The unity of 7:14–8:59 becomes apparent once it is recognized that 8:1–11 is the record of a separate incident and not an original part of John’s Gospel. Only by ignoring these verses and moving from 7:52 to 8:12 without a break can the reader sense how closely chapters 7 and 8 go together. Jesus’ temple ministry is presented in the form of one long discourse, even though it is probably assumed to have been given over a period of several days during the Feast of Tabernacles, and even though the material comprising it may well have been gathered from collections of sayings associated with many different occasions. It is Jesus’ temple discourse par excellence, standing as a sequel to the synagogue discourse of chapter 6. If the theme of the latter was redemption through Jesus’ death, the the…