Go and sin no more

This week's text, John 7:53-8:11, is a familiar story of Jewish leaders bringing a woman caught in adultery to Jesus and asking him whether she should be stoned to death, and Jesus responds with the famous: "Let him who is without sin throw the first stone."

While being familiar, it is also one of the most contested passages in the Bible. Some date would indicate that it is not original to the writing of the gospel. Most translations make some sort of remark to indicate that there is some discussion about it and some even leave the verses out. The details of this discussion will be too much for a sermon so for those that may have an interest in the more technical aspects of this argument I will include the main points here.

1. The NT is translated to English from an original Greek. We do not have any of the original manuscripts. What we have are copies the earliest of which date to several 100 years after Christ. This passage is not included in the earliest and most complete (and therefore considered most reliable) manuscripts.

2. There are a number of words that are included in this passage that are not used anywhere else by John. There are two words for crowd in Greek - ochlos and laos. John prefers ochlos while this passage uses laos, which is more characteristic of Mark and Luke.

3. The earliest extra-biblical writings that we have, that are often letters from pastors and teachers, fail to comment on this passage. While not definitive it is noteworthy that none of the earliest teachers seem to not its existence.

4. There is some disagreement as to how well it fits at this point in the narrative. Some manuscripts place the story in other places or even other books of the Bible.

5. There is, however, no disagreement that the Christ pictured in this passage is consistent with the portrait that is being painted by the gospels. The savior who came not to condemn, but to save.

6. There is a particular early disciple named, Papias, who was to have known John personally, who seems to point to John being aware of a story about a "woman who was accused before the Lord..."

7. By the 4th century, writers and church leaders, including St. Augustine, seem to have knowledge of it. In fact, the indication is that Augustine may have removed the story from his text for fear that it would give women grounds to appeal infidelity. So the arguement that it was in John at one point and then removed can't be completely dismissed.

The consensus of scholarship is that while it can not be authoritatively attributed to John, the passage seems to ring of an authentic story and seems to display the authentic Jesus, and is therefore profitable for us to study.

Information included here was drawn from William Hendriksen, John, NTC and Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John, NICNT.