The difference is a pronoun. The Textus Receptus calls the rite his baptism—John’s. Several early witnesses, including the first hands of Sinaiticus and Vaticanus, omit “his.” The critical text follows them.
“When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism.” — Matthew 3:7
Both readings place the same men at the Jordan. The received word identifies the baptism more firmly within Matthew’s sentence.
“Come to the baptism” is clear. John has been baptizing in the Jordan since verse 6. A copyist may add “his” to remove even a slight ambiguity, and explicit possessives are common expansions.
Yet that same clarity makes omission easy. A scribe can pass over αὐτοῦ because the owner is obvious. The word is short, the sentence remains smooth, and no doctrinal alarm marks the loss. Sinaiticus was later corrected to include it, which shows that the longer form was known early enough to confront the omission within that codex’s own history.
The broader Greek transmission preserves the pronoun across regions and centuries. That continuity matters more than a bare count of late pages, just as early absence matters more than a bare claim that all old witnesses agree.
John does not welcome the rulers merely because they have reached the water. He calls them a generation of vipers and demands fruits meet for repentance. “His baptism” was a divine ministry, not a badge that could be collected without confession.
The pronoun also distinguishes John’s administration within the larger doctrine of baptism. He points forward to the mightier One who baptizes with the Holy Ghost and fire. The rites are related, but John knows who owns each work.
No sacramental doctrine stands or falls with his. The shorter text still records John’s baptism, and the context identifies it. But exact words need not carry unique doctrine to belong. The received pronoun is early enough to be restored in Sinaiticus, broad enough to dominate the Greek tradition, and natural enough to be Matthew’s own.
John’s possessive does not make the baptism a private invention. His authority comes from heaven, and his preaching prepares the way of the Lord. “His baptism” identifies the ministry entrusted to him in the same way Scripture can speak of Moses’ law or Paul’s gospel without making the source merely human.
The rulers’ approach also sharpens the word. They come to John’s baptism while resting in Abrahamic descent and visible office. John refuses to let proximity to the rite replace repentance. Water without fruit does not shelter a viper from the axe or the coming fire.
That warning applies beyond the textual question. Christians may defend the right words about baptism while treating the sacrament as a social possession. Matthew joins administration, confession, and fruit. The small pronoun names the minister; the sermon names the God before whom every minister and recipient stands.
Sources and further reading
- Matthew 3:1–12; Acts 19:1–7.
- Frederick H. A. Scrivener, A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament.
- Bruce M. Metzger, discussion of shorter and fuller Matthean readings.