The Account of the Adulterous Woman (John 7:53–8:11)

Series: “John: Life in Christ’s Name”Text: John 7:53–8:11

By: Shaun Marksbury Date: August 13, 2023

Venue: Living Water Baptist ChurchOccasion: AM Service

Introduction

People in Western society today are moving away from any kind of sexual ethic, making this account shocking to modern readers. Adultery is when, in this case, a married woman engages in sexual intercourse with someone other than her husband, but secular theories has caused people to question whether we should have any problem with that. After all, if evolution is true, then adulterous relationships simply spread DNA more, giving particular strains a better chance of surviving than others. If worldly ideologies are to be believed, then any kind of sexual limitation is repression and unhealthy.

However, if Scripture is true, then our Creator best informs our sexual identities and activities. Yet, that is the question before us. Some unbelievers and skeptics will look at a passage like we have before us today and note how there are questions about its reliability. They use such questions to ignore the entirety of the Bible, writing off God’s Word as an invention of some outdated human philosophy.

So, this story tests two, fundamental aspects of what we believe: the reliability of Scripture and the person of Jesus Christ. That’s how we’re considering this passage this morning. We’re going to have another word about how this passage teaches us that we can trust our Bibles, and then, we’re going to consider what this passage shows us about Christ.

This Passage Teaches Us We Can Trust the Bible.

Last week, we noted some bad history that skeptics throw at Scripture. In fact, I just shared a clip this week on Facebook from a popular podcast personality, one who draws in an audience averaging 11 million people per episode. He talked about how kings and others could have tampered with the scrolls, and we’d never know. However, as we considered last time, we can examine the homework in the critical apparatuses of the Greek and Hebrew texts to verify that the original languages were faithfully transmitted. This is evidence against tampering from any nefarious fellows in history.

This passage really shows us that. Many of your Bibles have this section in brackets, footnoting that this passage is not in the earliest manuscripts. This is clear evidence that Christians care about what we call Scripture.

This isn’t just a care for the modern Christian, either. Sixteenth-century Reformer John Calvin noted, “It is plain enough that this passage was unknown anciently to the Greek Churches.” Such a comment was fitting with the time; if you know your history, the Roman Catholic Church was launching its counter-Reformation, which (in part) inserted whole books into the canon of Scripture we know as the apocrypha. Modern Christians have continued with the conviction that we must study to know what does and does not belong in our Bibles.

When we examine the manuscript evidence, we see something with this passage unlike we see with other passages. First, when the account of the adulterous woman appears in a copy of Scripture, it’s often with a scribal note doubting its authenticity. It also appears in different places in the various copies of John — drifting through the book like a ship without an anchor. As one resource states, “Some place it after John 7:36, others after John 7:44, and still others place it as a separate unit at the end of the Gospel of John.” In at least one case, it appears in a completely different Gospel entirely: Luke 21:38! That’s where it appears — in the oldest manuscripts, it doesn’t appear at all. No other account in Scripture floats through the Bible like this one does.

Now, that alone isn’t proof positive. Yet, there are other external factors to consider. I mentioned last week that the apostolic and early church fathers quote nearly every verse of Scripture in their commentaries, and that we could practically rebuild the whole Bible from their works. However, no Greek pastor comments on this passage until the twelfth century! When we consider that with the fact that no early translation of the New Testament includes this passage, and its absent from all the earliest Greek copies and commentaries, we have serious cause for concern.

Internal markers also indicate that this passage is foreign to John, with some unique vocabulary and grammar; as one commentary notes, it “would be very difficult to justify the view that the material is authentically Johannine: there are numerous expressions and constructions that are found nowhere in John, but which are characteristic of the Synoptic Gospels, Luke in particular.” Moreover, throughout chapter 7, we’ve been considering the Feast of Tabernacles, and that is what we return to in chapter eight. In 7:37–38, Jesus referenced the water rite during the feast, and in 8:12, He refers to the next one — the lighting of lamps. As we noted two weeks ago, the Pharisees interrupted, and they said in v. 52 that “no prophet arises out of Galilee.” Yet, Jesus’s declaration to be the Light of the World in 8:12 references Isaiah 9:1–2, which predicts a light which will shine in the Galilee of the Gentiles. As MacArthur notes here, “Interposing the story of the woman taken in adultery obscures the Lord’s rebuttal of the Pharisees’ false claim.” Internally, then, it seems like this account is the product of another man’s pen and shoehorned into the text.

All the evidence points to a certainty that this account isn’t original to the John’s Gospel. When the Greek New Testament committee examine such questions, they give ratings to express their confidence that something should or should not be in the text, and they give the exclusion of the account of the adulterous woman an A rating. They also give all the manuscripts they examined where the text is and is not present so we can look for ourselves (they showed their homework).

Yet, I contend that the skeptics are wrong; such notes should increase our confidence in the reliability of Scripture. We know that no king, or pope, or council decided what should or should not be in the Bible on a whim. Why? Because all of the evidence exists before us, and we can check for ourselves.

So, is that the sermon on this text? Should we take a black highlighter to this section of Scripture? No!

First, there is evidence that this could have been a true story that some people kept alive outside of the Bible. Perhaps this is one of the instances John mentioned in John 21:25 — “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.” As one study notes, this is “widely believed to be a true story about Jesus that was preserved in the oral tradition and eventually added by well-meaning scribes.” If it was remembered in church tradition, it is certainly possible that some copyists believed it should be in the Gospels somewhere.

Second, we should note nothing in this passage contradicts anything we know about Jesus or the rest of Scripture. In fact, the opening verses parallel Luke 21:37–38, “Now during the day He was teaching in the temple, but at evening He would go out and spend the night on the mount that is called Olivet. And all the people would get up early in the morning to come to Him in the temple to listen to Him.” (This may be why one manuscript places this story after Luke 21:38.) Moreover, the interactions here are believable with Scripture, and we do see a precious scene with our Lord Jesus Christ.

So, I agree with pastors and theologians who have come later. Even though this is an uninspired story, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t truth to it. As such, it would benefit us to consider what it teaches us. That will be where we turn next.

This Passage Teaches Us about Our Trusted Savior.

We call this the story of the adulterous woman, but she is not the main character in this drama. It’s ultimately not about her, nor is it about the scribes and Pharisees. Instead, this is a narrative about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To keep this outline simple, we’ll consider the facts that Jesus teaches God’s ways, He deals with everyone’s sin, and He forgives and transforms sinners.

Jesus Teaches God’s Ways (7:53–8:2)

[Everyone went to his home. But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them.

So, the insertion of this story creates a new day which doesn’t seem to have existed in John’s narrative. Still, this is a plausible retreat — the Mount of Olives was just outside of Jerusalem and a place where Jesus and His disciples often gathered. Moreover, as everyone goes home except Jesus, we’re reminded of His words in Matthew 8:20 — “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” It’s an abrupt change in the text, but it isn’t implausible.

The next day, the text has Jesus returning to the temple to teach. Again, this parallels His activity in the other Gospels, particularly, in His final week. He was often in the temple teaching, just as we saw throughout John 7. And here, He is sitting, rather than standing, assuming the standard position of the rabbis as they taught.

We often think of Jesus as a miracle-worker, but He was primarily a teacher. The signs that He performed were just that — signs of the authenticity of His message. Back in John 5:36, He said that “the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.” The healing of the paralytic, the feeding of the five thousand, turning water in wine — these were all indicators that He had a true message from God.

That means that the teaching, not the miracles, was the main thrust of His ministry. He was here to reveal the Father to us. This is why it’s so important to know what belongs in Scripture! We would do well to listen to Christ’s Words if we want to know God.

In teaching us God’s ways, He has to say more than the world would have Him say. That brings us to the next point.

Jesus Deals with Everyone’s Sin (vv. 3–7)

The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Here, we see the religious leaders setting a two-fold trap: one for the woman, and another for Jesus. Let’s consider the woman first. The language here seems to indicate that they are themselves witnesses to an act of adultery, so they arrest the woman and bring her before Jesus.

We should know, at least, that God’s seventh commandment is, “Thou shalt not commit adultery” (Exod. 20:14; Deut. 5:18). The commandments are summations of God’s commandment. So, this addresses sexual purity, which is why entire chapters like Leviticus 18 are devoted to abstaining from all manner of sexual sin, including liaisons between unmarried people, adults and children, people and animals, and same-sex relationships. Positively, this is a command for a men and women to get married and express their sexual lives there, where they practice a commitment one to the other.

So serious was God when He gave the Law that He prescribed civil punishments for lawbreakers. In the case of adultery, both the man and the woman were to be brought out before the congregation of the people. There had to be at least two eyewitnesses to the act (Deut. 17:6; 19:15). They would then take them outside the camp, and the Lord commanded capital punishment for both parties in such cases (Lev. 20:10 and Deut. 22:22). The message was that God’s people should see marriage as holy and inviolable.

Now, the Pharisees bring this woman before Jesus to get His opinion on the matter, but that is a red flag. Why do they only have the woman? Where was the man? Such a glaring omission has caused many minds in Christian history to wonder. Perhaps one of the accusers here had tempted this woman, something akin to entrapment. Maybe the male offender was known to the Jewish leaders, perhaps one of their number, and so they “neglected” to bring him forward to avoid embarrassment. We just don’t know.

What we do know is that they bring her to Jesus for one purpose: to test Him. One of the evidences that this could be a true story is that we see the Pharisees and the Sadducees setting up religious tests for Jesus like this elsewhere (cf. Matt 22:15–23). Roman law did not condemn adulterers to death like the Torah does, and the Jewish leaders knew this (John 18:31). As such, if Jesus affirmed the Torah, they could accuse Jesus of sedition and murder under Roman law; if He denied the Torah, He would prove Himself to be a false prophet and lose the respect of the people. The conundrum they put before Jesus is believable in that they have demonstrated such tests before.

What we read in v. 6 is that Jesus responds with silence. He simply stoops down, not looking at any of them, and writes or draws in the dust underfoot. Some have speculated on what He writes or draws, but the text doesn’t say. What’s more interesting is that He refuses to answer them at first, or even continue looking at them!

Some have suggested that there may be some shame on the part of our Lord here. He wouldn’t condone adultery (He calls it a sin in v. 11), so He isn’t looking at the woman. He also sees how the religious leaders are full of pride and using this poor woman for their gain.

It’s interesting how some religious people do this. Matthew Henry notes here, “It is common for those that are indulgent to their own sin to be severe against the sins of others.” There are Christians today who see (or perceive) some impropriety in others, some sin or shortcoming, but they don’t handle God’s way and talk to the person about it. Instead, they gossip and slander. That is just as much a sin, but some Christians think it is okay. When you engage in gossip, you are harming the reputation of others, which may also damage that person’s ability to gain or retain employment and feed himself. You might not think you stand with the Pharisees, ready to physically stone an adulterer, but you are ready to murder a brother or sister in your heart and reputation. Confess such sin and self-righteousness and repent.

The Lord would call us all to self-examination. He will not countenance anyone’s sin — He turns away from it. And if that message isn’t clear to the Pharisees, who “persisted in asking Him” (v. 7), He responds, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” He can see their hypocrisy and pride as clearly as He can see her adultery. And He sees all our sin, as well.

He doesn’t point out our sin, though, for the mere purpose of condemnation. If that were the case, we might say that He is no better than them. Instead, He calls out sin so we can be changed, which is the final point.

Jesus Forgives and Transforms Sinners (vv. 8–11)

Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court. Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”]

He leaves them with His words as He stoops over again to write. Some think that He is writing something for them, but that’s not stated here. What is said is that they heard what He said, and then they slowly began to retreat from their own challenge to Him. One by one, beginning with the oldest (and perhaps somewhat more introspective), they realize that they cannot condemn the woman without condemning themselves.

So, all the accusers leave the woman with Jesus. He looks upon her now, setting His gaze not just on a sinner, but on the one He intends to save. He then speaks to her — “Woman” — which we’ve noted in the past is just a old way of saying “ma’am.” He calls her to see that that there are no accusers, for as Romans 8:1 says, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

They don’t condemn, so neither does He. He did not come to condemn the world, but to save it (John 3:17). Jesus has the right to forgive sins and to condemn them (Mark 2:5). What a blessed word to hear from Jesus, that He does not condemn you!

This is justification, where the record against us before God is expunged. He then calls us to walk as those who have received such a forgiveness, in newness of life. In Christ, we can give up sinful patterns, whether it be sexual sin like this woman experienced, or self-righteousness like that of the scribes and Pharisees. He can sanctify or transform our lives through the Holy Spirit just as much as He can save our souls from the wrath to come.

Conclusion

I hope you see today that you can trust Scripture. I hope you see that not simply because it’s the book we use, but because it’s a book about our Savior. If you can’t trust that Scripture accurately represents the word of God, you might fall short of trusting in the Savior for the forgiveness of our sins.

You might say, “Yes, but this account has been added.” That’s true, and we know that, which should bring you comfort. We know what changes have occurred, and we openly publish that information in your Bibles so no one can claim to be hoodwinked. The reality of this story, though, truly represents the message of Scripture — Jesus will forgive and transform all kinds of sinners. Do you believe that can be true for yourself? Call upon the Lord of Scripture today and be saved!

If you are a Christian, I hope that you will walk away with more than just a trust of the Bible or knowledge as to whether this account belongs in it. I hope you will consider the fact that our Lord doesn’t tolerate sin, even sins smaller than sexual sins. He does not want us standing in self-righteousness, ready to accuse others with gossip, slander, or anything like that. He calls us all to repent. Thankfully, He still forgives all our sins, so let us rest in that and walk in His newness of life.