March 12
Mark 16:1-20
Many people claim we cannot trust the Bible—that it is false, historically inaccurate, and that it has changed over time. How would you respond to these types of statements? About halfway through Mark 16 it says, "The earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have verses 9-20." On the surface this may cause you to doubt the truth of Scripture, but it should actually do the opposite. This statement and the italicized verses are included because of a discipline called textual criticism. This is the technical pursuit of trying to determine the original text of the Bible. Since we do not have any of the original documents, scholars look at the thousands of manuscripts which we have to try to piece together the true original meaning. This is why you will often find footnotes that give alternative wording at various points in the Bible.
Thankfully, because of numerous manuscripts, scholars sometimes say we have 101% of the Bible. This means we definitely have the original words, but, at times, we may wonder which of two words are accurate. None of these differences affect any key doctrines but mostly center around whether a word should be singular or plural. The Bible is significantly more trustworthy than any other ancient writings, so we do not have to wonder whether this is truly God's Scripture to us or not. Thank God we have Scripture, we can trust in it, and God in his grace has seen fit to protect his words throughout the ages.
Father God, thank you for your words. Help me to listen, learn, apply, and share it with others as well. Amen.
What gives you confidence to trust in Scripture?
Many people claim we cannot trust the Bible—that it is false, historically inaccurate, and that it has changed over time. How would you respond to these types of statements? About halfway through Mark 16 it says, "The earliest manuscripts and some other ancient witnesses do not have verses 9-20." On the surface this may cause you to doubt the truth of Scripture, but it should actually do the opposite. This statement and the italicized verses are included because of a discipline called textual criticism. This is the technical pursuit of trying to determine the original text of the Bible. Since we do not have any of the original documents, scholars look at the thousands of manuscripts which we have to try to piece together the true original meaning. This is why you will often find footnotes that give alternative wording at various points in the Bible.
Thankfully, because of numerous manuscripts, scholars sometimes say we have 101% of the Bible. This means we definitely have the original words, but, at times, we may wonder which of two words are accurate. None of these differences affect any key doctrines but mostly center around whether a word should be singular or plural. The Bible is significantly more trustworthy than any other ancient writings, so we do not have to wonder whether this is truly God's Scripture to us or not. Thank God we have Scripture, we can trust in it, and God in his grace has seen fit to protect his words throughout the ages.
Father God, thank you for your words. Help me to listen, learn, apply, and share it with others as well. Amen.
What gives you confidence to trust in Scripture?
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