Thank you for the question on the authenticity of John 7:53–8:11, “Who wrote John 7:53–8:11?”
The question of the authorship and authenticity of John 7:53–8:11 may be viewed from three perspectives:
A. The author is the Apostle John and is included in the original autograph/writing.
B. The author is the Apostle John for the Gospel but interjected by an unknown author of John 7:53–8:11.
C. The author is not the Apostle John in writing the Gospel of John and or interjected by an unknown author.
There are other options but the above is the most prevalent viewpoints. Which is correct?
It is true that the earliest manuscripts do not include John 7:53–8:11. That is an observation of fact, but it does not address the reason why some manuscripts include while others are absent.
From what I read, perhaps one of the reason why John 7:53–8:11 is missing is because of lectionary reading that the reading of this passage didn’t flow with the reading into Easter. To make the reading smoother, it is suggested that a parenthesis was placed over the passage to skip this part of the passage for the Scriptural reading of the week, not that it is not part of the Gospel of John. Is this a plausible explanation? Further research has to be done on the lectionary reading in the Church.
Others scholars has suggested that this was interjected for the teaching of forgiveness. This does not seem plausible for me for Jesus had already taught in the Sermon on the Mount on forgiveness even in the Lord’s prayer. When Jesus encountered the Samaritan Woman in John 4, Jesus didn’t condemn the woman for having four husbands and the one living with her. He directed her to the Living Water. When the disciples asked Jesus how many times must they forgive an offending person, Jesus replied was 70 times 7. On the cross, Jesus cried out, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Thus it is not the first time Jesus spoke about forgiveness of sin. When one reads the New Testament, forgiveness is a theme for believers are to forgive as Christ forgave us. For me, the inclusion of this text heightens the teaching of Jesus on forgiveness least one forgets to look at the log in one’s eye and focus on the speck in the other person’s eye.
SUMMARY: I believe the Apostle John is the author of John 7:53–8:11. The account does not violate the Scriptural teaching on forgiveness and the Lectionary Reading may be the cause that the passage was skipped over in the reading to make the flow more smooth.
For more perspectives: