Should John 8 be included in the Bible?

Hey, thanks again for sending in questions related to our recent sermons. This last week, as we studied Romans 8, we looked at the beginning verse: “There is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). We also referenced John 8, where Jesus says a very similar phrase to the woman who was caught in adultery: “Neither do I condemn you; now go and leave your life of sin.”

The question this week comes from a little footnote you might have noticed in your Bibles about this passage. It says that the earliest and most reliable manuscripts do not include this account of the woman caught in adultery being brought to Jesus. The question is: Did this really happen? Should it be in our Bibles?

First, I would say this is really evidence that our Bibles are reliable. There are scholars who put great effort into searching ancient manuscripts, studying them, and seeing what is authentic or what might have been added later. They labor over tracing variants in the text—for instance, if one version says “spirit” and another says “Holy Spirit.” We know pretty accurately where these variants came from or when they came into the picture. Just by nature of your Bible pointing out that a passage isn’t in the earliest manuscripts, it tells you that great care has gone into making our translations as accurate as possible.

Our Bible translations are not what some people believe they are. Some think the Bible was translated, and then translated again, and translated again, until we are so far down the line that we don’t know if what we have is representative of what was originally written. People think it’s like a “game of telephone,” where by the time you get to the end of the line, it’s nothing like what was said at the beginning.

But our modern translations are not like that at all. When we are writing a translation, we don’t just go back to the previous line in a chain; we go all the way back to the earliest sources we can possibly find. Through archaeology, we keep digging up older materials. It’s counterintuitive, but as time goes forward, our translations actually get better because we are finding older and older manuscripts. This allows us to get back to the earliest points in the chain.

In this particular account, it is true that it’s not in the earliest manuscripts. We want to call that out and acknowledge that it may not have been in the original document John wrote. At the same time, early Christian leaders referred to stories very similar to this one in their writings. Many believe this is an authentic story, but perhaps they didn’t know exactly where to place it. As time went on, it was placed into John’s Gospel.

Furthermore, early Christian leaders believed it was an authentic representation of Jesus. Their theology was already solidified to the point where this story was in line with the Jesus they knew from other accounts. Lastly, it is in line with the rest of Scripture. It aligns perfectly with Romans 8:1, that there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.

There is no doctrine found in John 8 that isn’t also found elsewhere in the Bible. It is congruent with what we believe about Jesus and our salvation. You can trust it and believe in it because of how it accurately represents who Jesus is. Even if it wasn’t in the very first manuscript John wrote, it is a true representation of His heart.

We hope that’s helpful. We’ll see you next time.