CEI deleted a Matthew 18:11 about Jesus coming to save the lost. Why?
A reader in Italy sent me the following link, https://www.marcotosatti.com/2024/04/09/bibbia-2008-cancellato-un-versetto-in-matteo-1811-perche-investigatore-biblico/ which I machine-translated into English. Here are excerpts:
Bible 2008, Deleted a Verse in Matthew 18,11. Why? Biblical Investigator.
9 April 2024
Bible CEI 2008: “Sensatory: an entire verse deleted: Matthew 18,11. Who has the right to such changes?” by BIBLICAL INVESTIGATOR
Starting from the healthy question ‘has anyone else noticed?’, I searched for bibliography on the subject, even online, but no response.
The sensational thing is another deletion of a verse of the Word of God in the CEI 2008 Bible . …
In the case in question the verse in Mt 18.11 has been magically crossed out.
We therefore present the usual comparison with the previous edition.
Cei 74 in Mt 18.11 reports:
“ For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost ” ( Mt 18:11 )
CEI 2008 , however, completely skips the v. 11, placing a footnote, where it is written:
“ the verse (…) is missing in many manuscripts; a similar phrase occurs in Luke 19:10 “.
It is not known which are the ‘many manuscripts’ in which the verse is missing, and the matter is approved without any mention.
Reading, however, the text of the Gospel of Matthew in Greek, here is what I find in verse 11:
“ Elthen gar o uios tou anthropou sosai to apolosos ” which, translated, precisely, is:
“ For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost ”.
Now, there are 2 cases:
– I am the only biblical scholar in the world to have a Greek text where verse 11 appears (therefore the new translators must demonstrate and present in which manuscripts this verse does not appear)
or
– they are doing some prank or experiment
Having said this, the verse of Matthew 18.11 appears in the Vulgate of Saint Jerome, is present in the Martini Bible (18th century) and in the Ricciotti Bible (1940s), just to give a few examples.
But, be careful!, it was also canceled in the New Vulgate. …
Do new translators claim the right to decide what is the Word of God and what is not?
Is the verse not to our liking and therefore we proceed to delete it without mincing words?
I’ll go further.
If in 2024 it is decided arbitrarily, with censorship, what is the Word of God and what is not, who will prevent, for example, that in 10 years the new edition of the Bible avoids containing Romans 1 to be more politically correct?
Other than a basic bias against the Bible, the ‘Bible Investigator’ did not give a specific reason why he feels that the CEI translators left the verse out.
But he is correct that some do not care for Romans 1. For example, we already know that governments, particularly in Canada, do not like Romans 1 (watch Canadian censoring of the Bible).
What is the CEI? Well that stands for the CONFERENZA EPISCOPALE ITALIANA (CEI). That group has been headed up by the Roman Catholic Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, Archbishop of Bologna. Their Bible is an Italian translation and according to Bible Gateway, that Bible is in the public domain in the United States.
That said, the fact that Jesus came to save the lost is an important doctrine.
But, while it was taught by early Christians, and seemingly also once understood by people who became part of the Greco-Roman church alliance (see the free online book: Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church: Could a remnant group have continuing apostolic succession?), that alliance changed the meaning of that (though the Eastern Orthodox still have some conception of it). Most modern Protestants do not know what early Christians believed related to several aspects of God’s plan of salvation (see also the free online book: Hope of Salvation: How the Continuing Church of God Differs from Protestantism).
Here is some information about that verse (and a similar one in Luke 19) as well as more on the lost and God’s plan of salvation from the free online book: Universal OFFER of Salvation, Apokatastasis: Can God save the lost in an age to come? Hundreds of scriptures reveal God’s plan of salvation:
The Bible shows that it is appointed for all to die once, and after this will come the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). Yet, the Bible also shows that those judged can attain mercy upon repentance (cf. James 2:13) and even those lost can be found (cf. Matthew 10:6-13).
Perhaps it should be pointed out that babies who die are not lost for sinning against God. Nowhere in the Bible does it state that those who never heard the truth of the gospel message will be lost.
It should be noted that Roman Catholic theology, while normally allowing for a higher percentage of people receiving salvation than what many Protestant and Baptist groups seem to teach, also tends to condemn most who ever lived to eternal torment and torturing.
Since Protestants have often claimed sola scriptura as their doctrinal source, and Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox point to scripture as a doctrinal source, it is to the Bible that Greco-Roman-Protestants should go to in order to see God’s plans for all.
Sadly, despite claiming “sola Scriptura,” Protestant scholars have tended to reason around various biblical passages regarding God’s plan of salvation. Notice one such mis-reasoning example related to Luke 3:6 (bolding in the version cited):
And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. The writer makes plain at the outset of Jesus’ ministry that He had a universal message. (from The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1962 by Moody Press).
Contrary to the interpretation above, Luke 3:6 DOES NOT state that the message is universal–it teaches that all flesh SHALL SEE the salvation of God. ALL will have an opportunity for salvation. That will be now for the elect and later for the rest.
Plus the message is not universal if most in the universe never properly hear it.
Luke 2:10, states:
10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.
There is to be good tidings for ALL PEOPLE. All will have an opportunity for salvation (cf. Luke 3:6).
Jesus will be joy to all people who will accept Him. …
The Gospels show that Jesus came to save the lost:
9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; 10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:9-10)
11 For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. (Matthew 18:11)
11 For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. (Matthew 18:11, DRB)
Notice that Jesus came to save the lost, not just a small amount of elect people. If the lost could not be saved, why would Jesus then have come?
Saving those who are currently lost is part of God’s plan as Ezekiel 34:11-16 shows:
11 ‘For thus says the Lord God: “Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day. 13 And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down,” says the Lord God. 16 “I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and feed them in judgment.”
Notice that the lost were driven away (by false teachings and their own issues) but God will bring them back and FEED THEM IN JUDGMENT. Ezekiel did not say condemning them to everlasting torment in that judgment. While Jesus sought to reach various ones who were lost (Matthew 18:11), God did not gather the people from the countries then, hence this prophecy in Ezekiel is for a future time.
Furthermore, doesn’t “feed them in judgment” sound fairly positive? …
Satan has basically held the world captive through deceit. Notice also what Revelation 12:9 teaches:
9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world;
Notice that the whole world has been allowed to be deceived. They have not intentionally chosen the wrong.
2 Corinthians 4:3 teaches:
3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost (KJV).
While Calvinists and others misunderstand this verse, consider that just because someone is lost does NOT mean that they cannot be found!
2 Corinthians 4:4 teaches about those:
4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
So, right now the gospel is hid—during this age—and some now are lost as they have been blinded by Satan—the god of this age—from knowing the truth (to learn more about the gospel, check out our free book, available online at www.ccog.org, The Gospel of the Kingdom of God). Paul also calls our time “this present evil age” (Galatians 1:4), which implies a better age to come (which will happen per Revelation 21:1-7).
Would a just God who allowed Satan to blind the world so that it could not see the truth of the Gospel not have a plan to later call those who are now lost?
The Bible clearly teaches that two ages will be coming where Satan will NOT be around (Revelation 20:1-3, 10), hence people will have an opportunity for salvation without being under the sway of Satan.
Anyway, yes, the lost can be found.
The Vatican, which has strong connections to the CEI, has declared that God does not have a plan to offer salvation later. Notice something that Joseph Ratzinger wrote in a paper titled The Theology of History in St. Bonaventure prior to becoming Pope Benedict XVI:
“…both Chiliasm [the teaching of the Millennium] and Montanism were declared heretical and were excluded from the universal church; for they both denied this vision [the “Christ is the end of the ages” vision] and awaited still another period of more definitive salvation to follow after the age of Christ” (as cited in Birch, pp. 515-516; note the comments within [] were from the Roman Catholic writer Birch).
This was an odd statement for several reasons. It was the leaders in Asia Minor who stood for the Millennium and were the first to oppose Montanism–whom the Roman Catholics originally tolerated (please see the article Location of the Early Church)–hence the belief in one is NOT necessarily related to the other.
The other reason this condemnation is odd, is that even though Origen of the 3rd century was opposed to the millennium, Origen also taught that there was definitive salvation after what then Cardinal Ratzinger calls “the age of Christ” (please see the article Hope of Salvation: How the Continuing Church of God Differs from Protestantism). Yet the late Pope Benedict XVI publicly praised Origen as a “true teacher” (for documentation, see What is the Appropriate Form of Biblical Interpretation?).
Perhaps Satan influenced those who took Matthew 18:11 out as Satan does not want people to realize that God is love, has a broader plan of salvation than many understand, and is actually fair.
The fact is that God does have a fantastic plan, and it includes reaching those who are now lost.
Notice and consider how our free book, Universal OFFER of Salvation, Apokatastasis: Can God save the lost in an age to come? Hundreds of scriptures reveal God’s plan of salvation, starts off:
Does God have a plan of salvation that makes sense?
The Bible teaches that “God is love” (1 John 4:8), “God is the God of salvation” (Psalm 68:20), God is good (Mark 10:18), and God is all-powerful, all-knowing (Isaiah 46:9-11).
Would not such a God be wise enough to come up with a plan of salvation that works, and does not doom the overwhelming majority of humans that ever lived to punishing that never ends?
Could that be a major part of why He sent His Son (John 3:16-17; 10:10)?
Will God offer salvation to all human beings who ever lived?
Is the view that God plans to offer salvation to all human beings biblical?
Has such a view had at least a degree of historical support, even among certain religious leaders still praised by the Greco-Roman-Protestant churches?
The answer to these questions is, yes, absolutely!
God’s plan makes sense.
More on God’s loving plan of salvation can be found in our free online book: Universal OFFER of Salvation, Apokatastasis: Can God save the lost in an age to come? Hundreds of scriptures reveal God’s plan of salvation.
Some items of related interest may include:
Universal OFFER of Salvation, Apokatastasis: Can God save the lost in an age to come? Hundreds of scriptures reveal God’s plan of salvation Will all get a fair chance at salvation? This free book is packed with scriptures showing that God does intend to offer salvation to all who ever lived–the elect in this age, and the rest in the age to come. Here is a link to a related sermon series: Universal Offer of Salvation 1: Apocatastasis, Universal Offer of Salvation 2: Jesus Desires All to be Saved, Mysteries of the Great White Throne Judgment (Universal Offer of Salvation part 3), Is God Fair?, Will God Pardon the Ignorant?, Can God Save Your Relatives?, Babies, Limbo, Purgatory and God’s Plan, and ‘By the Mouth of All His Holy Prophets’.
Hope of Salvation: How the Continuing Church of God Differs from Protestantism The CCOG is NOT Protestant. This free online book explains how the real Church of God differs from mainstream/traditional Protestants. Several sermons related to the free book are also available: Protestant, Baptist, and CCOG History; The First Protestant, God’s Command, Grace, & Character; The New Testament, Martin Luther, and the Canon; Eucharist, Passover, and Easter; Views of Jews, Lost Tribes, Warfare, & Baptism; Scripture vs. Tradition, Sabbath vs. Sunday; Church Services, Sunday, Heaven, and God’s Plan; Seventh Day Baptists/Adventists/Messianics: Protestant or COG?; Millennial Kingdom of God and God’s Plan of Salvation; Crosses, Trees, Tithes, and Unclean Meats; The Godhead and the Trinity; Fleeing or Rapture?; and Ecumenism, Rome, and CCOG Differences.
Beliefs of the Original Catholic Church: Could a remnant group have continuing apostolic succession? Did the original “catholic church” have doctrines held by the Continuing Church of God? Did Church of God leaders uses the term “catholic church” to ever describe the church they were part of? Here are links to related sermons: Original Catholic Church of God?, Original Catholic Doctrine: Creed, Liturgy, Baptism, Passover, What Type of Catholic was Polycarp of Smyrna?, Tradition, Holy Days, Salvation, Dress, & Celibacy, Early Heresies and Heretics, Doctrines: 3 Days, Abortion, Ecumenism, Meats, Tithes, Crosses, Destiny, and more, Saturday or Sunday?, The Godhead, Apostolic Laying on of Hands Succession, Church in the Wilderness Apostolic Succession List, Holy Mother Church and Heresies, and Lying Wonders and Original Beliefs. Here is a link to that book in the Spanish language: Creencias de la iglesia Católica original.
Is God Calling You? This booklet discusses topics including calling, election, and selection. If God is calling you, how will you respond? Here is are links to related sermons: Christian Election: Is God Calling YOU? and Predestination and Your Selection; here is a message in Spanish: Me Está Llamando Dios Hoy? A short animation is also available: Is God Calling You?
Christian Repentance Do you know what repentance is? Is it really necessary for salvation? Two related sermons about this are also available: Real Repentance and Real Christian Repentance.
About Baptism Should you be baptized? Could baptism be necessary for salvation? Who should baptize and how should it be done? Here is a link to a related sermon: Let’s Talk About Baptism and Baptism, Infants, Fire, & the Second Death.
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