Preaching through whole books of the Bible is a blessing, but it’s not always easy. It forces preachers and churches to confront difficult issues. After several months in John’s Gospel, our church came to the beloved story of the woman caught in adultery. The ESV note is too significant to ignore: “The earliest manuscripts do not include 7:53–8:11.” A similar note comes at the end of Mark’s Gospel: “Some of the earliest manuscripts do not include 16:9–20.” These are the longest passages in question, but there are many other text-critical issues that come up in the ministry of a faithful Bible preacher. How should we handle them?
Ordinary Christians Need Textual Criticism
I don’t take these issues lightly. In the week leading up to my sermon on John 7:53–8:11, I meditated for hours on what to do, sought counsel from godly leaders, and laid awake asking for wisdom and praying for my congregants by name. Part of me wanted to avoid the issue altogether. At one point, I considered addressing it in a Sunday School class where less people would be present. But a few things convinced me that it was best to tackle the issue head-on.
Many text-critical issues that come up in the ministry of a faithful Bible preacher.
In the week before my sermon, a member of our church texted me screenshots of something she saw on Facebook. First, it showed Luke 9:55–56 in the KJV: “But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.” Then, it showed Luke 9:55–56 in the ESV: “But he turned and rebuked them. And they went on to another village.” Her question was, “Why were Jesus’ words removed from this version?” That’s a serious question and it deserves a serious answer.
A few days earlier in a Catechism Class, another church member asked me, “Are there lost books of the Bible?” He had been studying the history of the Bible on Youtube and came across claims that we didn’t have all of the Bible. That too, is a serious question.
The very same week, I talked with a man who is interested in Christianity but struggles with doubts about its truthfulness. He has read and listened to Bart Ehrman, author of books like Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why. This seeker has asked other Christians and pastors about text-critical issues, but in his words, “Not a single person has been even willing to acknowledge that there are challenges.” That’s a serious problem.
I don’t pastor a big church in the city. My congregation isn’t full of liberal college students. It’s a rural church with blue-collar workers—mechanics, barrel makers, and truck drivers. Yet questions about text-criticism matter for them and the people that they are trying to reach for Jesus.
A Case Study: The Woman Caught in Adultery
Each pastor must pray and struggle on behalf of their own congregation, seeking God’s wisdom for how to address text-critical issues in their unique context. The story of the woman caught in adultery makes a great case study, since it is so well-beloved. (Most people aren’t as defensive of Mark 16:9–20 and its statement about picking up snakes.)
First, I was transparent with my congregation about why I was addressing it, and I let them see my heart. I gave five reasons for tackling the issue head-on:
- To increase our confidence that the Bible is accurate and trustworthy.
- To have confidence in modern Bible translations such as the English Standard Version.
- To be equipped to answer those who try to use these issues to discredit the Bible.
- To move past a fragile view of the Bible to a mature view of the Bible.
- To demonstrate the Christian commitment to honesty and truth.
On the first point, I reminded our church of my pastoral commitment to the Bible as God’s Word—that I had devoted my entire life to teaching the Scriptures, and I would lay down my life for the Book.
I had devoted my entire life to teaching the Scriptures, and I would lay down my life for the Book.
Second, I emphasized that the text-critical note after John 7:52 is not unique to the ESV. Such a note is in nearly every conservative Bible translation (e.g., RSV, NASB, LEB, and NET). More importantly, perhaps, a text-critical note appears in some medieval Greek Bibles that predate translations such as the KJV and omit the story of the adulteress altogether. This is not a new issue.
Third, I used it as an opportunity to talk about the Bible and its history in general. I shared a quick timeline of the writing of the New Testament books, cited 2 Timothy 3:16–17 and 2 Peter 3:15–17, and explained why some books were rejected as Holy Scripture (not just “lost” to history). Someone later requested the timeline.
Fourth, I acknowledged the fact that we don’t have the original manuscripts of any biblical book, and that the copies we have vary at many places. If pastors don’t acknowledge the challenges of textual criticism, people will learn about them elsewhere—likely from skeptics or critics like Bart Ehrman. I want my people to hear it from me, and I want to equip them with the very best Christian explanations for why this doesn’t undermine the reliability or accuracy of the Bible that we have.
If pastors don’t acknowledge the challenges of textual criticism, people will learn about them elsewhere—likely from skeptics or critics like Bart Ehrman.
I rarely ever use powerpoint or video in my sermons, but I shared a short video from Daniel B. Wallace in which he comes to this conclusion: “The best estimates are that at least 99.8% of textual variants affect nothing. Most are spelling variants (e.g., there’s different ways to spell Mary or John). No essential doctrine is jeopardized by any of these variants. That is extremely comforting. It’s very important to know that.” After church, I sent around links to longer videos from Bill Mounce on manuscripts and translations. I also shared some short Holy Joys articles by Philip Brown about Greek manuscript differences and English Bible versions. (Download a PDF of the powerpoint here.)
Fifth, I showed our church pictures of the actual manuscripts that we have of John’s Gospel from the 2nd to the 4th century. This was perhaps the most “tedious” part, but I found that it also captured people’s attention the most. One person later remarked, “I’ve been studying this stuff, and I’ve come across some of the manuscripts that you showed today! This answered a lot of questions that I had.”
Besides a number of manuscript fragments, I showed pictures of Papyrus 66, Papyrus 75, Codex Sinaiticus, and Codex Vaticanus, none of which include the story of the woman caught in adultery. Notably, the earliest manuscripts that we now have were only discovered in the 19th and 20th centuries. They confirm that what we already had was highly accurate, but help to resolve text-critical questions like those about the story of the adulteress and the ending of Mark’s Gospel.
I’m not an expert on these issues, and I’m sure that I didn’t say everything with as much nuance as I could have. I intend to continue learning. But at some level, I’m okay with that. Pastors are generalists. Most of us will never be experts on textual criticism. We’re more like family practice doctors than endocrinologists or dermatologists. But we can study what the experts say and provide well-studied, lay-level explanations of the issues for the good of God’s people.
Next, I quickly showed that the story of the adulteress was not mentioned by the Greek or Eastern fathers until the 12th century. My church has often heard me quote from John Chrysostom, so I used him as an example. I showed that in his verse-by-verse sermons on John’s Gospel, he jumps right from what we now know as John 7:52 to John 8:12.
Eighth, having given some of the key textual and historical reasons why the ESV includes a note with John 7:53–8:11, I quickly affirmed its decision to include the text of the beloved story in brackets. The story of the adulteress woman was likely a cherished oral tradition that was later added to some copies of John’s Gospel as a way to preserve it. D. A. Carson explains, “There is little reason for doubting that the event here described occurred, even if in its written form it did not in the beginning belong to the canonical books.”
The earliest extant manuscript that includes the story is from the 5th century (Codex Bezae). Both the text of the story and its location in the Bible then varies from manuscript to manuscript. For example, sometimes it’s at the end of John’s Gospel and other times it’s in Luke’s Gospel. But the story itself may be alluded to as early as Eusebius’s Church History in the third century, and a version shows up in Didascalia Apostolorum and in a commentary by Didymus the Blind. The Western fathers (e.g., Ambrose, Augustine, and Jerome) knew it from some manuscripts. I mentioned how Jerome’s inclusion of the story in the Vulgate helped to solidify its current position in the West.
In summary, I emphasized that we can continue to cherish and preach the story of the woman caught in adultery, since it was obviously highly valued by previous generations of Christians; we just need to be honest about its origin and its place in the Bible.
Modern translations like the ESV are very conservative and are not trying to undermine the Bible; they are trying to be careful about what is truly God’s inspired Word.
Finally, I explained that modern translations like the ESV are very conservative and are not trying to undermine the Bible; they are trying to be careful about what is truly God’s inspired Word. When it looks like the ESV has “removed” something from the Bible, it is more likely that the KJV inadvertently “added” something based on the manuscript evidence they had at the time. Whatever the case, these differences do not affect any major Christian belief. Christians need to stop throwing stones at one another over such issues.
I ended by drawing four key points from the story of the adulteress woman, while substantiating them from other Scriptures, since only God’s Word is our inspired authority.
- Jesus came to save sinners, not to condemn them (John 3:17).
- Jesus calls us to “sin no more” (John 5:14).
- We should take the log out of our own eye before taking the speck out of our brother’s eye (Matthew 7:1–5).
- We should follow Jesus’s example of mercy and forgiveness (Matthew 5:7).
Building Up the Church
My desire is to “let all things be done for building up” (1 Corinthians 14:26). I seriously questioned whether or not it would edify our church to spend this time on a text-critical issue. But from everything I can tell, addressing the issue head-on was profitable. I have received more positive feedback on this sermon than almost any other. Especially encouraging was a message from the woman who had asked about the KJV and ESV of Luke 9:55–56: “Your message was extremely helpful.”
We can continue to cherish and preach the story of the woman caught in adultery, since it was obviously highly valued by previous generations of Christians; we just need to be honest about its origin and its place in the Bible.
There’s always the danger that someone will be left behind. As best as I can (without losing my mind from worry), I want to be sensitive to every member of my congregation. On the same Sunday that I addressed text-criticism from the pulpit, I planned visits with a few people that I thought might struggle to process the new information.
Text-critical issues must be handled with sensitivity, but they cannot be ignored, especially in our culture of suspicion towards the Bible. Thankfully, I’ve found that most Christians are receptive and appreciative when presented with clear, honest teaching about the issues. Studying text-critical issues has actually increased my confidence in the Bible, and it can do the same for others.
