John 7:53-8:11
I’m going to kick things off this week with a little Bible education for you. If you open your Bible to John 7:53 chances are, unless you’re using a King James translation, there’s a notice there on the page informing you that John 7:53-8:11 is not included in the earliest Greek manuscripts of John’s Gospel. What does mean? Well, it depends on who you ask. The verses themselves were almost definitively not a part of John’s original gospel transcript. They were formally placed here sometime around the 5th century.
In earlier manuscripts the account of Jesus facing the woman caught in adultery appears in Luke’s Gospel and in a couple of different places, other than chapter 7, in John’s Gospel. Some people – especially non-believers hear this and go, “AH-HA! This proves that the Bible is not perfect truth and does contain made up stuff!”
That would be a wrong assumption. This encounter is noted by a couple of ancient historians. And Joh’s authorship has never been disproven beyond a shadow of a doubt, although some scholars struggle with the writing style, some thinking it reads more “Luke-Like” than John. The point is that the story has been around for just about as long New Testament translations have existed. It is an encounter that is doctrinally sound in so far as it demonstrates Jesus’ character and His ongoing interactions with the Pharisees and other religious leaders.
Rather than viewing it as a hindrance to the inerrancy of scripture, we can rest assured that if this episode in Jesus’ earthly ministry never happened it wouldn’t be here. It has stood up to centuries of scrutiny and although John may not have included it in his original gospel transcripts, its placement makes good contextual and chronological sense. Christians should have no problem embracing the credibility and legitimacy of these precious verses from John’s Gospel. Let’s have a look…
By the time we reach chapter 8 of John’s Gospel, Jesus’ earthly ministry is exploding in popularity. Everywhere He goes large crowds gather to hear Him teach. He teaches openly in the Temple, to the fear and apprehension of the Pharisees. Jesus is making it more and more evident to those paying attention that He is in fact the Messiah. By the time we get to 7:53, many Jews are beginning to lean this way. As a result, Jesus now becomes a major threat to the Pharisees’ power base and their desire to arrest and kill Him is now becoming all-consuming.
They decide the time has come to set a trap for Jesus…
In John 8:2 we’re told that, “… early the next morning Jesus was back again at the Temple.” As expected, a large crowd has gathered to hear Him and in the middle of his teaching, “… the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.”
There are a couple of things worth noting here. One is that these religious leaders clearly wanted to disrupt Jesus’ teaching. They’re also looking to subject this woman to as much humiliation as possible. It’s also worth noting that although it takes two to commit adultery, there is no man in custody here. It is not a stretch to see what’s going on here as a total set up, something being done to trap Jesus. What’s the plan?
Jesus is informed by the leaders holding the woman that Moses’ Law mandates she be put to death by stoning. The Pharisees hope is that if they lead Jesus to overrule Moses, the people will become disillusioned with Him, making Him easier to arrest. In addition, if Jesus’ agrees that the woman deserves death, her execution is on Him. It would sort of deflate all the Messiah allusions.
It’s here that one of the most amazing moments in Jesus’ ministry takes place. The first thing scripture tells is that Jesus “stoops down”, presumably to put Himself on the same level as the woman. He then begins to write in the dirt with His finger. What did He write? No idea. And where the Bible is silent, we should be too but if you happen to Google “What did Jesus write in the dirt” you’ll get just over 5,000,000 results.
The one things Jesus’ doodling does do is infuriate the Pharisees who demand an answer. Jesus stands and says to them, “All right, that is the law. But let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone.” And then, incredibly, He stoops down once again and resumes drawing in the dirt. And as He’s doing this, the Pharisees, starting with the oldest, drop their stones and sulk away. Jesus played them expertly. If any one of these men chose to throw a stone, proclaiming themselves to be sin free they would have been committing the same blasphemy they were attempting to trap Jesus in.
Soon, it’s just Jesus facing the woman as they stand amid this crowd that showed up hoping to hear Jesus teach. And boy, is He about to give them a lesson. He asks the woman where her accusers have gone. “Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”
Her response is a simple, “No Lord.” To which Jesus replies, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” This is a big deal. The fact is that this woman, despite the indignity she suffers here is likely a prostitute or a chronic adulterer. Jesus’ overruling the Pharisees and in effect exonerating her must be shocking everyone looking on. And this telling her to not sin anymore. All this woman has known is sin. Does Jesus really believe she can go sinless from this moment on? The answer to that would be no and the reality is that she will likely now be even more of an outcast than she ever was but…
She also knows now that there is a remarkable hope to be found in knowing Jesus. He saves! She’s witnessed it firsthand, moments from potentially being stoned to death. The truth that there is no condemnation for those who trust in Jesus Christ has been made clear in the most demonstrative way here. And so, it is for you and me today. As the world works to condemn us in our sin, Jesus stoops down to us, meets us where we are, showers us with grace and encourages to sin no more powered by the grace we receive through confession and repentance.
Does this woman go on to live an idyllic, sin free life? Likely, no. But what she does have, and what will see here – and you and me – through the rest of her life is the Living Water, the Holy Spirit of Jesus that will one day lead here – and you and me – to one day share in His glory in Heaven for all eternity.