TY - JOUR AU - Griffiths, John Daniel PY - 2017/06/15 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - When the Punishment does not Fit the Crime JF - Australasian Pentecostal Studies JA - APS VL - 19 IS - 0 SE - Articles DO - UR - https://aps-journal.com/index.php/APS/article/view/9500 SP - 99-118 AB - <p>This article covers a social scientific exegesis of John 8:7, concluding that Jesus is referring to the violent reactions to adultery that the effected men exhibited. The death penalty for adultery seems like an exaggerated punishment, even by the Torah's own standard (Exo 21:23-25). When this happens it is usually because of social pressures, and in the case of adultery these pressures are the violence of the resulting kinship feuding. This thesis will conclude that the sin that Jesus speaks of in John 8:7, is the violence involved in the resulting kinship feuding. Although this is a new interpretation, this article will argue that there is significant evidence in Matthew to indicate that Jesus held this position.</p> ER -