53 lines
3.4 KiB
Markdown
53 lines
3.4 KiB
Markdown
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title = "John 8:1–11"
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date = "2026-04-27"
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### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/John8.1-11)
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I have wondered for a long time what I would say about this passage.
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Most Bibles today should have some kind of indication or note on John 7:53–8:11 that sets it apart from the rest of the text.
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The note will say something like "The earliest manuscripts do not include…."
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This is an indication, but not proof, that this section was not original to John's gospel.
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It may have been added later as someone remembered the story and added it in when they copied it down.
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Maybe it was a margin note by a scribe that got folded in to later copies.
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Maybe the incident is entirely made up.
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We don't know, nor can we know.
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So, what do we do?
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Tradition can be very hard to go against, and for a very long time scholars thought these verses were part of the Gospel.
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By the grace of God, even though we may suspect this isn't original, it isn't a key passage for any doctrines or practice for the faith.
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It doesn't contradict anything else we know about Jesus's ministry.
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Preachers have given many sermons on this passage and we can learn things from it regardless.
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Some manuscripts put this passage after John 7:36, when the temple officers give their excuses for why they didn't arrest Jesus during the feast.
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If it comes after verse 52, the Feast of Booths is over, and Jesus is just returning to the temple to teach.
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Whatever day it was, the Pharisees come to Him with a dilemma.
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A woman had been caught in adultery and that is a capital offense under the Law of Moses, so what does Jesus think they should do?
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The horns of the dilemma are this: God's Law should be followed, but under Roman occupation, the Jews are not allowed to carry out executions, so stoning the woman could end up getting a lot more people killed.
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Besides the devious nature of the question, there are some additional irregularities in what the Pharisees and scribes have done.
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Adultery isn't a crime that one does by oneself.
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Indeed, [Leviticus 20:10](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Lev20.10) and [Deuteronomy 22:22](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Deut22.22) both say the man and the woman are both to be put to death.
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So where is the man who was committing adultery with the accused?
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If she was "caught in the act", then why wasn't he?
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Furthermore, why isn't there a trial?
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Is this supposed to be it?
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Are they making Jesus an impromptu judge?
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Jesus's response is to write on the ground.
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Out of all of Scripture, this is the only time we are told Jesus wrote anything.
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And we aren't at all told what He wrote.
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They keep asking Him to make a judgement, but He only says the famous line, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her."
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He continues to write, and the accusers go away, one by one, older men first.
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Was Jesus reminding them of sins they had committed, perhaps even the same one they were accusing the woman of?
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We don't know, and we can't know.
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Once they are all gone, Jesus tells the woman she is free to go, because there is no court to condemn her, or, more technically, to issue a sentence.
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He also admonishes her to sin no more, which implies that she had done _something_, whether it was adultery or not.
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So, while Jesus did not condone the crime she was accused of, neither did He allow the Pharisees to make a mockery of justice, and He was able to show mercy to a sinner.
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* * *
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Help us to seek the truth, show justice, and love mercy, as You have done with us.
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