The wisdom displayed by Jesus on this occasion, in defending himself against the designs of his enemies, and the evidence which he gave them that he knew the hidden secrets of their lives, the conviction that he pressed home upon the guilty consciences of the very men who were seeking to destroy him, were sufficient evidence of his divine character. Jesus also taught another important lesson in this scene: That those who are ever forward to accuse others, quick to detect them in wrong, and zealous that they should be brought to justice, are often guiltier in their own lives than those whom they accuse. Many who beheld the whole scene were led to compare the pardoning compassion of Jesus with the unrelenting spirit of the Pharisees, to whom mercy was a stranger; and they turned to the pitying Saviour as unto One who would lead the repentant sinner into peace and security. {2SP 353.3}

Den visdom, Jesus ved denne lejlighed viste, idet han forsvarede sig imod sine fjenders onde planer, og de vidnesbyrd, han gav dem om, at han kendte deres livs skjulte hemmeligheder, så vel som den overbevisning, der bragte uro i samvittigheden hos dem, som søgte at dræbe ham, var tilstrækkelige beviser for hans guddom. Jesus fremholdt også en vigtig sandhed ved denne anledning, nemlig, at de, som altid (354) er rede til at anklage andre mennesker, som let opdager synd hos dem og er nidkære til at føre dem frem for dommen, ofte er mere skyldige end de, som de anklager. Mange, som var vidne til denne tildragelse, blev derved ledte til at sammenligne Jesu barmhjertighed og villighed til at tilgive farisæernes uforenelige sindelag, som var aldeles fremmed for barmhjertighed, og de vendte sig til den medlidende Frelser som til en, der vil lede angergivne syndere til fred og frelse.