John 7:53-8:11 Explained

You may have noticed that in your bible yesterday, there was a note, brackets, or something that showed you that the story of the woman caught in adultery is not in the original manuscripts.

We don’t want to ignore it but address that head-on.

The majority of scholars agree that this is not authoritative scripture. What does that mean, and why is it in our bibles?

Most scholars agree that God uses people to inspire stories, and since John does not write it, it cannot be scripture inspired by the Spirit written by John. The gospels and the rest of the New Testament were written, influenced, or transcribed by those with apostolic authority. We see Jesus called John in Matthew 4:21, Mark 1:18- 20, and Luke 5:9-11. What keeps many scholars from accepting this due to its its late submission to the Gospel of John and because it is not in the original manuscripts. Not only wasn’t it in the original manuscripts, it wasn’t accepted until centuries later. For some reason, it was added, which is why, thousands of years later, we have this story here on our laps.

Though it may not be authoritative scripture, it is a story that completely aligns with the character of Jesus. It highlights and glorifies Him and points us back to the loving-kindness of God and the compassion He has for His people, but we don’t hold it, use it, or preach on it like it carries the weight of authoritative scripture.

We can learn from this story, just like from accounts of the cloud of witnesses that come before this. Also, we can use other parts of John to emphasize and scripturally back up what we learn about Jesus in this story. Yesterday, we saw allusions from Genesis, but we can also read in this story that Jesus holds the authority to forgive sins (John 20:21-23), condemns sin (John 5:13-15), and is compassionate to the woman (John 11:33-35).

Just like my story and your story, this story is true. It is just another witness to God’s glory through His compassionate character.

I can’t tell you why this is still in our Bible, but I pray it serves as a reminder that our stories matter. They attest with truthfulness that our God is at work in our lives. Like the women caught in adultery, we can stand before God seeking forgiveness and expect it compassionately.

If you have any questions, please email chelsymassa@resonate.net.