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Edition 23 |
What Have They Done With Jesus? |
7/9/21 |
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Introduction The gospels are all about Jesus. That's why His earthly name ("Jesus") occurs many times therein from beginning to end. In the Textus Receptus (source of the KJV), the name occurs 617 times. By contrast, in the "Greek New Testament", or GNT, the name "Jesus" occurs only 565 times. That doesn't mean some of the acts or teachings of Christ are missing in the GNT. It only means that He is referenced implicitly by the context of the passages or by using pronouns such as "he", "him", or "his". This article outlines some specific instances and offers an in-depth analysis. Implicit and Explicit References Substitution of a pronoun for a proper noun is common in speech and written discourse. Instead of saying "Bob is in the house", we might say "He is in the house." The implicit reference is just fine as long as listeners or readers are left without any confusion. Limiting to the gospels alone, the name "Ἰησοῦς" (Jesus) occurs 466 times in the Textus Receptus (TR). It occurs 151 additional times in different grammatical cases. By contrast, "Ἰησοῦς" occurs only 421 times in the Greek New Testament (GNT). |
space In most variant instances, the GNT uses the implicit pronoun "he" instead of the explicit "Jesus". Here are some examples: Matthew 14:14 KJV - "And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick." NASB - "When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick." HCSB - "As He stepped ashore, He saw a huge crowd, felt compassion for them, and healed their sick."
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Matthew 14:22 KJV - "And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away." NASB - "Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away." HCSB - "Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He dismissed the crowds."
Matthew 15:16 KJV - "And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?" HCSB - " 'Are even you still lacking in understanding?' He asked."
Matthew 17:11 KJV - "And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things." NASB - "And He answered and said, 'Elijah is coming and will restore all things;' " HCSB - “ 'Elijah is coming and will restore everything', He replied.”
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Matthew 24:2 KJV - And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. NASB - "And He said to them, 'Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.' ” NIV - " 'Do you see all these things?' he asked. 'Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.' ” HCSB - "Then He replied to them, 'Don’t you see all these things? I assure you: Not one stone will be left here on another that will not be thrown down!' ”
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The "Gaps" A "gap" is the verse-count between an explicit reference to Jesus and the next explicit reference. This definition assumes that several implicit references exist in the "gap". A good example is in the passage about the feeding of the five thousand. Between Mark 6:30 and Mark 8:27, Jesus is referenced more than fifty times. Most of them use a pronoun such as "he", "him", or "his". In the GNT, Jesus is mentioned by name only twice. After being named in Mark 6:30, He's not mentioned by name again until Mark 8:27. That's a gap of 90 verses. In the TR, His name is used not only in those two verses, but also in four others between them (6:34, 7:27, 8:1, and 8:17). The exclusions don't appear in all translations. The HCSB is one that excludes the name in all four verses.
Some gaps are not significant because they are essentially the same in both texts. The best example is Matthew 5-7 where Jesus delivers the sermon on the mount. |
Holes in the GNT Clearly, the TR refers to Jesus by name more often than the GNT. We'll do the math and find out how often this exclusion happens. Here's a breakdown of the "holes" by Gospel: Matthew: TR has 172; GNT has 150. (13% excluded.) Mark: TR has 93; GNT has 80. (14% excluded.) Luke: TR has 98; GNT has 86. (12% excluded.) John: TR has 254; GNT has 241. (5% excluded.) Note: These calculations ignore the relatively few passages where the TR is missing an occurrence which appears in the GNT. Notice that the percentage in the book of John is less than half that of any other gospel. The reason for this is a matter of speculation. |
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"Jesus" in the GNT But Not the TR In a few passages, the name "Jesus" appears in the GNT but not in the TR. The verses in this category are Matthew 27:16-17, Mark 16:19, Luke 3:29, Luke 5:34, John 1:43, John 4:1, and John 12:1. All but one of the passages are unusual in other ways. Matthew 27:16,17 is part of the account of Barrabbas the notable prisoner whom Pilate presented to the Jews with an offer to release him. In the GNT, Barrabbas is called "[Jesus] Barrabbas". Only a few of the underlying manuscripts contain the name "Jesus" in reference to Barrabbas. The most prominent manuscripts such as Aleph (א), B, and the Byzantines do not include the name. Among the most prominent translations, only the NIV uses the name. It reads: "At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus Barabbas. 17 So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, 'Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?' ” The translators may have been suggesting that Pilate was offering the Jews a choice between, perhaps, "this Jesus over here or that Jesus over there".
Mark 16:19 records Jesus' ascent to heaven after His post-resurrection ministry. The TR refers to Jesus simply as "Lord" in the verse. The GNT adds the name "Jesus". The KJV and NASB read as follows: KJV - "So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God." NASB - So then, when the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. It should be pointed out that the GNT text (and the NASB translation) contain brackets and critical notes indicating doubt about the originality of verses 9-20.
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Luke 3:29 is part of the genealogy of Joseph, the father of Jesus (according to civil authority). The verse makes reference to "Joshua", or "Jose", the son of Eliezer. "Joshua" is a transliteration of a Hebrew name equivalent to the Greek word found in the GNT, always translated "Jesus". "Jose" is from a word used in Byzantine manuscripts. It is almost an exact transliteration. Major translations use the name "Joshua" or "Jose". The KJV and NASB read as follows: KJV - "Which was the son of Jose, which was the son of Eliezer, which was the son of Jorim, which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi," NASB - the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi,
Luke 5:34 is Jesus’ response to a question from the Pharisees. They pointed out that the disciples of John the Baptist, as well as the Pharisees themselves, often fasted and prayed. They asked Jesus why His disciples, by contrast, ate and drank. The KJV and NASB read as follows: KJV - "And he said unto them, Can ye make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them?" NASB - And Jesus said to them, “You cannot make the attendants of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you?
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John 1:43 contains an interesting and unusual variant. Two references to Jesus, one explicit and one implicit, are exchanged with each other. Both readings make clear that the action is that of Jesus and no other. The KJV and NASB read as follows: KJV - "The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me." NASB - "The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him, 'Follow Me'. "
John 4:1 sets the stage for Jesus' return to Galilee from Judea where He and John the Baptist had been baptizing. (It was on this journey that Jesus encountered the Samaritan woman at the well.) Some translations name Jesus explicitly while others call Him "Lord". The KJV, NKJV, and NASB use "Lord" while NIV, NLT, and HCSB use "Jesus". (Some translations using "Lord" also contain "Jesus" later in the verse; However, Greek manuscripts containing "Lord" do not have "Jesus" anywhere else in the verse.) The KJV and NIV read as follows: KJV - "When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John," NIV - "Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John — " Whichever of the two variants is original, there is no reasonable doubt that Jesus Christ is Lord. Many other scriptures make this clear. One is John 6:68, where Peter, speaking to Jesus, clearly calls Him "Lord". For this verse, the source texts are absolutely identical.
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John 12:1 begins the account of Jesus' visit to Martha, Mary, and their brother Lazarus. This was after Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead. It was on this visit that Mary anointed Jesus' feet with expensive oil and Judas complained about the waste. Many newer versions refer to Jesus by name twice. The KJV and NASB read as follows: KJV - "Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead." NASB - "Jesus, therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead."
Conclusion Even a casual examination of the GNT-based gospels reveals that implicit references to Jesus are more than adequate to reveal His identity. Thus, any detailed effort to find a “missing” Jesus is nothing more than a futile exercise in hair-splitting. |
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Greek Text sources cited above include: |
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