Untitled Sermon

· Most of the earliest ancient Greek manuscripts omit this section.

· Many later manuscripts mark this section with asterisks.

· One group of manuscripts inserts this section after Luke 21:38.

· A few manuscripts have this section after John 21:24, and one has it after John 7:36.

· “All this evidence suggests that scribes were often ignorant of its exact position, though anxious to retain it as part of the four Gospels.” (Tasker) They knew it belonged, but they didn’t exactly know where.

Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned: It is true that adultery was a capital offense under Jewish law, but the rules for evidence in capital cases were extremely strict. The actual act had to be observed by multiple witnesses who agreed exactly in their testimony. As a practical matter, virtually no one was executed for adultery, since this was a relatively private sin.

· Some think that Jesus simply doodled in the dirt. The verb translated wrote could also mean, “to draw.” (Morris)

· Some think Jesus simply stalled for time.

· Some think that Jesus wrote the passage in the law that condemned the adulterous woman.

· Some think Jesus wrote out a passage like Exodus 23:1: Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.

· Some think that Jesus wrote the names of the accusers.

· Some think that Jesus wrote the sins of the accusers.

· Some think that Jesus followed Roman judicial practice and wrote out His sentence before He said it.