When “Prayer and Fasting” was banned from the Bible

Some critics of modern Bible versions point out where verses in the King James Version are “left out” or listed only as footnotes in more recent translations.

The story of a man who was a “lunatic” who was healed by Jesus is told in the three synoptic gospels. The disciples had been given power and authority to drive out demons but in this case, they had failed. Mark’s gospel uses the phrase “Prayer and Fasting,” but in Matthew it is not included in modern translations, though the King James Version of Matthew has it. So why do modern translations leave the phrase out of Matthew’s gospel?

Mentally ill people were thought to be demon-possessed in ancient times. Today we think we know better, but there probably are cases where the problem is more demonic than biological. Leaving that debate for another day, let’s consider why it is left out of the gospel of Matthew.

Jesus told them they had been unable to drive out the demon because of their lack of faith. In Mark’s gospel, he tells them this was a tougher case and needed prayer and fasting to bolster one’s faith, or in addition to faith.

The problem is, that this verse is not found in the oldest manuscripts of Matthew. Remember chapters and verses were not added until much later. The Gospel of Mark (9:29) tells the same story and includes the phrase “prayer and fasting,” in the oldest manuscripts.

It seems that at some point, scribes copied the verse from Mark and added it to Matthew’s gospel. Luke also tells the story (chapter 9) and does not include the phrase. It is not in any copies of Luke.

Based on the best and oldest manuscripts, it seems that only Mark included that phrase. It was added to Matthew later and was never in Luke. John does not tell the story.

What it means

What shall we say then? Is this a contradiction? Was there a conspiracy among modern translators to de-emphasize prayer and fasting? No, probably not. I would pull out Occam’s Razor (the simplest explanation is best) to answer the question.

Most scholars believe Mark was the first gospel written, and that Matthew and Luke may have used Mark as a source. Mark used the phrase and the other two did not.

God did not direct each word, or dictate the message. God did, however, inspire the writers to write what they did. Mark included the phrase and the other two did not.

It was added later to Matthew. It was never added to Luke. That is why it is not in modern translations of Matthew. Simple as that.