Articles
The Missing Passages - Part 4
In our previous articles we looked at passages which were in some Bible translations but not in others. The next two passages that we consider are different in two ways. First, the passages are significantly larger and second, they are more likely to be in all translations (rather than hidden in the footnotes).
John 7:53-8:11 is a questionable text. However, given its size, it would be difficult to relegate the section to the footnotes. That would be a large, awkward, space consuming footnote. Instead, the NIV puts these verses in the main text of the Bible but separated by extra space, a solid line, and the subtitle notation, “The earliest manuscripts and many other ancient witnesses do not have John 7:53-8:11.” As a result, this passage does not precisely fit into our series as it is not technically missing. Nonetheless, the shadow of doubt has been cast on it.
The text in question recounts how Jesus was in the temple one day when the scribes and Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery and tested Jesus to see what He would do with her. It is here that Jesus utters the famous line, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:7). When no one dares to kill the woman, Jesus lets her go, warning her not to sin anymore.
The account is famous and adored. Even those who question whether it belongs in the book of John are quick to add that they think the story is true. They have good reason. Everything in the account is consistent with what we know. Nothing is unusual about Jesus teaching at the temple (Mt. 21:23; Lk. 2:46-47). We often see the Pharisees and scribes testing Jesus (Mt. 16:1; 19:3; 22:15-18,34-35). A woman caught in adultery is plausible in any time period. Jesus being silent at first is consistent with how He handled accusations made against Him (Mt. 27:12,14). Let he who is without sin cast the first stone is consistent with Jesus’ teaching, “do not judge so that you will not be judged” (Mt. 7:1-2). Finally, who would be surprised that Jesus did not condemn this woman but instead called on her to sin no more (Lk. 7:44-50; John 3:17; 5:14)?
A Bible believer’s doctrine and behavior is not going to be changed based on whether John 7:53-8:11 is in brackets or not. In fact, one has to give credit to the textual critics here for their unbiased and consistent approach to Scripture. They are not on a personal crusade to get the text to read as they want it to read otherwise they would have said nothing about this text. The textual critics love this text as much as everyone else. They only make us aware of the uncertainty because there actually is uncertainty.
Fortunately, the Bible has built-in redundancy. Almost every teaching is repeated. This is especially true in the Gospels where what might be in question in one book is plainly and undoubtedly stated in another. In this case, John 7:53-8:11 does not have a parallel account but all of the teaching and behavior is replicated elsewhere, so the Bible students are not left in doubt of what the truth is or how to follow Jesus.
