Father forgive them scripture or not?
Is Luke 23:34 Scripture??? James White says NO
Luke 23:34 contains one of the most recognisable sayings of Jesus. As he is on the cross Jesus prays for the forgiveness of those that crucified him.
Luke 23:34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.
OR DID HE??????
James White says no. He claims that these words of Jesus are not in fact the words of Jesus at all, but have been later added to the Gospel of Luke to have it appear that Jesus prayed for forgiveness for those that crucified him (or more likely the Jews who had pushed for his execution.
You can listen to an hour long discussion he has regarding the verse and how the prayer of Jesus upon the cross should not be considered scripture:
There is also a shorter 6 minute video where James White states that he would not preach from this verse.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWiY32bb2K8
James White also includes a rather small argument within his book the King James only Controversy pages 320-322 where James outlines some of the evidence against the words. James does not really mention the evidence for the authenticity of the words, something we will do here. We shall address both the evidence for and against these words. Textual criticism should be honest right? It should not simply present one side, the whole point is to look at the evidence for and against and then conclude which side the evidence falls. That should be the way in which textual criticism is done.
It must be noted here that it is ONLY the words in Blue of this verse that are in question, the rest of the verse is not debated.
We must, for purposes of honesty make it clear that while this writing may address James White and his statements directly, he is by no means the only scholar who makes the claim regarding the words in this verse.
NONE of the major Bible translations exclude the words of Jesus, although some do give footnotes regarding the authenticity. The ESV for example has “Some manuscripts omit the sentence”.
Some , like the NET bible, include the words of Jesus in brackets which indicates that the words are not original or at least are in serious doubt as to their originality.
Luke 23:34 [But Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”] Then they threw dice to divide his clothes. Net Bible
The NASB and UBS text also has the words in brackets.
The NA28/UBS5 text has the words in brackets.
(( ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς ἔλεγεν Πάτερ, ἄφες αὐτοῖς, οὐ γὰρ οἴδασιν τί ποιοῦσιν)) διαμεριζόμενοι δὲ τὰ ἱμάτια αὐτοῦ ἔβαλον κλῆρον / κλήρους.
Many non Christians have utilised the works of James White in order to argue against the reliability of the Bible.
This has been used by Muslims, popular Youtube channel Muslimbychoice uses this in videos posted online.
So did Jesus pray this prayer of forgiveness to those that crucified him or not? Is James White correct?
Let’s look at the evidence for and against the words of the prayer.
Luke is the only Gospel writer to include these words, this in of itself is not proof that the words have been added. This most certainly is not the place words or even complete stories are only included in one of the Gospels.
We could ask if some scribe(s) wanted to add these words to the lips of Jesus why they would not add them to one or more of the other Gospels to give it more credibility.
Manuscript evidence
In the video (shorter) James White states:
“There are a number of manuscripts, early manuscripts, one, actually most of the earliest manuscripts, in regards to the text of the book of Luke, do not contain that phrase, it’s not there, and in fact, a wide variety of the earliest witnesses, not just what’s called the Alexandrian text, but a wide variety of those early witnesses do not contain that.”
James White.
Luckily we have a large amount of manuscript witness for this verse. There are over 1500 Greek manuscripts that contain the words and there are, in reality, very few that do not.
Those that omit the words of Jesus include Vaticanus (4th Century), P75 (3rd Century), W (5th Century), and Codex Θ/Coridethianus (9th century), Bezae original (5th Century) and 070 (6th Century)
There are 9 minuscules that do not contain the words, although the words have been added to three of these minuscules at a later date. These are 31, 579 and 1808.
The words of Jesus are also absent from the earliest Sahidic version and the Sinaitic Syriac. They are also absent in the early Latin Codex Vercellensis (4th Century)
A small handful of manuscript evidence.
Of course, in reality it is mainly based on the strength of the absence from manuscripts P75 and Vaticanus that the words are brought into doubt. Vaticanus is the primary manuscript of the text that underlies the Westcott and Hort text which is the basis for the modern critical text. The fact that P75 is in agreement with Vaticanus is of significant importance for those that hold to the critical text.
Over 90% of the Greek manuscripts contain the words of the prayer of Jesus, including Sinaiticus original and Alexandrinus, C (5th Century), D correction – A scribe has added the prayer in the lower margin (6th Century), E (8th Century) G, H, K, M and U (all 9th Century), N (6th Century), L (8th Century), Q (5th Century)
We must note that while Sinaiticus original has the words included in the text, a later scribe has added parentheses marks around each line to bring the words into doubt. A yet later scribe, however, has then tried to remove those marks, although they are still visible. We will look more at this a bit later.
Most Old Latin Manuscripts have the words included, as does Jerome’s Vulgate.
Luke 23:34 Iesus autem dicebat Pater dimitte illis non enim sciunt quid faciunt dividentes vero vestimenta eius miserunt sortes. Vulgate
And Jesus said: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. But they, dividing his garments, cast lots. (English translation of the Latin)
We find the words of Jesus’s prayer in ancient lines of transmission through translations such as the Armenian version, the Ethiopic version, the Georgian version, the Peshitta, the Curetonian and the Palestinian Aramaic version all contain the words of Jesus on the cross.
This is a wide and varied attestation from translations of the New Testament.
So while James White may be correct that there is a wide variety of manuscripts that do not contain the words, it is more than a little dishonest and misleading to only give this side of the evidence and to “over egg” the manuscript evidence for the exclusion of the words.
The manuscript evidence for the exclusion, while some being early and varied, is in reality very few and when compared to the manuscript evidence for the inclusion pales in comparison. We have early manuscripts and a wide variety of manuscripts that attest to the originality of the words, PLUS we have a wide range of ancient transmission lines through translations that attest to the originality of the words. It would have to be shown that the words were added, without contestation into numerous lines of transmission.
Dean Burgon in his book the Revision revised commenting on this verse stated:
“Next in importance after the preceding, comes the Prayer which the SAVIOUR of the World breathed from the cross on behalf of His murderers. These twelve precious words – (Then said JESUS, FATHER, forgive them; for they know not what they do’ ) – like those twenty six words of S Luke XXii 43,44 which we have been considering already, Drs Westcott and Hort enclose within double brackets in token of the ‘moral certainty’ they entertain that the words are spurious. And yet these words are found in every known uncial and in every cursive copy, except four, besides being found in every ancient version. And What, – (we ask the question with sincere simplicity, ) – what amount of evidence is calculated to inspire undoubting confidence in any existing reading, if not such a concurrence of Authorities as this?
Dean Burgon the Revision Revised pages 82-83
Even the highly critical Scholar Bart Ehrman, in his book Misquoting Jesus, where he examines the sayings of Jesus states that Luke 23:34 was original to Luke:
“It appears, then, that Luke 23:34 was part of Luke’s original text.”
Bart Ehrman Misquoting Jesus page 192
If we go back and look at the words of James White from his shorter video we see that he refers to early WITNESSES.
“a wide variety of the earliest witnesses, not just what’s called the Alexandrian text, but a wide variety of those early witnesses do not contain that.”
James, I believe, referred to witnesses when he was actually specifically referring ONLY to manuscript evidence. But of course, we do not just have manuscript evidence. A witness to a reading is NOT only manuscript evidence. A witness to a reading is also that of ancient writers and citations as they echo the evidence of the time that they wrote.
I cannot state it any better than the words of James Snapp Jr:
“Where a patristic writer from the 100’s or 200’s makes a specific quotation, it is like finding a small papyrus fragment embedded in his writings; where a patristic writer from the 300’s makes a specific quotation, it is like an echo of a manuscript from the same time when Codices Vaticanus and Sinaiticus were made.”
https://www.thetextofthegospels.com/2017/04/luke-2334a-answering-apologists-part-1.html
And we just so happen to have ancient writings that attest to the words of Jesus.
I will just add to the comment, that oftentimes we have even earlier “echoes of early manuscripts” where we have patristic writers quoting the Biblical texts even earlier than the mid 4th Century.
Patristic and ancient writers Evidence.
The evidence from the witness of ancient writers for the authenticity of the prayer of Jesus for forgiveness on the cross is very strong indeed. We find that the historical attestation to the authenticity of these words are early, widespread and exhaustive.
Dean Burgon also stated in his book when referring to the patristic evidence for the words:
“How then about the patristic evidence,- for this is all that remains unexplored?
Only a fraction of it was known to Tischendorf……We have thus again enumerated upwards of forty ancient Fathers…… such counter evidence as the following, to the foregoing torrent of Testimony from every part of ancient Christendom….. How could our revisionists dare to insinuate doubts into wavering hearts and unlearned heads, where (as here) they were bound to know, there exists no manner of doubt at all?
Dean Burgon the Revision Revised pages 83-85
Here is a list of some quotations of and references to the prayer, although this list is thorough and contains many early and varied examples, it should not be considered full and concise.
??? Clement of Rome (died in 99AD) is accredited as having quoted the prayer:
For the Teacher Himself, being nailed to the cross, prayed to the Father that the sin of those who slew Him might be forgiven, saying, ‘Father, forgive them their sins, for they know not what they do.’ They also therefore, being imitators of the Teacher in their sufferings, pray for those who contrive them, as they have been taught.
Clementine Homily 11
It must be noted that this work is considered likely to be spurious.
Ignatius who wrote in the very early 2nd Century
“For say ye to those that hate you, Ye are our brethren, that the name of the Lord may be glorified. And let us imitate the Lord, “who, when He was reviled, reviled not again ; ” when He was crucified, He answered not; “when He suffered, He threatened not ; “but prayed for His enemies, “Father, forgive them; they know not what they do.” If any one, the more he is injured, displays the more patience, blessed is he. If any one is defrauded, if any one is despised, for the name of the Lord, he truly is the servant of Christ. Take heed that no plant of the devil be found among you, for such a plant is bitter and salt. “Watch ye, and be ye sober,” in Christ Jesus.”
Epistle to the Ephesians (longer version) Again it must be notated here that many do not accept that the longer versions of Ignatius writings were penned by him, but rather by a later unknown writer.
The words are included in Tatian’s Diatessaron (170AD approximately)
“7 And Jesus said, My Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And Jesus cried again with a loud voice, and said, My Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. He said that, and bowed his head, and gave up his spirit.”
Diatessaron Section LII
In the book of Acts we find an allusion to the prayer of Jesus on the cross when Stephen also prayed for those that were going to kill him, just before he was stoned to death.
Acts 7:60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. KJV
We also find other followers of Jesus also praying for the forgiveness of those that were going to kill them.
Hegesippus around 170 AD referenced the prayer of James which utilised the words of Jesus, as attested to by Eusebius
“16. So they went up and threw down the just man, and said to each other, ‘Let us stone James the Just.’ And they began to stone him, for he was not killed by the fall; but he turned and knelt down and said, ‘I entreat you, Lord God our Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do
(17. And while they were thus stoning him one of the priests of the sons of Rechab, the son of the Rechabites, who are mentioned by Jeremiah the prophet, cried out, saying, ‘Stop. What are you doing? The just one prays for you.’
- And one of them, who was a fuller, took the club with which he beat out clothes and struck the just man on the head. And thus he suffered martyrdom. And they buried him on the spot, by the temple, and his monument still remains by the temple. He became a true witness, both to Jews and Greeks, that Jesus is the Christ. And immediately Vespasian besieged them.
- These things are related at length by Hegesippus, who is in agreement with Clement. James was so admirable a man and so celebrated among all for his justice, that the more sensible even of the Jews were of the opinion that this was the cause of the siege of Jerusalem, which happened to them immediately after his martyrdom for no other reason than their daring act against him.)
Eusebius Ecclesiastical History book II Chapter 23
The prayer of James that utilises the same words as Jesus is also recounted by Epiphanius around 375 AD
This James, the Lords brother and Josephs son, died in Jerusalem, after living for about twenty-four years after the assumption of the Saviour. For at the age of Ninty-six he was struck on the head with a fuller’s rod, was thrown from the pinnacle of the temple and fell without injury, but knelt in prayer for those who had thrown him down and said, “forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
Epiphanius Panarion 77, Antidicomanians 14:5
So it is very possible, just as Jesus had prayed for the forgiveness of those who killed him, those who followed him also did the same.
Bart Ehrman comments on this in his book Misquoting Jesus
Also striking in conjunction with this point is that Luke, the author himself, on a number of occasions goes out of his way to show the
similarities between what happened to Jesus in the Gospel and what
happened to his followers in Acts: both Jesus and his followers are
baptized, they both receive the Spirit at that point, they both proclaim
the good news, they both come to be rejected for it, they both suffer at
the hands of the Jewish leadership, and so on. What happens to Jesus
in the Gospel happens to his followers in Acts. And so it would be no
surprise—but rather expected—that one of Jesus’s followers, who
like him is executed by angry authorities, should also pray that God
forgive his executioners. There are other reasons for suspecting that Jesus’s prayer of for giveness is original to Luke 23. Throughout both Luke and Acts, for
example, it is emphasized that even though Jesus was innocent (as
were his followers), those who acted against him did so in ignorance. As Peter says in Acts 3: “I know that you acted in ignorance” (v. 17); or
as Paul says in Acts 17: “God has overlooked the times of ignorance”
(v. 27). And that is precisely the note struck in Jesus’s prayer: “for they
don’t know what they are doing.”
Bart Ehrman Misquoting Jesus page 192
Irenaeus around 180 AD twice cites the words:
“and when He underwent tyranny, He prayed His Father that He would forgive those who had crucified Him.”
Against Heresies book 3 chapter 16
“For, when inquisition shall be made for their blood, and they shall attain to glory, then all shall be confounded by Christ, who have cast a slur upon their martyrdom. And from this fact, that He exclaimed upon the cross, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do, “
Against Heresies book 3 chapter 18
Hypolytus around 200AD references the prayer of Jesus specifically noting that it was Gentiles that were being prayed for
“. Wherefore they that sit in the gate spoke against me, for they crucified me without the gate. And they that drink sang against me, that is, (they who drink wine) at the feast of the passover. But as for me, in my prayer unto You, O Lord, I said, Father, forgive them, namely the Gentiles, because it is the time for favour with Gentiles.”
Expository Treatise Against the Jews :3
The Syriac Didascalia around 250 includes the prayer of Jesus.
“Our Savior made supplication to His Father for those who had sinned, as it is written in the Gospel, ‘My Father, they know not what they do, nor what they speak; yet if it be possible, forgive them.”
The Syriac Didascalia
Somewhere around the late 200’s Archelaus compares the prayer of Jesus to a prayer of Moses.
“There, before the sight of Moses, all the first-born of the Egyptians perished on account of the treachery of Pharaoh; and here, at the time of the birth of Jesus, every male among the Jews suddenly perished by reason of the treachery of Herod. There, Moses prayed that Pharaoh and his people might be spared the plagues; and here, our Lord Jesus prayed that the Pharisees might be pardoned, when He said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. “
Acts of the Disputation with Manes (44)
Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 330) included the passage in his canon-tables, in Canon Ten.
The prayer of Jesus is cited twice in the Apostolic Constitutions around 370 AD
“When you see the offender, with severity command him to be cast out; and as he is going out, let the deacons also treat him with severity, and then let them go and seek for him, and detain him out of the Church; and when they come in, let them entreat you for him. For our Saviour Himself entreated His Father for those who had sinned, as it is written in the Gospel: Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”
Apostolic Constitutions Book II section 2:16
“He then presently granted him the forgiveness of his former sins, and brought him into paradise to enjoy the mystical good things; who also cried out about the ninth hour, and said to His Father: My God! My God! Why have You forsaken me? And a little afterward, when He had cried with a loud voice, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do, and had added, Into Your hands I commit my spirit, He gave up the ghost, and was buried before sunset in a new sepulchre.”
Apostolic Constitutions Book V Section 3:14
Ambrose writing around 380 AD to a monk named Olympios cited the words of the prayer:
Another color is patience: How is it manifested in the image of the invisible God?: swords and cudgels, chains and whips, blows [J.197] on the cheeks, face spat upon, a wounded shoulder, a wicked judgment, harsh decree, soldiers enjoying their hostile remarks with mockery, sarcasm and blows from a reed; they offer him nails, gall, vinegar and unimaginable horror, especially in exchange for his innumerable benefits. What defense do we have? “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing”
Ambrose On Perfection
Ambrose also made reference to the prayer in his writing the Prayer of Job and David
“Indeed, had they known it, they would never have crucified the Lord of majesty and would never still be pursuing their Jewish follies. They, then, are the ones who know not. For this reason also the Lord Jesus says in the Gospel, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
Ambrose the prayer of Job an David
Hilary of Poitiers writing around 360AD referenced the prayer of Jesus 3 times in his writings on the trinity (a 12 book work)
“There is the widest difference between My soul is sorrowful even unto death Matthew 26:38, and Henceforth you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power Matthew 26:64; so also between Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass away, from Me , and The cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it John 18:11 ? and further between My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me Matthew 27:46 ? and Verily I say unto you, Today shall you be with Me in Paradise Luke 23:43, and between Father, into Your hands I commend My Spirit , and Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do ; and their narrow minds, unable to grasp the Divine meaning, plunge into blasphemy in the attempt at explanation.”
Hilary of Poitiers on the Trinity book 3 (32)
Here Hilary refers to the prayer, although he does not directly quote the words of the prayer.
“If His passion was a necessity of nature and not the free gift of your salvation: if the cross was merely the suffering of wounds, and not the fixing upon Himself of the decree of death made out against you: if His dying was a violence done by death, and not the stripping off of the flesh by the power of God: lastly, if His death itself was anything but a dishonouring of powers, an act of boldness, a triumph: then ascribe to Him infirmity, because He was therein subject to necessity and nature, to force, to fear and disgrace. But if it is the exact opposite in the mystery of the Passion, as it was preached to us, who, pray, can be so senseless as to repudiate the faith taught by the Apostles, to reverse all feelings of religion, to distort into the dishonourable charge of natural weakness, what was an act of free-will, a mystery, a display of power and boldness, a triumph? And what a triumph it was, when He offered Himself to those who sought to crucify Him, and they could not endure His presence: when He stood under sentence of death, Who shortly was to sit on the right hand of power: when He prayed for His persecutors while the nails were driven through Him”
Hilary of Poitiers on the Trinity book 10 (48)
“The answer of the Glorifier is granted not to the prayer for glory, but to the ignorance of the bystanders: must we not then regard the complaint of suffering, when He found His greatest joy in suffering, as intended for the building up of our faith? Christ prayed for His persecutors, because they knew not what they did.”
Hilary of Poitiers on the Trinity book 10 (71)
John Chrysostom refers to the prayer numerous times in his writings (I shall give 3 examples here)
“He commanded men to pray for their enemies: this also again He teaches by means of His acts: for when He had ascended the cross He said Father forgive them for they know not what they do. As therefore He commanded men to pray so does He Himself pray, instructing you to do so by his own unflagging utterances of prayer.”
John Chrysostom, Against Marcionists and Manichæans (4)
“Did he therefore cast them away? No, in no wise, but when He heard these sayings, He even yet more signally bestowed His benefits upon them, and went straightway to them that were about to crucify Him, to the intent that He might but only save them. And after He was crucified, what were His words? Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. “
John Chrysostom Homily 7 on Ephesians
“For indeed He cast them to the ground, and restored the servant’s ear, and discoursed with forbearance; and great miracles did He show forth, when lifted up, turning aside the sunbeams, bursting the rocks, raising the dead, frightening by dreams the wife of him that was judging Him, at the very judgment showing forth all meekness (which was of power not less than miracles to gain them over), forewarning them of countless things in the judgment hall; on the very cross crying aloud, Father, forgive them their sin.”
John Chrysostom Homily 79 on Matthew
Jerome, as already stated included the prayer in the latin Vulgate, however, he also cites the prayer in another writing:
“Moreover, to return to the literal meaning of this passage, we must not be surprised that after the death of the Savior, Jerusalem is called “the holy city,” since, until its complete collapse, the apostles are shown to have had no apprehension about entering the temple, and even observe the ceremonies of the law for fear of scandalizing those of Jews who had embraced the faith of Jesus Christ. We even see that the Savior loved this city so much that the misfortunes which threatened it elicited tears from His eyes; when He was crucified, He said to His Father, “Forgive them, Father, because they do know what they do.” His prayer was answered, for shortly after His death the Jews believed in Him by thousands, and God gave to this unfortunate city forty-two years to do penance. But finally its citizens, having failed to benefit, and still persisting in their wickedness — Vespasian and Titus together formed an anti-type of what is mentioned in our Scriptures, when they came out of the woods and killed and mauled these “children,” because of their blasphemous insults to the real Elisha when ascending to the house of God (for that is what “Bethel” means in Hebrew)”
Jerome To Hedibia Question #8
Augustine who wrote in the early 5th Century made reference to the prayer.
“Let them be turned backward and put to shame that wish me evil. Turned backwards. Let us not take this in a bad sense. He wishes them well; and it is His voice, who said from the Cross, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. “
Augustine Exposition on Psalm 40 (24)
- Look at the Lord himself, who did precisely what he commanded. After so many things the godless Jews committed against him, repaying him evil for good, didn’t he say, as he hung on the cross, Father, forgive them, because they do not know what they are doing
Augustine Sermon 382
There are also a number of non Christian (Gnostic) writings that attest to the prayer of Jesus.
“And Philip said to John: Behold now, where is my Lord Jesus, who told me not to
avenge myself? But for my part, I shall not endure it longer; but I will accomplish upon
them my threat, and will destroy them all.
And John and Bartholomew and Mariamme restrained him, saying: Our Master was beaten, was scourged, was extended on the cross, was made to drink gall and vinegar, and said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And this He taught, saying: Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart.”
Acts of Philip 4th century
4th Century Gospel of Nicodemus
“And when Jesus was scourged, he delivered Him to the Jews to be crucified, and two robbers with Him; one by name Dismas, and the other by name Gestas. And when they came to the place, they stripped Him of His garments, and girt Him about with a linen cloth, and put a crown of thorns upon His head. Likewise also they hanged the two robbers with Him, Dismas on the right and Gestas on the left. And Jesus said: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And the soldiers parted His garments among them.”
Gospel of Nicodemus I – The Acts of Pilate chapter 10
The authenticity of the words of the prayer of Jesus have both ancient and varied manuscript evidence that is supported by a huge array of early and varied writers that attest to their originality and authority.
Anyone who does not consider these affirmations of the words of Jesus but rather simply looks upon manuscript evidence is disingenuous. Manuscript evidence is, of course, a vital part of textual criticism, but it is not, nor cannot be the only part.
There is also a parallel passage in the book of Acts, where Stephen prays for the forgiveness of those that were stoning him.
Acts 7:59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. 60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
It is Luke who recorded both the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts. Luke often uses subtle parallels between the Gospel and Acts.
Bart Ehrman argues that had this been a false parallel, interpolated by some later scribe to create the appearance of the parallel between the words of Jesus and that of Stephen, then it would be much more likely that the scribe would copy the words verbatim, which of course the words recorded in the Gospel on the lips of Jesus and those in Acts spoken by Stephen are not verbatim.
Could not the verse have been interpolated by scribes wanting to provide a closer parallel between Jesus and Stephen, the first of his followers to be martyred for his sake?
This position has the appearance of plausibility, but it should be pointed out that Luke himself has gone out of his way to create parallels between Jesus in Luke and the apostles in Acts, as any careful literary analysis will show (i.e., the same author wrote both the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts; and he himself creates numerous literary parallels between what happens to Jesus in the Gospel and what happens to his followers in Acts). Indeed, the remarkable similarities between Jesus and Stephen are themselves from Luke’s pen. What is particularly striking in this connection, and telling for the textual problem of Luke 23, is that when Luke creates parallels between Jesus in the Gospel and his apostles in Acts, he does so obliquely, without drawing undue attention to it (that is to say, he doesn’t simply repeat in Acts, verbatim, what he had already said about Jesus in the Gospels; he always states the literary parallels in different words). Contrast this with how scribes are known to work. Scribal harmonizations are rarely (ever?) oblique; they involve word for word, verbal agreements. The prayer in Luke 23:34, however, is no such thing. If a scribe created the text to harmonize it more closely with Acts 7:60, would not the correspondence be verbal?
Did Jesus Pray “Father Forgive Them” from the Cross? – The Bart Ehrman Blog
A blog on the website of Biblical Scholar Elijah Hixson, EvangelicalTextualCriticism.com looks at this passage and the writer, Dirk Jongkind, who has concluded the words are most likely additions, states, that if the words were original there does not seem to be good motivation for leaving them out.
“If these words were original, there does not seem to be a good motivation for leaving it out.”
Evangelical Textual Criticism: ‘Father Forgive Them’ – The Variant in Luke 23:34a
This cannot be explained by scribal error, there is no occurence of parablepsis here.
Surprisingly I am going to leave the final words to Bart Ehrman who offers us a possible reason as to WHY the words of the prayer of Jesus might have been removed………
Why, though, would a scribe (or a number of scribes) have wanted to
delete it? Here is where understanding something about the historical
context within which scribes were working becomes crucial. Readers
today may wonder for whom Jesus is praying. Is it for the Romans
who are executing him in ignorance? Or is it for the Jews who are responsible for turning him over to the Romans in the first place? How ever we might answer that question in trying to interpret the passage
today, it is clear how it was interpreted in the early church. In almost
every instance in which the prayer is discussed in the writings of the
church fathers, it is clear that they interpreted the prayer as being uttered not on behalf of the Romans but on behalf of the Jews. Jesus
was asking God to forgive the Jewish people (or the Jewish leaders)
who were responsible for his death. Now it becomes clear why some scribes would have wanted to omit the verse. Jesus prayed for the forgiveness of the Jews? How could that
be? For early Christians there were, in fact, two problems with the
verse, taken in this way. First, they reasoned, why would Jesus pray
for forgiveness for this recalcitrant people who had willfully rejected
God himself? That was scarcely conceivable to many Christians. Even
more telling, by the second century many Christians were convinced
that God had not forgiven the Jews because, as mentioned earlier, they
believed that he had allowed Jerusalem to be destroyed as a punishment for the Jews in killing Jesus. As the church father Origen said:
“It was right that the city in which Jesus underwent such sufferings
should be completely destroyed, and that the Jewish nation be overthrown” (Against Celsus 4, 22).11
The Jews knew full well what they were doing, and God obviously had not forgiven them. From this point of view, it made little sense for Jesus to ask for forgiveness for them, when no forgiveness was forthcoming. What were scribes to do with this text, then, in which Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing”? They dealt with the problem simply by excising the text, so that Jesus no longer asked that they be forgiven.
Bart Ehrman Misquoting Jesus pages 192-193
Maybe a better question or questions to ask are
1) How did the text get into multiple transmission lines without anyone ever noticing this addition?
2) Why do multiple church fathers, many of which preceded Vaticanus, quote the verse as scripture?
3) Why does James White assert the verse is not scripture based on it not being found in some of our earliest manuscripts but ignore the mass of evidence that would support its authenticity?
We must also mention that Marcion was corrupting the text of the Gospel of Luke. He created a text that was much shorter, redacting anything within the Gospel that he believed to be “Jewish”.
The witness of Codex Sinaiticus gives us first hand evidence of the words being removed. As we have already seen, the words are included in the original text but were later removed. The words were later attempted to be put back in, but the evidence of Sinaiticus original and 1st corrector unambiguously demonstrates the removal of the verse from scripture. Of course, Sinaiticus is one of those manuscripts that modern textual critics refer to as “oldest and best”.
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