FABRICATIONS · INTERPOLATION
Missing verse about family
Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.
This verse is omitted in many early manuscripts, such as Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus. The KJV includes this verse because it follows the Textus Receptus, which is based on later manuscripts. Modern translations like the ESV omit it from the main text but include it in footnotes, reflecting its absence in the earliest and most reliable manuscripts. This reveals textual fluidity and underlines the reality that the Bible’s text was open to revisions and alterations.
THE CHRISTIAN RESPONSE
Since parallel passages mention Jesus’ family waiting outside, inserting this verse aligns Matthew with and , where this interaction is explicitly described. Consider it a harmonization effort to make Matthew’s account clearer, not a doctrinal distortion.
THE ISLAMIC POSITION
This verse is absent from the earliest manuscripts, highlighting how even non-doctrinal details could be introduced later. If scribes added content to harmonize Matthew with other Gospels, it suggests discrepancies existed between the original "witness" accounts. Why would Matthew’s account, supposedly from an eyewitness disciple, need alignment with Mark and Luke, who were neither disciples nor eyewitnesses? Such editorial practices cast doubt on the Bible's reliability.
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Missing verse about family