The Scribes and Pharisees, always trying to find some cause of complaint against Him, now brought a woman who had committed a sin, for which the Law of Moses pronounced death to be the punishment: they now asked Jesus, whether this woman should be stoned or not. If Jesus condemned the woman to death, they could accuse Him to the Romans of trespassing upon their authority: if He acquitted the woman, they could hold Him up to the people as acting contrary to the Jewish Law. But Jesus knew the wickedness of their hearts, and that in the sight of God, their guilt was as great, if not greater, than that of this woman; therefore He gave them no answer, but "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one." None of these Scribes or Pharisees could dare to pronounce themselves free from sin, therefore they all retired. Then Jesus dismissed the woman with the warning, "Go, and sin no more." At this time, Jesus spake many things to all who came into the temple to hear Him. He spake to them of His death: He told them that if they were really the children of Abraham, spiritually as well as by natural descent, they would do the works of Abraham: and that if God were their Father, as they pretended, they would love Him, who was the Son of God; but that they were, in fact, the children of the Devil, who was a liar from the beginning. During these discourses, "many believed on him"; but many others would gladly have "laid hands on him": and when at length, in answer to their questions, Jesus declared unto them, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am," their rage could no longer be repressed: "then took they up stones to cast at him": but "his hour was not yet come" to die, and therefore "Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by," disappointing the malice of His enemies. After this, the seventy disciples, whom Jesus had sent out to preach and to teach in the different cities, "returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name." He then told them, that this need not surprise them, since God had begun to destroy the power of Satan: and He also told them, that they had a far greater cause for joy than the subjection of evil spirits; even that they had been chosen to be the servants and children of God, and were thereby set in the way that would, if they walked steadily in it, bring them to everlasting life.