John 8:5 (ASV)

Passage

Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such: what then sayest thou of her?

Nearby Context

John 8:3 And the scribes and the Pharisees bring a woman taken in adultery; and having set her in the midst,

John 8:4 they say unto him, Teacher, this woman hath been taken in adultery, in the very act.

John 8:5 Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such: what then sayest thou of her?

John 8:6 And this they said, trying him, that they might have [whereof] to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground.

John 8:7 But 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.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "moses", "commanded", "stone", "such", "sayest", and "thou". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "moses" and "commanded", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "they say unto him Teacher this woman..." into verse 6's "And this they said trying him that...", so "moses" and "commanded" belong inside that flow. In John context, the local focus is the identity of Jesus, new birth, eternal life, and belief and unbelief.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "moses" and "commanded" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.