About John 7:53--8:11

Note for those who are concerned about the scriptural integrity of John 7:53—8:11:

Since we read John 8:2-11 last Sunday and I referred to it in my sermon, some of you may have been led to wonder about the way it is annotated in your Bibles.

Almost all modern translations, whether Protestant or Catholic, liberal or conservative, bracket John 7:53-8:11, containing the much loved story of the woman caught in adultery, usually with a note that this passage does not appear in the earliest Greek manuscripts of John’s Gospel. Many also note that its writing style is not John’s. These are not new observations, but have been around through much of Christian history.

Most modern scholars believe that this passage is an authentic record of Jesus’ ministry that was dislocated and then was arbitrarily inserted into its present location in John’s Gospel. A few suggest that it may belong following Luke 21:38 where it appears in a few manuscripts; I lack the competence to judge the latter suggestion, but I am favorably inclined toward it. At least one scholar who believes that it is Luke's suggests that Luke had to omit it to get the rest of his Gospel to fit on the scroll he was using. That is far more than we know.

In conclusion, my own view is that this text should be treated as carrying scriptural authority even if we do not know for sure where in the Four Gospels it originally belonged, but for the sake of the consciences of those who question its scriptural authenticity, I am willing to follow the rules for using a questionable text. The main rule for using texts of questionable authenticity in preaching and teaching is that they should never be used to support any doctrinal claim that is not supported by at least one text of unquestioned authenticity. So far as I can see, every theological or moral point that could be legitimately drawn from this passage is also supported by other reliable texts, actually many other texts. My purpose in using this passage is not to introduce a new point, but to support old points by potent illustration. Therefore, I feel thoroughly justified in my use of this text].