John 8:7

ἀνέκυψεν καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς for ἀνακύψας εἶπε πρὸς αὐτούς, and πρῶτος ἐπ' αὐτὴν βαλέτω λίθον for πρ. τὸν λ. ἐπ' αὐτῇ β.

7. They will not take the hint; and therefore with marvellous skill He lifts the whole question from the judicial sphere, into which He declined to enter (comp. Luke 12:14), to the moral one, in which their guilty consciences rendered them powerless. Thus the self-made judges were foiled, while the majesty of the Law remained intact. The abruptness of the reply reminds us of John 2:19.

ἀναμάρτητος. Quite classical, but here only in N.T. It may mean either ‘free from the possibility of sin, impeccable;’ or ‘free from actual sin, sinless:’ if the latter, it may mean either ‘free from sin in general, guiltless;’ or ‘free from a particular sin, not guilty.’ The context shews that the last is the meaning here, ‘free from the sin of impurity:’ comp. ‘sin no more,’ John 8:11, and ‘sinner,’ Luke 7:37; Luke 7:39. The practical maxim involved in Christ’s words is that of Matthew 7:1-5; Romans 14:4. As to its application to them comp. Matthew 12:39; Mark 8:38. He is contending not against punishment being inflicted by human law, but against men taking the law into their own hands.

λίθον. Some authorities have τὸν λίθον, the stone required for executing the sentence. Others take it of the first stone, which in stoning for idolatry was to be thrown by the witnesses (Deuteronomy 13:9; Deuteronomy 17:7); probably as a check on rash testimony. Thus in stoning Stephen the witnesses take off their upper garments in order to throw the better (Acts 7:58).