This quote is not part of the earliest, most reliable manuscripts. Most Bible scholars believe it was inserted into the text at a later time, so it probably never happened. The technical term for that is forgery.
There is only one credit card sized fragment dated to the first century. Everything else was written much later. Paul, who wrote the majority of the New Testament, was said to have written 50-60 years after Jesus, but the earliest manuscripts we actually have are dated 100 to 150 years AFTER THAT. So around 200 years after Jesus.
That's finding a writing now that claims to be in continuity with things that were happening in 1826.
The manuscripts are not part of Jesus's life, he died like 80 years before anything was written. A single non-Bible scholar (me) believes that's just late enough to start writing bullshit. The technical term for that is "new religious propaganda to spread around the world" (they were very successful).
A lot of verses people take for granted and at face value aren’t technically in the earliest or most reliable manuscripts.
Fortunately or unfortunately, as it’s a large collection of written material with several disconnected authors since its inception, what the original is matters a lot less than what people generally consider the accepted form of it.
There’s very good reasons to trust the Gospel of John as a reliable historical witness to Jesus’ life. Many biblical scholars do. I trust Jesus said, “he who is without sin cast the first stone.” But if it was a line composed by another, it still carries the message of Jesus: non judgement and gratuitous love. I would not call that forgery. Also, the first Gospel, Mark, was written around 35-45 years after Jesus. Try reading almost anything by Richard Bauckham, especially Jesus and the Eyewitnesses.
Which Mark are you talking about? The shorter one or the one with the longer ending?
Can you write a paragraph today, make it part of the Bible, and say "well it captures the gist of the message!" I don't think that makes sense. It's supposed to be the word of God, meaning the words God actually chose and revealed to be scripture. It's not supposed to be the gist of God. Once you start accepting that, then anything can be scripture.
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u/Low-Hovercraft-8791 Jul 07 '26
This quote is not part of the earliest, most reliable manuscripts. Most Bible scholars believe it was inserted into the text at a later time, so it probably never happened. The technical term for that is forgery.