Misquoting Jesus with Bart Ehrman Lost Verses? The Biggest Changes Made to the Gospel of Luke
Jan 27, 2026
Bart Ehrman, New Testament scholar and bestselling author, examines how Luke’s text may have been reshaped over time. He explores whether Luke originally began at Jesus’ baptism, contested readings like ‘begotten’ versus ‘beloved,’ and why scribes added humanizing or sacrificial language. The conversation highlights manuscript evidence, textual-criticism methods, and how changes shift Jesus’ portrayal.
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How Misquoting Jesus Changed Ehrman's Career
- Bart D. Ehrman recounts that Misquoting Jesus was a book many colleagues thought would fail, but it sold well and changed his trajectory.
- He credits making specialized textual criticism accessible as why the book succeeded.
How We Reconstruct Luke's Earliest Text
- Early manuscript evidence for Luke includes papyrus fragments and the substantial P75 dated ~200 CE, plus full codices from ~375 CE.
- Versions and church fathers provide additional but later and indirect witnesses to Luke's original form.
Luke's Birth Chapters May Be Added Later
- Luke 1–2 (the birth narratives) appear in all manuscripts but may be later interpolations added before our surviving copies.
- If original Luke began at chapter 3, the genealogy and baptism would open the gospel and change its theology substantially.
