John 7:53-8:11, The sinful woman

Some of you have asked me questions about why I skipped over John 7:53-8:11 and didn't preach from it on Sunday. Well, I skipped over it because it is most likely NOT a part of John's Gospel, or any other Gospel account for that matter. Let me explain why:

1. This story contains several words that do not occur anywhere else in any of John's writings. Although this is not definitive in and of itself, it is suggestive of the fact that the story does not seem to fit with Johannine authorship.

2. The oldest and most reliable manuscripts we have of the New Testament do not contain this story.

3. It is not until the late Greek manuscripts and medieval manuscripts (12th century) that we see this narrative appear, and, even then, it is oftentimes marked as being questionable.

4. All of the early church fathers omit this story in their commentaries and sermons. Again, the first time this narrative is mentioned in commentaries or sermons is the 12th century.

5. Some of the manuscripts that do contain this account do not place it in John 7:53-8:11 but after John 7:36 or after John 21:25 or after Luke 21:38. All of which suggests that this pericope is not originally a part of the Gospel of John or any other Gospel either.

6. Among the manuscripts that do contain this account, many contain variations in the text of the story itself.

For all of these reasons, it seems best to conclude that this story was not part of John's Gospel or any other book of the Bible.

Eusebius does note that Papias, in the early second century, told a story of a woman who was accused of sin and brought before the Lord. But his story differs in at least two ways from the account we "have" in John: 1) he says the woman was accused not of one sin (adultery) but of many sins; and 2) he says the story was contained not in John but in the "Gospel according to the Hebrews."

Thus, the story itself may be true. It may really and truly have happened. But it doesn't appear ever to have been a part of John's Gospel or the Bible as a whole.

The reason the English translations place this passage (and others like it) in brackets is because the scholars responsible for the translations want us to know which passages may be somewhat questionable and which are beyond any doubt at all. They are not trying to hide anything or pull anything over on us Christians. They are trying to be completely open and transparent with the facts as we know them. There is not one doctrine of Christianity that would be affected in the least by removing this story from Scripture. There is not one doctrine that would be affected in the least by removing ANY of the extremely small number of passages that have questions attached to them.

Our discussion of John 7:53-8:11 should not cause you to doubt but to be assured all the more of the utter reliability of Scripture. The vast majority (something like 99.99% of the New Testament) is completely without question or doubt of any kind. Passages like John 7:53-8:11 are marked off by brackets and warnings so that you and I will know that the rest of the New Testament passages--that are not so marked off--are utterly reliable and trustworthy!