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The Woman Taken
In Adultery (John 7:53-8:11)
An inspired account of John’s Gospel proving Jesus Christ as Light of
the World
Jeffrey Khoo
The story of the woman taken
in adultery in John 7:53-8:11 is called the pericope de adultera.
Modernistic scholars have attempted to remove this whole passage from the
Bible. According to Westcott, “This account of a most characteristic
incident in the Lord’s life is certainly not a part of John’s narrative.”
Not only has it been said that the pericope de adultera was not a part of
John’s Gospel, both Westcott and Hort insisted that the story “has no
right to a place in the text of the four Gospels.”
The Westcott-Hort based NIV
has this misleading statement concerning the authenticity of John
7:53-8:11: “[The earliest and most reliable manuscripts and other ancient
witnesses do not have John 7:53-8:11].” What are these so called
“earliest” and “most reliable” manuscripts which do not have the pericope
de adultera? They are Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus, both 4th
century manuscripts. Those who reject the pericope de adultera do so on a
presuppositional bias that these 2 codices which omit it are superior
manuscripts.
Are the above codices really
reliable? According to Dean Burgon, a godly and renowned Bible defender of
the last century, the codices Vaticanus and Sinaiticus are among “the most
corrupt copies in existence.” Burgon wrote, “I am able to demonstrate that
every one of them singly is in a high degree corrupt, and is condemned
upon evidence older than itself” (for a full discussion, refer to John
William Burgon’s The Revision Revised [Collingswood NJ: The Bible For
Today, 1981 reprint], 548 pp). Although the above two codices may be
“earliest” they are by no means “most reliable.”
There is abundant evidence
in support of the authenticity of the pericope de adultera. John 7:53-8:11
is found (1) in many Greek uncials and minuscules mainly of the Majority
or Byzantine text-type, (2) in the ancient versions or translations: Old
Latin, Vulgate, Syriac, Coptic, Armenian, and Ethiopic, and (3) in the
writings of the Church Fathers: Didascalia, Ambrosiaster, Apostolic
Constitutions, Ambrose, Jerome, and Augustine.
Jerome (AD 340-420), the
translator of the Latin Bible called the Vulgate, said this about the
pericope de adultera: “. . . in the Gospel according to John in many
manuscripts, both Greek and Latin, is found the story of the adulterous
woman who was accused before the Lord.” Jerome considered the pericope
genuine, and included it in his Vulgate.
Self-styled textual critics
who arrogantly say: “This text has no place in Scripture; I will never
preach from it!,” should rather heed these wise words of Calvin: “it has
always been received by the Latin Churches, and is found in many old Greek
manuscripts, and contains nothing unworthy of an Apostolic Spirit, there
is no reason why we should refuse to apply it to our advantage.”
It must be noted that if
John 7:53-8:11 is removed from the Gospel, it leaves a vacuum between the
words “out of Galilee ariseth no prophet (7:52), and “Then spake Jesus
again unto them” (8:12). In 7:40-52, we find the private dialogue and
debate among the Jewish populace, and between the temple servants and
Pharisees over Jesus’ identity; whether He was the Moses-like Prophet
(Deut 18:15) or not. Jesus was out of the picture at that time. It is thus
quite awkward to introduce Jesus so abruptly in 8:12 where it is recorded
that He spoke to them “again.” Jesus in verses 12-16 was teaching what is
righteous judgment. The pericope de adultera provides the link between the
two episodes. Jesus taught them “again” because He had already begun
teaching the people before he was interrupted by the scribes and Pharisees
(8:2-3). Jesus’ “light of the world” discourse clearly fits the context of
the pericope de adultera. The Jewish religious leaders had failed to
exercise righteous judgment because in condemning the adulteress, they
failed to judge themselves for they were equally sinful (8:7-9). Jesus’
judicial and yet merciful treatment of the adulteress clearly demonstrates
that He alone as the light of the world is the true and perfect Judge
(8:12).
The divinely inspired
account of the woman taken in adultery rightfully belongs to the Gospel of
John. Let us not hesitate to use it for our encouragement and comfort.
Recommended reading: John William Burgon, “The Woman Taken in Adultery: A
Defense of the Authenticity of St John 7:53-8:11,” in Unholy Hands on the
Bible (Lafayette: Sovereign Grace Trust Fund, 1990), F1-16; and Edward F
Hills, The King James Version Defended (Des Moines: The Christian Research
Press, 1984), 150-9.
Dr Jeffrey Khoo is the
academic dean of Far Eastern Bible College.
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