Ep. 234. Matthew 16-17 | The Transfiguration
EPISODE 234
THE TRANSFIGURATION: MATTHEW 16-17
Don't freak out about the "missing" verses in your Bibles. Many translations will include those verses in a footnote at the bottom of the page. Other translations will include the verse in the body of the text with a footnote that says, "These verses are not contained in the oldest manuscripts." The two biggest sections of our Bible where verses were added at a later time period are found in John 8 (John 7:53-8:11) and Mark 16 (Verses 9-20). In the case of the ESV, Matthew 17:21 is absent from the text but included in a footnote. The editors are inconsistent with their method because they contain the first section of John 8 and the final section of Mark 16. I wish that if they were going to extract these "questionable" verses from the text, they would do so even in larger texts, but I suppose that missing one verse from a chapter is more easily overlooked than twelve verses.
At any rate, I am no expert on the manuscripts, but I have read enough to know that the removal of these verses is not malicious, nor is it intending to change the meaning of the text. It is just that the oldest available manuscripts we have do not contain these verses so the editorial team decided to default on the side of caution and include them only as footnotes, and since I probably enjoy this conversation more than you do, let's move on.
The Transfiguration is a remarkable story. Jesus encounters Moses and Elijah on the mountaintop with Peter, James, and John. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. These three disciples, fishermen, and friends behold Jesus in his glory for just a moment. They were allowed to peek behind the veil and see the glory and majesty of their Savior. Of course, they still missed the significance of the moment. Peter, it is always Peter, suggests that he build three tabernacles on the mountain. He was so caught up in the moment that he wanted to mark the occasion with tabernacles/tents for meeting Moses, Elijah, and Jesus. The parallel accounts of this story in Mark and Luke indicate that Peter had no idea what he was even saying because he was out of his mind with fear. Little did Peter know or understand that Jesus was bringing about his Kingdom through death on the cross. Jesus told the three, as they departed from the mountain, "Tell no one the vision until the Son of Man is raised from the dead." However, the disciples did not understand his statements about being raised from the dead. We always think that if Jesus would show up today, the people would believe in him, and we overlook the fact that he showed up before, and even his closest friends still, initially, missed who he was and what he had come to do.
ADDITIONAL READING: Luke 11:29-30; Matthew 12:38-41; Micah 6:6-8; Malachi 4:5-6
