Did
Jesus Contradict Himself about His Plans to Go to the Feast of Tabernacles in
John 7:7-10?
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Did
Jesus Contradict Himself about His Plans to Go to the Feast of Tabernacles in
John 7:7-10?
Did Jesus give a straight answer to His brothers when
they asked Him about whether He was going to the Feast of Tabernacles (John
7:7-10)? When analyzing whether Jesus
gave a straight answer to His brothers, it's best to use the reading found in
verse 8 that is derived from the Byzantine text (also know as the Majority or
Received text): "You go up to this feast. I am not yet going
up to this feast, for My time has not yet been fulfilled." Notice
the first use of the word "yet," which is omitted in typical modern
translations based on the Alexandrine or Critical text. This use of the
word "yet" removes the difficulty that you perceive in the
Scripture. Jesus simply said that He wasn't going to the Feast yet, but
would go later.
Now,
what are some of the basic arguments for the Byzantine/Majority text-type
anyway? The main one is that somewhere around 80 to 95% of all
handwritten New Testaments are of this text type. It also has a smaller
number significant variations within this much larger number of
manuscripts compared to the variations appearing within the much
smaller number of Alexandrine/Critical text type manuscripts. But what's
the basic argument for the Critical text type? Why do most scholars
generally support this text type instead? Its readings were
originally based on the oldest major manuscripts, the famous
fourth-century Vaticanus and Sinaiticus manuscripts. But is older always
better? These manuscripts (and others) were preserved in Egypt,
which has a very arid climate that helps preserve paper from rotting,
while the Byzantine text type is much more geographically widespread. But
there's a key problem with the "older is better" argument in this
case: Often one can cite Byzantine textual readings in the the Bible
quotes of early Catholic writers (excepting Origen mainly, who lived in
Egypt) that precede the
fourth century! Hence, an excellent argument can be made that the
last 12 verses of Mark were in the original autograph based on this
reasoning. How can a scholar cite the fourth-century Vaticanus and
Sinaiticus to omit these verses when they appear the second-century Old
Latin and Syriac versions, and Papias, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and
Tertullian all cite them? Mark 16:9-20 also appear
in third-century Coptic
and Sahidic versions. Hippolytus, Vincentius at the seventh
council of Carthage, the "Acta Pilati," and the "Apostolic
Constitutions" in two places, also cite from them. Hence,
the Alexandrine/Critical Text type is on very shaky ground when it
argues these verses should be omitted.
Therefore, if the first use of the word “yet” appears in the Received
text for John 7:8, we should believe it was there in the original manuscript.
So if Jesus simply said to His brothers that He wasn’t
“yet” going to the Feast, the problem is easily removed.
Eric Snow
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