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John 7:53-8:11 · Providence Baptist Church - Sermons

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Amen and good morning.
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If you will please join me in your copy of God's Word, John chapter 7, the text that follows verse 52.
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!
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Likely does, but I'm just not sure if it does.
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You will note, if you look there at the end of chapter 7, in brackets, and then the text that follows in double brackets,
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the earliest manuscripts do not include chapter 7, verse 53, through chapter 8, verse 11.
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And then, in the ESV, a footnote that says some manuscripts do include 7, 53, through 8, 11.
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Others add the passage here, or after 7, 36, or after 21, 25, or after Luke 21, 38, with variation in the text.
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So, what are we supposed to do with these texts?
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I will tell you at the outset, the portion of my Bible that I intend to read to you, found on this page,
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is the only portion I intend to read, what I just read.
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That was it.
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My goals for us this morning are twofold, which, if you like to take notes, here's the outline for you.
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They're as follows.
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Two goals.
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Number one, explain why I don't believe that John 7, 53 through 8, 11 belongs in our Bibles,
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and therefore, why I will not be preaching it this morning.
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So, you could more simply call that point exclusion.
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Secondly, I would like to explain why we can have a great confidence that our Bibles are God's inspired, authoritative, inerrant word.
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Texts like this ought not cause us to be concerned about the veracity of the fact that this is God's word.
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So, again, if you want to abbreviate that point, you could call it confidence.
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So, exclusion and confidence.
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We do have some texts for today, so I'm not going to not use the Bible at all today, just not this particular text.
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I'm just going to ask you to hang with me here on it, and if you'd like to turn as I go along, please join me where I go.
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But before we do any of that, let's pray God's blessing on this sermon.
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Father, thank you very much for this morning.
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Father, we thank you for your word.
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We recognize that it is inspired and therefore authoritative.
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It is inerrant.
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And Father, we want to come to it humbly.
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We want to understand it rightly.
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We want to obey it.
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And so, as we come to a bit of passage that's difficult and hard to understand exactly what we ought to do with it,
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I pray that you give us great wisdom.
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And we pray this in Christ's name and for his glory.
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Amen.
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Okay, firstly, exclusion.
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I want to explain why I don't believe that John 7, 53 through 8, 11 should be at least in our Bibles the way it is in most people's Bibles.
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Now, I'm assuming, again, it's the way it is in mine, right?
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The text is there with these double brackets and these careful notes.
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There is external evidence to this end.
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This text, John 7, 53 through 8, 11, is not found in any of the best or earliest manuscripts.
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We have a vast number of early manuscripts, right?
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Some in total, some in fragments.
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But putting them all together is how we arrive at the text that we have before us today.
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The work of doing this is called textual criticism.
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And that is the academic discipline aimed at reconstructing the original text of the Bible with utmost accuracy.
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There are brilliant people doing really careful work to this end, both past, present, and Lord willing in the future.
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This endeavor relies on the manuscript's quality and its contextual consistency.
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So there's comparison across these early, early manuscripts.
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And it is a painstaking work.
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Textual critics pore over these early manuscripts to ascertain what does and what doesn't belong.
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Uncertainty that these verses belong is the reason for the double brackets found in the ESV with the comment and the additional footnote that I read for you.
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Those manuscripts that do contain it, as was mentioned in the footnote, don't all place it after 752.
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Sometimes it's found in other places and in variations.
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So, it is most likely a story that may or may not have happened, but was passed down orally and added in at a later time.
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It found its way into some of the later copies of the Bible.
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We don't know if it happened.
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I'm unsure.
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Could have been a thing that happened in the life of Jesus.
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But we're just not confident of it.
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Further, the late Bruce Metzger, a well-respected textual critic of the 20th century, in his work, a textual commentary on the Greek New Testament, notes that,
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quote,
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No Greek church father, prior to Euphemius Zagabinus, I think, from the 12th century, comments on the passage,
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and Euphemius declares that the accurate copies of the gospel do not contain it.
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It's the 12th century, right?
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1100s.
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It's the first time we see a church father comment on it, and he there says, not found in the most accurate copies of the text.
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This is why I am convinced, as much as one can be convinced when dealing secondhand, all of this information is coming to me through others.
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I am certainly no textual critic, and I don't intend to present myself to you in that way.
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That's why I'm convinced that these verses should be omitted altogether, or they should be footnoted, like John chapter 5, verse 4.
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If you want to, as I'm talking, turn there and notice that there is no John 5, 4 in the text, but there's a footnote that speaks of it.
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We referenced that when we preached that text.
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And there's other verses in the Bible that are dealt with this way as well.
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D.A. Carson, in his commentary on John, the seminal commentary, the one that everybody should have if they're studying the book of John,
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says this.
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This is the quote that's in your bulletin today.
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These verses are present in most of the medieval Greek minuscule manuscripts.
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Those are more recent manuscripts.
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But they're absent from virtually all early manuscripts that have come down to us.
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Jim Hamilton, who you're probably familiar with, wrote a book on the chiastic structure of the book of John,
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wrote an article making an argument to the English Standard Version that they should be putting this down as a footnote.
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So just not enough early and best manuscript evidence that is there.
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It's omitted in those cases.
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And so it's good for us to think in those terms.
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So there's some external evidences.
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There's also some internal evidences.
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And I won't spend much time developing my argument at this point because I know that what I'm going to say is subjective.
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When I'm proposing to you, you could take it or leave it.
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So I just won't spend a whole lot of time on it.
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I find that the previous comments that I've made are sufficient to the argument that I'm making this morning.
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But I do want to take a moment to point out the interruption of 753 through 811 in the flow of writing,
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John's writing from chapter 7 and into chapter 8, I would argue, picks up in verse 12.
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Earlier in chapter 7, we read verse 37.
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On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out,
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If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.
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So at the Feast of Booze, the last day, we're unsure if it's the seventh day or the eighth day.
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I want to think that it was on the seventh when they're going through this water ritual that we've talked about previously.
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The centerpiece of that text, Jesus stands up and he states that he is the fulfillment of the water ritual.
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He's the fulfillment of that ritual.
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Those who are spiritually hungry should come to him for the satisfaction of their soul.
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There was also, at the Feast of Booze, a candle lighting ritual.
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Also there, which we're going to discuss further as we study on into chapter 8.
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In chapter 8 and verse 12, we see the record.
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Again, Jesus spoke to them saying,
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I am the light of the world.
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Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
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I think John is writing and setting this stage with some conflict that happens in between.
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Jesus both saying, I'm the fulfillment of the water ritual and I am the fulfillment of the light ritual that you go through.
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And so this story comes in as an interruption to that.
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Now again, that's subjective.
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You may not feel like it is, and I'm okay with that.
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Further though, 753 through 811 are not chiastic.
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I tried and tried to find any chiastic structure to it.
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And it messes with the chiastic structure of the entire narrative all together.
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And so I think that's another indicator.
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And it's at this point.
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I will digress.
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All of this taken together is enough for me to decide not to preach this text.
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Not include it in our preaching schedule.
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That said, you are most welcome to disagree with me.
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We can still be friends.
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I promise.
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So put your fists down.
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It's okay.
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If you have some other knowledge and you want to come debate with me after our time together, here's my response.
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So maybe you just won't.
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I'm going to go, okay.
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I don't care that much.
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However, I do want to be so very careful when we say, thus saith the Lord.
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That he did in fact.
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That we have some confidence that the text we're putting before you on a Sunday morning is God's word.
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Now I know that some of you may love this story.
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It's very possible that you, even as we picked up a study of John, thought forward to this and couldn't wait to hear it explained.
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I've taught it in the past.
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It places on display Jesus' merciful nature towards sinners.
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It juxtaposes the legalism of his day with the offer of grace found in the gospel.
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The issue at hand is not one of trying to avoid some teaching that is complex or contradictory.
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Something that's going to undermine our understanding of what I would now do.
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We might do so to avoid teaching that we should handle snakes and drink poison as a testing of our faith.
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Not so in this case.
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People have done objectionable things with the text we're talking about.
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But I think you could teach this text and not err in any way whatsoever.
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That's not what's going on here.
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But rather just taking the time to be careful, to give care to what we are noting as God's word.
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Confidently noting as God's word.
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Before I move on, allow me to take a moment to say two things that we might have derived from the text.
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But we're not going to.
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But I'm going to do it from places that we are confident are God's word.
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If this is not, in fact, does it not belong in John, we don't lose anything because the Bible teaches elsewhere the things that we could learn from it.
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Two things quickly.
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Number one.
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The avoidance of judgmentalism.
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A legalism that looks down its nose at others doesn't apply the same standard to yourself.
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Jesus teaches in Matthew chapter 7, verse 1 through 5.
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Judge not that you be not judged.
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For with the judgment you pronounce, you will be judged.
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And with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
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Is he excluding careful correction?
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Absolutely not.
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Because he goes on.
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Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
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Or how can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of your eye, when there is a log in your own eye?
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You hypocrite.
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First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.
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So there is instruction here for how we ought to view our own sin.
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To see it as big and massive.
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A log in the analogy here.
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That we would properly deal with our own sins so that we can be a help to others.
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Removing a thing that does need to be removed, a speck.
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It's agitating and not good for the brother.
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There's a way that we ought to go about correcting one another.
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We should avoid this kind of judgmentalism that you might teach from the text.
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Second, the loving kindness of Christ for sinners.
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I said this previously.
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Jesus welcomes to himself people who are sinful.
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He's got big, broad arms for people who come to him for the forgiveness of their sins.
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Again in Matthew chapter 11, verse 28 and following.
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Jesus says,
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Perhaps this is what he may have said to this adulterous woman, assuming that she existed.
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So we don't lose anything if we say,
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Perhaps not.
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We're not confident this is God's word.
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I wish my copy had it relegated down to a footnote at the bottom.
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I think this would serve us better.
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But what do we do then if we say,
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Well, there's some places that we're not sure are the Bible,
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and yet they find their way in.
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What do we do with this?
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This brings me to my second point.
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I want to explain why we can have a great confidence that our Bibles are God's word.
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This doesn't have to shake our confidence.
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In fact, I think it should increase our confidence
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that our Bibles are God's inspired, authoritative, inerrant word.
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The Bible is unlike any book ever written.
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At the most fundamental level, it is both authored by human beings and by God.
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The word Christians have commonly used to describe this process is inspired.
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This means that the Bible is the product of God inspiring and using human authors
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to write his perfect, holy words without error or defect.
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No problems with it at all.
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And yet, here we find ourselves with copies handed down,
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translations given to us,
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finding a possible error here.
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We're talking about God's inspiration.
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We're talking about that original text that was given that we have now received.
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And we've received it with some challenges to it.
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Two passages that explicitly tell us the Bible is God's inspired word.
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2 Timothy 3, verse 16.
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I hope you're familiar with this.
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That phrase in the Greek, breathed out by God,
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is more literally translated, God breathed, or expired.
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Expired.
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You expire when you breathe out.
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So breathed out by God,
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breathed into the human author.
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That's where we get this word inspired.
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Breathed out by God,
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so that it was breathed into the human author.
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He is the source using the human author to accomplish his ends.
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Second text, 2 Peter chapter 1, verse 20 and 21.
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Knowing this, first of all,
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The Bible originated not with the will of its human writers,
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but with the will of God, the Holy Spirit.
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Over 3,000 times, biblical writers claim to have received their messages from God.
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God the Holy Spirit inspired, right?
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Breathed out, breathed into the scriptures through these human writers.
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To be clear, this does not mean that God dictated the Bible to its human authors.
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That they took on some kind of robotic form and just pinned down the text.
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Rather, they wrote with their own creativity,
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in their own styles,
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with their own vocabulary,
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accomplishing all along exactly what God wanted them to accomplish.
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He used all of those means to accomplish his ends.
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That word, carried along,
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it's a single word in 1 Peter,
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is the same word that describes Paul's ship and axe
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that's carried along by the storm.
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A ship has sails to catch the wind.
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It has a keel to prevent it from tipping over,
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a rudder to steer it,
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but ultimately,
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a ship goes
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where the wind carries it.
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So, we believe that God's word,
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original text,
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is inspired by God.
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So, it is
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inerrant,
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and it is
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authoritative,
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but how about the thing we have?
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How do we know this is God's
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word?
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Let me make an argument for you first
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for the Old Testament.
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Now, if you are already really confident
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that this, in fact,
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is God's word,
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and then just take this as an apologetic,
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a way to help others
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who may struggle
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with these truths.
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So, argument for the Old Testament.
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Jesus himself,
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the Lord Jesus Christ,
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validated the Old Testament's inspiration
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by quoting from all three sections,
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the Law,
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the Prophets,
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and the Writings.
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You can see this in Luke 24,
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in verse 44.
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He endorsed the inspiration
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and authority of the Old Testament
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in detail.
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Matthew chapter 5,
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verse 17 and 18.
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The Bible of Jesus' day,
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what he's referring to,
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was our Old Testament.
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The 39 books
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that are canonized
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as our Old Testament.
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Listen to what Jesus says
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in Luke chapter 11,
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verse 49 and following.
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Therefore also,
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the wisdom of God said,
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I will send them prophets and apostles,
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some of whom they will kill
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and persecute,
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so that the blood
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of all the prophets
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shed from the foundation
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of the world
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may be charged
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against this generation.
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I'm going to get wrapped up
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in the details
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of what's going on here,
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but he's indicting those
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who are going to kill
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him and his apostles,
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just like they killed
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the prophets.
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And then verse 51 says,
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from the blood of Abel
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to the blood of Zechariah
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who perished between the altar
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and the sanctuary.
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Yes, I tell you,
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it will be required
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of this generation.
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Okay, so he's referring to
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prophets who had been killed
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and he bookends Abel
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to Zechariah,
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a specific Zechariah,
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one who perished between
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the altar and the sanctuary.
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So Abel,
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in the text,
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is not called a prophet,
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but here Jesus calls him
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a prophet.
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Genesis chapter 4,
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verse 10.
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It's that Abel.
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The Lord said to him,
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What have you done?
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The voice of your brother's blood
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is crying to me
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from the ground.
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Abel,
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dead Abel,
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slain by his brother,
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cried out as a prophet,
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Jesus says.
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Genesis 4,
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in verse 10.
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So the first prophet,
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Abel.
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Zechariah,
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found in 2 Chronicles chapter 24,
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why is he the bookend?
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Why is he at the other end of this?
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Let me just show you,
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this is the Zechariah,
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2 Chronicles chapter 24,
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verse 20 and 21.
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Then the Spirit of God
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clothed Zechariah,
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the son of Jehoiada,
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the priest,
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and he stood above the people
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and said to them,
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Thus says God,
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Why do you break the commandments
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of the Lord
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so that you cannot prosper?
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Because you have forsaken the Lord,
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he has forsaken you.
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But they conspired against him,
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and by command of the king
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they stoned him with stones
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in the court of the house
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of the Lord,
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the one who perishes
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between the altar
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and the sanctuary.
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Chronologically,
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the last martyr
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was Uriah.
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If you put her on a calendar,
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chronologically,
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the last martyr,
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we go from Abel
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to Uriah,
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whose death is described
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in Jeremiah chapter 26.
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So why does Jesus say
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Abel
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to Zechariah?
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It's because
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the Jewish Bible
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of Jesus' day
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was ordered
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differently
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than ours.
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I think ours should be ordered
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the way theirs was,
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personally.
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But,
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it's not ordered
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in that way.
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Our Old Testament
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is grouped
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by literary type.
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Jesus' Bible
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not grouped
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this way.
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1 and 2 Chronicles
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were one book,
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Chronicles,
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and was written
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as an overview
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of Israel's history
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with a particular emphasis
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on David
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and the temple.
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It was placed
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at the end
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of Jesus' canon
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to help God's people
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look forward
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to a better David
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and a better worship.
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That's a neat way
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to read through
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the Old Testament.
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So in Luke 11,
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when Jesus says,
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from the blood of Abel
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to the blood of Zechariah,
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he's indicting
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the generation
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for the death
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of the prophets
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of his Bible.
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Notice what he's doing.
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He's affirming
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that everything
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from that prophet
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to the last prophet
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as they would have read it
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is the scripture.
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Those people
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were all the prophets.
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So that,
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we can have great,
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great,
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great confidence
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that our Old Testament,
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although now coming to us
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in a different order,
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was Jesus' Bible
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and he affirms
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that it is
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God's word.
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So now,
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how about an argument
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for the New Testament?
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I will say to you
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that the New Testament
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does sit,
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those 27 books
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that we call
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the New Testament,
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do sit on the foundation
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of the Old Testament,
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right?
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They reference back
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to the Old Testament
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constantly.
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But what else?
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What else might we think
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about how we arrived
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at the New Testament?
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Did Jesus have anything
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to say about it?
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Well,
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he did prepare his disciples
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for the coming of it.
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John chapter 16
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and verse 12,
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right?
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The Spirit was going
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to lead them
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in the truth.
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And so,
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he endorsed it
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in principle.
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There will be
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some further writing.
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Paul received revelation
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pertaining to redemption.
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We read in Galatians
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chapter 1,
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verse 11 through 17.
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And he expected
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his writings
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to be received
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as from God.
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2 Thessalonians
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chapter 2,
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verse 13
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and verse 15.
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Peter classified
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Paul's writings
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with the inspired
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Old Testament.
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2 Peter chapter 3
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and verse 16.
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So we get some hints
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within,
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right?
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That would lead us
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to at least conclude
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that there ought
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to be some books
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that make up
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the New Testament.
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So how do we end up
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with these 27 books?
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Well,
27:24
there was careful
27:25
criteria applied
27:27
to how to canonize
27:29
these books.
27:32
Number one,
27:33
they had to be written
27:34
by a recognized prophet
27:35
or apostle
27:36
like Isaiah,
27:37
Jeremiah,
27:38
Moses,
27:38
Paul,
27:39
or Peter.
27:41
that had to be written
27:43
by those associated
27:45
with a recognized prophet
27:46
or apostle
27:46
like the book of Luke
27:48
or Acts.
27:51
They were measured
27:52
on their truthfulness.
27:54
Deuteronomy 18,
27:55
verse 20 through 22.
27:57
God says,
27:58
if a prophet claims
27:59
to be speaking
27:59
from me
28:00
and what he said
28:00
is not true,
28:02
then he has not
28:03
spoken from me.
28:07
Faithfulness
28:08
to previously
28:09
accepted
28:09
canonical writings
28:11
was important.
28:13
Those things
28:13
seen as operating
28:14
as God's word,
28:16
were they faithful
28:16
to those books?
28:19
If they had been
28:20
confirmed by Christ,
28:22
prophet,
28:23
an apostle,
28:24
Luke 24,
28:25
verse 24,
28:26
2 Peter chapter 3,
28:27
verse 16,
28:29
I mentioned previously,
28:32
and church usage
28:33
and recognition.
28:35
These are the criteria
28:36
that were applied.
28:38
The church used
28:38
these writings
28:39
and was deeply
28:41
edified by them.
28:43
They were believed
28:44
over time
28:44
that they were
28:45
from God
28:46
and so the final
28:46
acceptance
28:47
of the recognition
28:48
of the 66 books
28:49
of the Bible
28:50
as scripture
28:50
took place
28:52
at the Senate
28:52
of Carthage
28:53
in A.D. 397.
28:57
Now there could be
28:58
much criticism
28:59
of the Bible
29:01
at this point,
29:02
the New Testament
29:02
at this point.
29:05
The claim is always
29:06
that the church
29:07
made the Bible.
29:09
It selected
29:09
what it did
29:10
and didn't want
29:11
to be contained
29:12
within it.
29:14
But we like
29:15
rather to think
29:16
that the church
29:17
did not make
29:18
the Bible
29:18
but rather
29:19
the Bible
29:20
made the church
29:21
and they merely
29:22
verified
29:23
its use
29:25
and its veracity.
29:27
So Christians
29:29
gathered
29:29
at the Senate
29:30
of Carthage
29:30
and said
29:31
using these criteria
29:33
what do we believe
29:35
God has been using
29:36
to work in the life
29:37
of his church?
29:40
Bring some veracity
29:41
to it.
29:44
And to that end
29:45
we can also think
29:46
in terms of
29:47
our own experience.
29:49
experience.
29:50
It's something
29:51
worth mentioning.
29:54
The longer I spend
29:55
studying the Bible
29:55
and the more
29:57
flawlessly I see
29:59
it all fit together
30:00
even pieces
30:01
written thousands
30:02
of years apart
30:03
the more it
30:05
seems to me
30:06
like the work
30:07
of God.
30:09
Isn't it an
30:10
astounding
30:11
astounding
30:11
book?
30:13
A bunch of men
30:14
couldn't have colluded
30:15
to pull this thing
30:16
off.
30:17
Now I know
30:19
that that's not
30:19
an argument
30:20
that you can
30:20
bank your life
30:21
on but for me
30:22
in addition
30:22
to the more
30:23
objective arguments
30:24
I have to say
30:26
that it feels
30:27
like what it
30:28
claims
30:29
to be.
30:31
God illuminates
30:32
the text to me
30:32
he makes it
30:33
come
30:34
alive.
30:35
I hope he does
30:36
the same
30:36
for you.
30:39
Paul wrote
30:39
in 1 Corinthians
30:40
chapter 2
30:41
and verse 14
30:41
the natural person
30:42
does not accept
30:43
the things
30:43
of the Spirit
30:44
of God
30:44
for they are
30:45
folly to him
30:46
and he is not
30:46
able to
30:47
understand them
30:47
because they
30:48
are spiritually
30:50
discerned.
30:53
So we contend
30:55
that the Bible
30:55
is God's
30:57
inspired word
30:58
to mankind
30:59
and if so
31:00
if it's inspired
31:02
then it follows
31:03
that it is
31:03
inerrant
31:04
it doesn't have
31:05
any error in it
31:06
because God
31:06
cannot lie
31:07
and it is
31:08
authoritative
31:09
because he is
31:11
God
31:12
God
31:12
and so
31:13
we should
31:14
in closing
31:15
I want to
31:15
quote
31:16
two scholars
31:18
Gary Phillips
31:18
and William
31:19
Brown
31:20
they say
31:20
quote
31:21
it is true
31:23
however
31:23
that the quality
31:25
of the New Testament
31:26
manuscripts
31:26
is less than
31:28
that of the
31:28
Old Testament
31:29
ones
31:29
more variant
31:31
readings do
31:31
exist
31:32
although these
31:32
are usually
31:33
matters of
31:33
spelling
31:34
or word
31:35
order
31:35
not matters
31:36
of doctrine
31:37
however
31:39
because there
31:40
are so many
31:41
manuscripts
31:41
of the New Testament
31:42
available
31:43
by comparing
31:44
the readings
31:45
the original
31:46
can be
31:47
reconstructed
31:48
the result
31:50
of the science
31:51
of textual
31:51
criticism
31:52
is an almost
31:53
pure
31:54
text
31:55
and most
31:57
of the remaining
31:57
textual problems
31:59
have reasonably
32:00
sure
32:01
answers
32:03
that's so good
32:05
so good
32:06
that the careful
32:07
work
32:08
has been
32:09
and is
32:09
being
32:10
done
32:11
and so
32:12
it's
32:12
carefully
32:13
noted
32:13
for us
32:14
when there
32:14
is
32:14
something
32:15
a tad
32:16
odd
32:17
the Bible
32:19
translators
32:20
and textual
32:20
critics
32:21
are not
32:21
trying to
32:22
hide
32:22
anything
32:23
from us
32:24
that's why
32:25
I think
32:26
these variances
32:27
should give
32:27
us even
32:28
more
32:28
confidence
32:30
no one's
32:30
trying to
32:30
pull anything
32:31
over
32:31
on you
32:32
double
32:33
brackets
32:34
they're
32:35
trying to
32:35
draw your
32:36
attention
32:36
although I
32:36
still think
32:37
it should
32:37
be a footnote
32:38
they're
32:38
trying to
32:39
draw your
32:39
attention
32:39
that the
32:40
earliest
32:40
manuscripts
32:41
do not
32:42
include
32:43
chapter 7
32:44
verse 53
32:44
through chapter
32:46
8
32:46
and verse
32:48
11
32:48
so
32:50
with minds
32:52
toward
32:53
the great
32:54
mercy that
32:55
Christ
32:55
shows to
32:56
sinners
32:56
that's
32:58
there in the
32:59
text but it's
32:59
all over
33:01
the rest
33:01
of the
33:01
Bible
33:02
I hope
33:03
you'll look
33:03
forward with
33:04
me to
33:05
concluding our
33:06
study of
33:06
John 7
33:08
at verse
33:08
52
33:09
and then
33:10
picking up
33:11
in chapter
33:12
8
33:12
and verse
33:13
12
33:13
next time
33:15
we're together
33:15
let's pray
33:16
together