how shall ye believe if I
tell you of heavenly things well the
Earthly things are temporal things these
are the
Commandments this is the law and he goes
on to say the following and no man hath
ascended up to heaven this is very
important to understand the Ascension or
the lifting up or the raising up and
then the condescension or the coming
down this is how John works this this is
how many authors work this because it's
part of the Gospel it's an understanding
of atonement 13 and no man hath ascended
up to heaven but he that came down from
heaven even the son of man which is in
heaven and then we get our direct
reference to the Brazen serpent in 14
remember this is all setting the stage
for John
3:16 and as Moses lifted up the serpent
it's a very important phrase lifted up
or raised up the serpent in the
wilderness even so must the son of man
be lifted up so here is your direct
parallel and the son of man is lifted up
in two different ways he's lifted up on
the cross but he's lifted up through
Resurrection now of course he's lifted
up in baptism also out of the water
in verse 15 then that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish but
have eternal life right so the eternal
life is tied to the serpent being lifted
up and then we get to 16 for God so
loved the world that he gave his only
begotten son that whosoever believeth in
him should not perish but have
everlasting life that's eternal life
right the Brazen serpent offers eternal
life for God sent not his son into the
world to condemn the world but that the
world through him might be saved why is
this being brought up by John well as
we've talked about this previously there
is the law which condemns Paul talks a
lot about this right the law in in and
of itself is death it is dead because we
cannot return to life eternal with God
through the law because none of us are
going to be able to fulfill it so Jesus
here comes into the world he descends or
condescends he comes in not to condemn
the world the law already condemns the
world but that the world through him
might be saved or re receive eternal
life now John is going to continue with
these themes he's going to talk about
coming down descending and ascending and
being raised up and lifted up he goes
through the account of Jesus and the
bread and here in verse 33 he says for
the bread of God is he which cometh down
from heaven and giveth life unto the
world and in 35 and Jesus said unto them
I am the bread of life he's the one that
descends and ascends right I am the
bread of life like the Mana he that
cometh to me shall never hunger and he
that believeth on me shall never
thirst 38 for I came down from from
Heaven not to do mine own
will right but the will of the him that
sent me and 39 now we're going to get
the phrases here and you're going to see
this throughout the scriptures again the
stage has already been set from John
about the Brazen Serpent and this
Ascension and descension raising up
lifting up and condescension he says in
40 and this is the will of him that sent
me that everyone which seeth the son and
believeth on him may have everlasting
life and I will raise him up at the last
day like the Brazen serpent now in the
newer translations of the Bible in verse
41 here and 40 when it says that
everyone which seeth the Sun the newer
translations say that everyone who looks
to the Sun s o n right like what like
the Brazen serpent this is an illusion
to the Brazen
Serpent and here those that do look to
the Sun or look to the Brazen serpent he
will raise up at the last day then he
adds a little bit here in 51 I am the
living bread which came down from heaven
and in this verse 54 who so eateth my
flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal
life and I will raise him up at the last
day couple more here in 58 this is the
bread which came down from heaven in
verse 62 what and if ye shall see the
son of man Ascend up where he was
before okay so with that stage being set
from John right he's writing this even
in the John 1 to begin with at the very
beginning of his gospel he's talking
about the word BEC becoming flesh and in
the beginning right this is a creation
account this is about the councel in
heaven which means he's lining this up
his book up to be about Covenant that's
what the creation story is about it's
about Covenant and of course later on in
John 17 you have the intercessory prayer
where Jesus is praying to the father
saying I pray that my disciples can be
one with me Covenant just as I am one
with you and the Ascension and the
descension the raising up lifting up and
the condescension right all tied in with
the Brazen and serpent here so in
chapter 8 we get to the actual account
of the woman taken in adultery it says
in verse three and the scribes and
Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken
in adultery and when they had set her in
the midst they say unto him Master this
woman was taken in adultery in the very
act now here we get to the law now Moses
in the law they say commanded us that
such should be stoned but what sayest
thou right so right this is a about the
law and about the Savior those two
things and so in verse six here we're
going to get the symbolism of rising and
lowering right he says but Jesus stooped
down stooped down and with his finger
wrote on the ground in verse 7 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 he's lifting himself up
as the Brazen serpent would who is the
Healer of sin and then addressing the
law where he says he that is without sin
among you let him first cast a stone at
her and then in verse eight and he again
stooped down right this is more the
condescension here and then the
conscience hits each of those that are
there with the stones they leave one by
one and then in verse 10 end of verse 9
it says and Jesus was left alone and the
woman standing in the midst and verse 10
think of the Brazen serpent when Jesus
had lifted up himself and saw none but
the woman he said unto
Heroman where are those thine accusers
hath no man condemned thee with what
with the law of Moses with the law of
God and she said no man Lord and Jesus
said unto her neither do I condemn thee
go and sin no more what is he saying
well again when we have the split
between the law which condemns and Jesus
who
heals then we see this much more plainly
so he's saying I'm not here to condemn
you the law already does condemn you
however I am the Brazen serpent I am the
one that
heals but I require of you your repent
repentance again he says she said no man
Lord and Jesus said unto her neither do
I condemn thee go and sin no more that's
the healing of the Brazen serpent before
her and of course he refers again down
here in verse 17 to the law it is also
written in your law that the testimony
of two men is
true verse 28 then said Jesus unto them
when ye have lifted up the son of man
then shall ye know that I am he and that
I do nothing of myself so if we have
this underlying understanding of the
Brazen Serpent and the themes that John
is writing as a whole throughout his
Gospel of the Brazen serpent the
Ascension the raising up the lifting up
the coming down and the
condescension and of course the law on
one side which condemns and administers
death and
the Savior and the atoning sacrifice
which offers life and
immortality then we can look at this
account differently the Brazen serpent
seems to be a forgotten or discarded
illusion to Christ for the majority of
the Jews but some held on to that
tradition and the Book of Mormon
corroborates this so as some say well
Jesus didn't condemn her at all
everything was fine and hunky dory well
of of course that's because the law
condemns her the law given by God but as
the Brazen serpent Jesus has the ability
to heal her if she goes and sins no more
thanks for
[Music]
listening
