Missing Verse #3: What Possible MotiveCould Men Have to Remove the Words ofJesus Christ?

Have you ever opened a modern version of the Bible and noticed that Matthew 23 goes from verse 13 to verse 15?

What happened to verse 14?

In the King James Bible, Matthew 23:14 says:

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.”

These are the words of Jesus Christ.

Yet in many modern versions, those words are not in the main text of Matthew.

That raises an important question:

What possible motive could men have to remove the words of Jesus Christ from the Bible?

Why Is Matthew 23:14 Missing?

The people responsible for modern Bible translations did not simply decide one day that they didn't like Matthew 23:14. There is a reason they removed it.

Modern translations generally rely on a Greek text that gives significant weight to the

Alexandrian manuscripts, rather than the Textus Receptus, the Greek text underlying the King James Bible.

In the case of Matthew 23:14, the surviving manuscripts do not all read the same way.

Several early Alexandrian manuscripts omit the verse entirely. The Textus Receptus preserves the verse in the the King James Bible.

This difference is important.

The question is not simply which manuscripts are older or which manuscripts textual critics consider more important. The deeper question is whether we begin by believing what God has said about preserving His Word, or whether we begin with doubt about what God said and ask men to reconstruct God’s Word the best way they can.

If we begin with faith in God's promise to preserve His Word, then manuscripts that preserve the words of Matthew 23:14 cannot simply be dismissed because other manuscripts from a completely different stream out of Alexandria omit them. Especially when that stream is so suspect.

Instead, we should ask:

Why would we believe that God allowed His words to disappear from some manuscripts that went unused for over a thousand years, and then over a little over 145 years ago reintroduce those manuscripts and ask men to reconstruct the Bible?

Who Gave Them That Authority?

That authority did not come from God.

The Bible tells us that God's Word is inspired by God and that His Word will stand forever.

Jesus Christ Himself said:

“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”

Notice what Jesus said:

“my words.”

Those are the words of Jesus Christ, then they are not ours to edit.

A scholar may examine manuscripts. A translator may study Greek. An editor may compare different readings.

But ability is not authority.

Where did God give men permission to abandon the stream of manuscripts that came out of Antioch from which we have the Textus Receptus and King James Bible, and replace it with the Alexandrian stream in 1881, from where we get the modern versions?

God didn't give them that authority.

And this is where the real issue comes into focus.

The modern approach requires men to determine what they believe the original wording was. When they conclude that Matthew 23:14 was not originally written by Matthew as inspired by God, they remove it.

But if God has preserved His Word, why do men need to change it?

What Does “Preserved” Really Mean?

Consider an apple pie.

Suppose I tell you:

“I have a preserved apple pie.”

You would expect me to actually have the pie.

But suppose I then say:

“Actually, I don't have the original pie. All I have is evidence from which experts are trying to determine what the original pie contained.”

Would you say the apple pie had been preserved?

Of course not. 

You would say that some evidence concerning the pie had been preserved, but not the pie itself. If someone said the new pie was just as delicious as the original pie, would you believe them? If you’re using a modern version of the Bible, then your pie is not as delicious because the translators rejected the recipe of the Baker.

Now let's take the analogy further.

There was one original perfect apple pie, and that pie was delicious. The ingredients are what made that pie what it was.

We don't have the original physical pie anymore. But if the Baker made another using the recipe He wrote, we would still have the same perfect pie and it would be just as delicious.

And if God is the author of His Word, why would we think He is incapable of preserving His

Word? Especially after He told us He would.

God knows every ingredient. He knows every measurement. He knows exactly what He gave us.

He can preserve His Word even when it is translated from Greek into English.

But what happens when men decide they need to change the recipe?

They begin examining the evidence. They decide that some ingredients probably weren't part of the original. They remove some and substitute others.

Then they bake a new pie.

And when someone asks whether it is the original pie, they answer:

“It's as close to the original as we can get.”

But there is a problem.

They don't have the original pie. So how do they know how close it is to the original?

The simple fact is they can't believe God preserved His Word. Notice the words at the front of the above sentence. They can't believe.

They have changed the recipe and baked another pie that not only falls short of the original pie, but their new pies are causing people to become spiritually ill.

God did preserve His Word, so then, why should we accept versions changed by men?

What Is the Possible Motive?

This brings us back to our original question:

What possible motive could men have to remove the words of Jesus Christ from the Bible?

The answer is not necessarily that they hate Jesus Christ or deliberately want to destroy the Bible. Although Satan certainly does.

The possible motive is found in what they believe about God and the Bible; or should I say, what they don't believe about God and the Bible.

They believe that men must examine the surviving evidence and determine which words were originally written because they do not believe God preserved His Word.

Therefore, when they conclude that Matthew 23:14 was not originally written by Matthew, they believe they are justified in removing it.

But that leaves us with the question they cannot avoid:

Who gave them the authority to make that decision?

Did God bless their doubt and give them that authority?

No!

Not only did God preserve His Word in the King James Bible, but He didn't give anyone the authority to change it.

God's warning about changing His Word is found in Revelation 22:18–19:

“For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:

And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life...”

God takes the adding to and taking away from His words seriously.

Because Every Word Matters.