Background
John 7:53–8:11 (some translations start from John 8:1) is the story about the woman caught in idolatry. The reason for the question is as follows:
- A number of early manuscripts omit these verses.
- A number of manuscripts include these verses but do so with a note of doubt about their authenticity.
- These verses sometimes appear in various places in the manuscript evidence. For example, some manuscripts have this passage after
John 7:36, 44, or 21:25. Some even have it after Luke 21:38.
The story in these verses is a very early story. Most scholars have suggested that this is an authentic true account of the life of Jesus, but probably not part of the original Gospel of John. If these verses had been part of John's original Gospel, they wouldn't have been moved around as they were. It might have been a big one desire to preserve this story of Jesus, and was therefore probably privy to the Gospel of John, which was the last of The four Gospels to be written.
For more detailed information on this, see the following videos:
- Time 2:11-3:03 in John 8:1-11 – Opposed by Accusers.
- Time 33:04–35:52 in Lecture: Gospel of John.
- Time 3:03–5:53 in John 8 (Part 1) :1-11 • Mercy Triumphs over Judgment.
The Story
See time 5:55–24:29 in John 8 (Part 1) :1-11 • Mercy Triumphs over Judgment.
Jesus says in these verses: "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." The scribes and Pharisees then left one by one. Jesus then said to the accused woman: "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" She replied: "No one, Lord." And Jesus said: "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more." (John 8:7–11). This wasn't blind love,
see time 7:32–15:12 in Philippians 1 (Part 2) :3-30 • Updates and Exhortations.
This story is biblical. It's according to the teaching of apostle Paul who wrote: "Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things." (Rom 2:1). It's easy even for a Christian believer to judge a person who we believe is doing something wrong, see time 6:19-13:59 in
Romans 2 - Religion, Morality and Faith. For the most part we should leave it to the Lord, see Do not judge others in The Sermon on the Mount. See also Examples where mercy triumphs over laws and regulations in The Book of Ruth.
Romans 2 - Religion, Morality and Faith. For the most part we should leave it to the Lord, see Do not judge others in The Sermon on the Mount. See also Examples where mercy triumphs over laws and regulations in The Book of Ruth.
See also Critical verses in the gospels at the end of The Four Gospels.
