Missing Verse
- Andrew B Spurgeon
- Apr 27, 2024
- 2 min read
I love riddles. Someone recently asked, “What’s always in front of you and can’t be seen?” The answer: “The Future.”
If you read versions like the NIV or ESV, you’ll notice verse 36 is missing. Luke 17:35 is followed by 17:37. You might have missed it. Versions like the King James or Authorized, however, have this verse. That’s because these versions follow two different traditions.
The missing verse is a repetition of verse 35 but focuses on the field rather than grinding grains.
“Two will be grinding [grains] together. One will be taken, and the other left” (v. 35)
“Two will be in the field. One will be taken, and the other left” (v. 36)
The King James version added women to verse 35 and men to verse 36. They placed these words in italics to warn readers that they are not in the original.
These two verses are parallel to verse 34:
“On that night, two will be in one bed. One will be taken, and the other left.”
The Lord Jesus was talking about the night he would be taken from the disciples. They would search for him and not find him, and there would be great trouble in the land (Luke 17:22–33). He gave these three verses as examples of how troubling that day would be—in bed, at work, or in the field; they would be separated.
Hearing this, the disciples asked,
“Where, Lord?” (17:37a), meaning where would these troubles happen?
Instead of telling them the place’s name, the Lord described it.
“Where the body is, and the vultures gather there [to eat it].” (17:37b)
They would soon know where his body would be, and the vultures gather to eat it—at Golgotha. When he was hung on the tree at Golgotha, and the soldiers and people searched for his disciples to hang them with him, they ran away in various directions, just as the Lord predicted.
Jesus said these to prepare his disciples for his departure to the cross and death. We live post-cross event. Yet, trouble can come to us even now and separate us from one another. If that happens, we should remember the Lord’s words and not run away from him, even during our trials and tribulations. We must stay close to him, as did Mary, his mother, John, and Mary Magdalene.
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