John 8:1-11 | What's the connection?
Admittedly, the connection and context is a little difficult to ascertain here. Bible scholars will tell you that John 7:53-8:11 is a little bit controversial, and most Bibles will tell you as much. The vast majority of Biblical scholarship actually views the section as inauthentic and a later addition. To begin, none of the early manuscripts contain the section. Language is used in this section that John does not use anywhere else in any of His writings. And it severely interrupts the flow of thought that John is making.
Let's look at this. John 7:52 says, "52 They answered and said to him, 'Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.'" As the text typically reads, everyone would go to their own homes and Jesus would go to the Mount of Olives. Coming back to the temple, Jesus has the interaction with this woman and everyone goes away. But then John 8:12 begins as though Jesus was already engaging in conversation with someone else.
12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
-John 8:12
Given the immediate context, who would the "them" be here? Everyone left but the woman and Him. Verse 11 is Jesus instructing her to go and sin no more. But then He is suddenly speaking with a plural group of people in verse 12. And who responds? The Pharisees! The very people who were said to have walked away! And what are they talking about? The same subject that was left off in John 7, Jesus' authority and witness. So John 7:53-8:11 really has a hard time fitting in to this particular section. But before we completely throw the baby out with the bathwater (what a phrase), let's look at this from a slightly different angle.
While I do not think this narrative is authentically Johannine, I do not think that automatically invalidates the narrative itself. Most scholars also are in agreement that this narrative didn't just come out of nowhere. They believe it came from oral tradition. So I believe that it is still worth examining.
One way to take this passage is to look at it thematically and see what themes line up with the broader strokes of Scripture. Here are a few themes I see:
What themes or connections are you seeing?
Let's look at this. John 7:52 says, "52 They answered and said to him, 'Are you also from Galilee? Search and look, for no prophet has arisen out of Galilee.'" As the text typically reads, everyone would go to their own homes and Jesus would go to the Mount of Olives. Coming back to the temple, Jesus has the interaction with this woman and everyone goes away. But then John 8:12 begins as though Jesus was already engaging in conversation with someone else.
12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
-John 8:12
Given the immediate context, who would the "them" be here? Everyone left but the woman and Him. Verse 11 is Jesus instructing her to go and sin no more. But then He is suddenly speaking with a plural group of people in verse 12. And who responds? The Pharisees! The very people who were said to have walked away! And what are they talking about? The same subject that was left off in John 7, Jesus' authority and witness. So John 7:53-8:11 really has a hard time fitting in to this particular section. But before we completely throw the baby out with the bathwater (what a phrase), let's look at this from a slightly different angle.
While I do not think this narrative is authentically Johannine, I do not think that automatically invalidates the narrative itself. Most scholars also are in agreement that this narrative didn't just come out of nowhere. They believe it came from oral tradition. So I believe that it is still worth examining.
One way to take this passage is to look at it thematically and see what themes line up with the broader strokes of Scripture. Here are a few themes I see:
- Jesus is Savior
- Jesus is Lord
- Jesus is sinless
- Jesus instructs to live free from sin
What themes or connections are you seeing?
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John 14:22-31 | What's the lesson for me today?John 14:22-31 | What am I going to do about it?John 14:22-31 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 15:1-11John 15:1-11 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 15:1-11 | What's the connection?John 15:1-11 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 15:1-11 | What's the lesson for me today?John 15:1-11 | What am I going to do about it?John 15:1-11 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 15:12-27John 15:12-27 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 15:12-27 | What's the connection?John 15:12-27 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 15:12-27 | What's the lesson for me today?John 15:12-27 | What am I going to do about it?John 15:12-27 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 16:1-15John 16:1-15 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 16:1-15 | What's the connection?John 16:1-15 | What’s a lesson for the original audience?John 16:1-15 | What's the lesson for me today?John 16:1-15 | What am I going to do about it?John 16:1-15 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 16:16-33John 16:16-33 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 16:16-33 | What's the connection?John 16:16-33 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 16:16-33 | What's the lesson for me today?John 16:16-33 | What am I going to do about it?John 16:16-33 | Prayer Prompts
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Passage of the Week: John 17John 17 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 17 | What's the connection?John 17 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 17 | What's the lesson for me today?John 17 | What am I going to do about it?John 17 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 18:1-11John 18:1-11 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 18:1-11 | What's the connection?John 18:1-11 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 18:1-11 | What's the lesson for me today?John 18:1-11 | What am I going to do about it?John 18:1-11 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 18:12-40John 18:12-40 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 18:12-40 | What's the connection?John 18:12-40 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 18:12-40 | What's the lesson for me today?John 18:12-40 | What am I going to do about it?John 18:12-40 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 19John 19 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 19 | What's the connection?John 19 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 19 | What's the lesson for me today?John 19 | What am I going to do about it?John 19 | Prayer Prompts
March
Passage of the Week: John 20John 20 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 20 | What's the connection?John 20 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 20 | What's the lesson for me today?John 20 | What am I going to do about it?John 20 | Prayer PromptsJohn 21 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: John 21John 21 | What's happening (and who's involved)?John 21 | What's the connection?John 21 | What's a lesson for the original audience?John 21 | What's the lesson for me today?John 21 | What am I going to do about it?Passage of the Week: Hebrews 1:1-4Hebrews 1:1-4 | What's happening (and who's involved)?Hebrews 1:1-4 | What's the connection?Hebrews 1:1-4 | What is a lesson for the original audience?Hebrews 1:1-4 | What's the lesson for me today?Hebrews 1:1-4 | What am I going to do about it?Hebrews 1:1-4 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: Hebrews 1:5-14Hebrews 1:5-14 | What's happening (and who's involved)?Hebrews 1:5-14 | What's the connection?Hebrews 1:5-14 | What's a lesson for the original audience?Hebrews 1:5-14 | What's the lesson for me today?Hebrews 1:5-14 | What am I going to do about it?Hebrews 1:5-14 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: Hebrews 2:1-4Hebrews 2:1-4 | What's happening (and who's involved)?Hebrews 2:1-4 | What's the connection?
April
Hebrews 2:1-4 | What's a lesson for the original audience?Hebrews 2:1-4 | What's the lesson for me today?Hebrews 2:1-4 | What am I going to do about it?Hebrews 2:1-4 | Prayer PromptsPassage of the Week: Hebrews 2:5-9Hebrews 2:5-9 | What's happening (and who's involved)?Hebrews 2:5-9 | What's the connection?Hebrews 2:5-9 | What's a lesson for the original audience?
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