Many of us will know and love the story of Jesus meeting a woman who has been caught in adultery. It is found in John 7:53-8:11, and it goes something like this:

Some religious leaders bring a woman to where Jesus is teaching in the temple courts. She has been caught committing adultery. They want to trap Jesus into saying something that will get him into trouble, so they challenge him: “In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” Jesus replies that whichever of them is without sin should throw the first stone.

At this, the religious leaders start to leave quietly, one by one, until Jesus and the woman are alone. He lets her go – not condemned, but forgiven – telling her as she goes to leave her life of sin. Jesus captures our attention and our hearts once again, challenging hypocrisy, confounding expectations and bringing grace and mercy into the very heart of justice. So far, so good!

But wait a minute…. in many editions of the Bible, this story seems to come with a warning: “The earliest manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have John 7:53- 8:11” (NIV). And it’s not just a footnote, like those included in study Bibles to give background information about the text – it’s right there in the main text of the story itself, where you can’t miss it. What does this mean? Why is this note of caution needed? Surely the Bible is…. well, the Bible – and always has been. Hasn’t it? And, if not, where did this story come from?!

Well, very simply, there is strong evidence to suggest that this story was not originally a part of the gospel written by John. This idea might raise all sorts of questions – why is the story there at all? What should we do with it? Do we need to think differently about this story, or John’s gospel… or the Bible?! Before we begin to answer some of these questions (don’t worry, we’ll get to this in a moment) let’s briefly consider some of the evidence that this story is not an original part of John’s gospel.

First, it is not in the earliest copies of John’s gospel that we have today. In the last two or three centuries, archaeologists and historians have found and identified many manuscript copies of the Bible that had been lost for a thousand years or more.i Archaeological discoveries of this kind include very early copies of John’s gospel, and many of those copies do not contain this story about the woman caught in adultery.

An overview of modern archaeological finds and scholarly evidence increasingly suggests that John did not include this story in his gospel. We know this because teams of editors working on revised editions of the Bible carefully review all the most up-to-date evidence in order to produce the most accurate version they can. For example, editors working on the 4th revised edition of the Greek New Testament in 1971 include in their commentary a long list of early Greek manuscripts and some early translations into other languages that do not contain this passage at all (there are almost none before the 6th Century), and also point out that the earliest ‘church fathers’ – leaders and theologians who shaped the church’s doctrines in the first few centuries after Jesus’s time – do not comment on this passage at all. What’s more, editors who have worked closely on the Greek New Testament tend to agree that this little section is somewhat different from the rest of John’s gospel in terms of its style and vocabulary. It sounds like it was written by someone else! They conclude:

“The evidence for the non-Johannine origin of the pericope of the adulteress is overwhelming.” ii

...which is a fancy way of saying they are convinced that someone other than John wrote the story of the woman caught in adultery.

It is also interesting to think about how John’s gospel would work if this story wasn’t there. If we skip over this story, we find two separate episodes involving the Pharisees now appear one after the other (John 7:45-53, and John 8:12-20). Although these refer to separate events, they are nevertheless illuminating when they are read together. Both feature the Pharisees speaking out against Jesus, and both contain echoes of the same Old Testament scripture: Isaiah chapter 9.iii In the first encounter, the Pharisees seek to undermine Jesus, saying “a prophet does not come out of Galilee” (Jesus is from Galilee). In the next encounter, Jesus claims, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

Isaiah chapter 9 is relevant to both of these (it’s worth quoting at length here!):


Jesus’s words clearly echo the Isaiah passage – He seems to be suggesting that He is the fulfilment of the prophecy. If we read it alongside the previous story, the reference to Isaiah 9 also seems to refute the Pharisees’ argument that Jesus can’t be a prophet because He is from Galilee: Galilee will be honoured, and Jesus is more than a prophet – He is the ‘great light’ coming into the darkness (and, if we read further in Isaiah chapter 9, He is ‘Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace!) It is quite plausible that John would deliberately have placed these two passages side by side in order to highlight the connection to Isaiah chapter 9, and to amplify Jesus’s claim that He is the fulfilment of the Old Testament prophecies. The story of the woman caught in adultery, when placed between these two sections, interrupts the flow and threatens to obscure this part of John’s message. 

In order to understand how this story could have ended up in John’s gospel in our modern English translations of the Bible, when it seems it wasn’t in John’s original version, we need to understand how Biblical texts have been passed down over the centuries. Before the printing press was invented in the 16th Century, the Bible was copied by hand. Hence, the historical evidence we have to draw on is in the form of ‘manuscripts’ produced by scribes. These scribes made new Bibles by copying out existing ones, word for word. They were highly skilled and usually produced excellent copies but, inevitably, small errors occurred. A word was missed or added here or there; sometimes a whole line was accidentally skipped. Sometimes, a scribe found what he thought was an error in an existing copy, and ‘corrected’ it in his own copy. As a result, no two manuscripts (that we know of) have an identical text (although the differences between them are generally very small).iv

So, coming back to the case of the woman caught in adultery, it is very possible that this was part of an oral tradition: a story known in the early church and passed down through storytelling from one generation to the next. At some point, perhaps, a scribe added it in when he was making a copy of John’s gospel – and lots of the scribes after him included it in their copies, too! It seems to have caused some difficulty for scribes, as some added it in a different place in John, and some even put it in Luke’s gospel!

If scholars generally agree that this story is not part of the original gospel of John, why doesn’t every version of the Bible contain a ‘warning’? Translations such as the King James include the story of the woman caught in adultery without any special notes.

Well, although it’s counter-intuitive, these older versions of the Bible were actually based on a later Greek text, which was derived from later manuscripts – the ones that have the story of the woman caught in adultery incorporated in them. That was all that was available in the 16th and 17th centuries when the Tyndale and King James versions were first produced. So, these versions (and those closely based on them, such as the New King James version) include the story as a matter of course; it was not considered controversial. Most of the earliest manuscripts – which were produced in the first few centuries after John’s original, and which don’t include the story – were lost, and rediscovered in the 19th century or later (some buried underground, some in libraries and the like!) English language versions of the Bible produced since the 19th century had the benefit of these discoveries. Their editors know that the story is only present in some manuscripts, and generally not in the earliest ones, and so they acknowledge this with a special ‘warning note’

Should we read, study and teach about it?
So, what do we do next? Should we stop reading the story of the woman caught in adultery altogether? The answer is… probably not! Despite the controversy over its origins, the story is still included in our Bibles for a reason. Editors could have removed it altogether (as they have done with contentious verses in other places). However, the same editors who concluded this story was in the wrong place, nevertheless found it convincing as a historical text and a Biblical account. Although it is incorrectly inserted in John’s gospel at this point, there is a strong argument that it refers to events that really did take place in the life of Jesus, and was probably passed down through oral tradition from the early church. What is more, it is in ‘harmony’ with the rest of Scripture – the main teachings we might draw from the passage can all be supported from other parts of the Bible. So, there is good reason to continue prayerfully reading, pondering and cherishing this story.

Should we consider it Scripture?
That’s all very well… but should we really read this story like we read the rest of the Bible? Is it Scripture? God-breathed, more-precious-than-gold, sharper-than-a-sword Scripture? Well, that is a trickier question. Not all Bible scholars agree on this, and a lively debate looks set to continue for now. This means we might want to be a little cautious about giving this passage the full authority of Scripture, but it certainly doesn’t mean avoiding or rejecting it altogether. Even scholars who do not consider it part of Scripture see value in the story. For example, John Piper takes this approach:

In other words, we can read, weigh and interpret the story in the light of other Bible passages, and find its message is supported by themes we find revealed elsewhere in the gospels. This is a great way to approach any Bible study or teaching – and a great way to enjoy this lovely story: an echo and a pointer to our remarkable, merciful saviour, Jesus! At Churchcentral, we have decided to include this part of John’s gospel in our preaching series on Sunday 12th May 2024 because we feel it's a beautiful representation of the gospel, and that every theme is reflected clearly in other passages. We hope you find it useful!

How can I think and learn a bit more about this?
Finally, it’s worth remembering that the passage in question here is exceptional. The more we discover about the textual history of the Bible, the stronger the evidence becomes in support of the text we have in our modern translations. There is overwhelming agreement about the vast majority of the Bible as we know it, and remarkably few discrepancies like this one. We can have confidence that our Scriptures are both authentic and original. If you are still interested, intrigued, confused, troubled or excited to know more about all this, there are some resources linked below. And, of course, you can always have a chat with one of the elders or your Community Group leader – they may not be able to answer all your questions, but they can point you to someone who will (or at least have a good try!).

Places to read more:

• John Piper’s sermon: a clear and accessible account of the story – its history, its message and its status as non-Scriptural (in his view, at least). 
• A post (by Peter Gurry) from the Evangelical Textual Criticism blog – the debate in the comments is lively, and gives a flavour of some different opinions here!
• For those who want something a little meatier and more academic, this book explores the issue in more depth (try to borrow or find an ebook – this one’s expensive!) The Pericope of the Adulteress in Contemporary Research, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2016.

i To give one well known example, you may have heard of the “Dead Sea Scrolls”. These were documents found by a shepherd boy in sealed pots in a cave, which turned out to date from before Jesus’ time and to include the oldest known copy of the Old Testament book of Isaiah.

ii Metzger, B., 1971, “A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament”

iii See Metzger, B., 1971, “A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament”

iv There is a whole field of academic study (“textual criticism”) that uses these differences to trace the history and development of the text, and to try to identify the text closest to the originals that we can.

v “Neither do I condemn you”, https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/neither-do-i-condemn-you--3

By Jonny Mellor

The Christian life is a life defined by joy. However, it is also a life marked by discipline. Just as in any human relationship we must discipline ourselves to enjoy that relationship fully, the same is true of our relationship with God.

Fasting - abstaining from food for a period of time - is such a discipline.

Fasting is a funny one as there is no explicit command in the Bible to tell us that we must fast. However, it is just assumed that we will do it. Jesus begins his teaching on fasting with the words- ‘when you fast…’ not ‘if you fast’ (Matthew 6:16) and it is a practice that Bible heroes in the Old and New Testament thrived off- Jesus himself, but also Moses, David, Elijah, Esther, Paul and Daniel.

But I recognise that for many of us, this subject can seem a little strange, so I thought I’d put together some whats, hows and whys on this subject.

Maybe the best way to answer this question is to ask why people in the Bible fasted. Here is a non-comprehensive list:

1) To seek God’s guidance (Judges 20:24-27, 2 Chronicles 20:3-4, Matthew 4:2, Acts 13:1-3)
2) Repentance (Joel 2:12-14, Jonah 3:5, Nehemiah 9:1-2, Daniel 9:16-19)
3) Seeking answer to specific prayers (2 Samuel 12:22-23, Ezra 8:21, Joel 1:13-14, Esther 4:3)

It is clear in both the Old and New Testaments that fasting can be practised wrongly as well. It shouldn’t be directed towards people, to impress them or make you look very pious (Matthew 6:16-18), it shouldn’t just be performed as a religious duty just because it’s the done thing either (Zec 7:4-5) and just because you’re fasting it doesn’t mean that you can stop obeying God in other areas (Isaiah 58:1-11)!

Basically, the kind of fasting God rewards does not just involve going without food, but it involves a specific attitude: a desire for God.

In Psalm 109, David describes one of the times when he is fasting (109:10), and his motivation is clear:

‘My eyes fail,
looking for my God.’ (Ps 109:3)

True fasting, it seems, is not fasting done to impress people, not even fasting done primarily to get stuff off God, it comes from a deep desire for God himself.

And this is the result of true fasting, as Isaiah makes clear in Isaiah 58:9:

‘Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: here am I.’
 
This is the amazing thing about fasting, its reward is the most valuable thing of all: the presence of God. Hearing his voice saying that He is right here by our side.

So you’re sold? Good. But how do we do it?

I’ll break this down into a few other questions to help:

1) Does a fast have to be a food-fast?
Fasting is nearly always going without food in the Bible. People often ask though, ‘can I fast something other than food?’ Of course you can. You can do or not do what you want (within reason) and taking a break from things like television, music, social media sites or computer games might be a good idea sometimes. However, I’d encourage you that if you want to fast, to do it the way the Bible suggests. I’ve always found that there is something about going without food that complements seeking after God. There is something about physical hunger that mirrors the spiritual hunger we feel (or want to feel) when we fast.

2) What counts as food though?
Is toothpaste food? What about a milk shake? How about chewing gum? Soup? Muslims fasting during Ramadan won’t let anything pass their lips and some Christians seem to get themselves in a similar state of legalism about fasting. Basically, you don’t have to fast and the manner in which you fast is largely up to you. This is a matter of your heart to seek God, he is much more concerned about your heart than whether you inadvertently swallow a fly or start munching a biscuit because you forgot you were fasting.

For me, I avoid things that I would normally count as food and be reasonably relaxed about the types of drink I have. I would adopt as many breath freshening methods as possible as well (if you don’t know why, try fasting and breathing on people at the end of the day, you’ll soon find out!)

3) What should I do while fasting?
I have fasted for several days in my life that I am almost certain have had no spiritual benefit at all. Some have been spent working so solidly that I forgot to eat, other times I was ill! Not wanting to sound repetitive, but fasting is not just an external action, it is a way of seeking God. Therefore, I would doubt the effectiveness of fasting and simply missing lunch and dinner to put in extra time at work.

Prayer is fasting’s perfect partner, but I would also spend time reading God’s word when I’m fasting and spend other time quietly listening to the Holy Spirit’s voice. Remember fasting is about seeking God. One of the reasons it’s helpful is that it frees up time to do just that.

I find it helpful to extend my morning quiet time instead of having breakfast and to go for a walk during my lunch break and sometimes at dinner time as well to pray. Not eating can actually free up about 2 hours of your day; my advice would be to use this time wisely.

4) How long should I fast?
Again this is up to you. Some people suggest starting by just fasting one meal, but again there is no biblical precedent for this. An averagely healthy human being can go at least 3 weeks without food without suffering any lasting damage, so a day is not going to kill you! It’s not easy though. My advice would be to start with a day. There may never be a need to do a longer fast or you may feel like you want to fast for longer next time.

5) How often should I fast?
Fasting is not something we do to tick off our Christian bucket list. It is a practice that we have up our sleeve to do whenever we feel prompted by the Spirit. Some people find it helpful to fast one day every week, and that’s fine. I avoid this, as it can become legalistic and when I’ve done this before I’ve tended to end up fasting mainly because that’s what I do and not to seek God urgently for his presence. I fast when there is something particularly pressing to pray for, or when I really need God’s guidance.

So, please seriously building regular days of fasting into your life. If you do, avoiding some of the pitfalls I’ve mentioned, Jesus promises that the Father will reward you. Yes, he promises it.

Check out Matthew 6:18 if you don’t believe me.

Oh yeah, one more thing, stock up on some tasty breakfasts as well.

By Elise Jack

Is there anything more torturous than waiting to bite into your Big Mac whilst someone seems to be blessing every blade of grass the cow that was made into the burger ate? Is there anything more awkward than making eye contact with somebody during a prayer session? How many repentant, “Sorry God, I fell asleep,” have we prayed because we thought doing our quiet time in bed at 10pm was a good idea? No hate, just saying what we are all thinking!

On a serious note though, prayer – something that God has been revealing, providing insight into and shedding light on in both a kind and convicting way in my life recently. I felt God wanted me to share my recent experience of prayer in the concept of, “Prayer as a lifeline.” (It has so many forms and functions and this is just one specific area that should be used alongside others in our prayer lives.) As a student nurse I find myself in hospitals quite often and so that is how God has been teaching me. However, I think the principle of prayer remains the same whatever work or space you find yourself in. So, I hope you find this encouraging and helpful in whatever way God wants to use it.

 In my work environment where sickness is so apparent, pain and frustration are common feelings and fear fills the bays, beds and the lives of the families of sick patients, I have had to learn to grab hold of the only lifeline that stays fast – prayer. I think this realisation of an absolute need for prayer and the understanding that work and faith aren’t in conflict with each other or entirely separate compartments of my life but rather in companionship came when I encountered my first patient death. It was a deeply saddening day as I processed what was unfolding in front of me. I had so many questions. I wasn’t sure if this patient was a believer or what their thoughts on faith were nor how I should be dealing with it all but there I was, in the room, helping as we delivered our final duties of care and all I did in that moment was pray. Intercede. Converse with my heavenly Father. Invite Him in. When all else had failed, genuinely the only thing left to grab onto was the hem of Jesus and I am so grateful for that. What a privilege prayer is – that the God of the universe would send down his son in the form of a human to die a brutal death for us, rise again, bringing righteousness wrapped in a blanket of grace to then ascend to Heaven and leave us with the Holy Spirit – a helper and advocate – to whom we can speak through to get to the Father. Unreal! It almost sounds silly to say, but so much changed the day I realised I could pray for my patients and that I had power to be change in their and their families’ lives. Prayer as a lifeline both for myself but also for others.

So much about hospital treatment revolves around consent. It revolves around asking before doing and including before actioning. I spoke to a friend as I debriefed all that had happened that shift and something that really stood out to me was summed up in, “you don’t need permission to pray, just do it. You don’t know the power a prayer can have in your patient’s life in that moment.” During the emotions of that day, prayer was a huge lifeline for me – it brought me peace and strength. The Holy Spirit comforted and uplifted and my eyes were opened to the reality of the shifting atmosphere that comes with prayer. When we as Christians walking through life have the Holy Spirit within us, we have the power to shift atmospheres, bring peace into anxious situations, bring calm to fearful hearts and to bring light to dark places. Through prayer, we have a clear and direct line to the maker of the universe in which we can intercede for those we meet, those we care for, those we walk past, those we study alongside, and that is incredible. This ability to pray and intercede is so biblical. 1 Samuel 12:23 says, “As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you.” In John 17:1-8 Jesus prayed the longest prayer, and it was packed full of interceding prayers. I too want to be able to pray with a heart that is for the people of God because, if prayer is as powerful and as mighty as Jesus claims, what power we hold in us because of the work of the Holy Spirit. Prayer, as a lifeline isn’t just a rope that we can cling to in times of distress, it’s a lifeboat that we put out to those we intercede for, bringing them to the father.

Another way I think prayer as a lifeline is such a valuable gift is in the fact that it is a perspective changer. When we pray ‘lifeline prayers,’ we lift our gaze. Our heads are tilted back up away from us and back onto Him. We plead for help which requires a placing of God above ourselves and a humility that comes from admission that we can’t do it alone. We also have others in the forefront of our minds, thus causing us to love better, act more like Jesus and ultimately become more like Him. As Tim Keller says in his book entitled Prayer “…and thereby [through prayer] we are changed in attitude, behaviour and character.” That’s the goal, right? I want to be more like Jesus.

Prayer has so many dimensions. Seeing prayer as a lifeline, is just one of the many, many ways we can approach prayer. We need prayer. We need to be in relationship with our maker. We need to be interceding for those around us. We are the hands and feet of Jesus, but we need him to action our steps and move our fingers. I want to cling to prayer and to Jesus because He is the source. When our mindset changes from a, “I need to pray today because God requires me to, to, “I get to pray today because Jesus allows me to,” our motivation to want to spend time with our heavenly father changes and prayer becomes easier to reach. I often fall short of this and God is kind in drawing me back and giving me community and ‘Weeks of prayer’ to encourage, spur and convict. Let’s do that this week. How can we love others and love God better? Let’s pray for them. Let’s pray with them. Let’s pray.