Did Ancient Scribes Alter Jesus’ Words? Evidence from the Gospel of Matthew (vIDEO)

Welcome to the home of Episode 167 of the Misquoting Jesus Podcast with Bart Ehrman. Below, you can watch the entire episode, read its description, and see links to related resources.

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episode description

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n this episode of Misquoting Jesus, Bart Ehrman explores how centuries of hand-copying affected the text of the Gospel of Matthew. Building on an earlier discussion of the Gospel of Mark, he explains what the earliest surviving manuscripts of Matthew reveal, how scholars reconstruct the text using ancient translations and quotations from early Christian writers, and why most textual changes are minor while a small number significantly affect interpretation.

Ehrman walks through several notable examples of textual variants in Matthew, including changes to Jesus' genealogy, the birth narrative, references to Joseph and Mary's relationship, the identification of John the Baptist and the Son of Man, and Jesus' statement that only the Father knows the timing of the end. He discusses how some changes likely resulted from simple copying mistakes, while others appear to have been deliberate attempts by scribes to resolve theological difficulties or prevent misunderstandings about Jesus' identity and divinity.

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The episode also examines the debated ending of Matthew's Gospel, where some scholars have questioned whether the Great Commission was a later addition. Ehrman explains why he believes the passage is original to Matthew despite the arguments against it.

The bonus listener Q&A covers the origins of forgiveness in early Christianity, why the Gospel of John and Revelation became influential among early Christians, the literary composition of the Book of Job, and what can—and cannot—be known about the size and influence of Jewish groups such as the Pharisees and Sadducees during Jesus' lifetime.