Matthew 12:31, 47 — “Forgiven unto Men” and “Thy Mother and Thy Brethren”: Two Disputed Clauses

Two passages in this chapter have very different textual histories. The words “unto men” in verse 31 stand in both the received and critical texts. The report that Jesus’ mother and brothers were waiting outside in verse 47 is printed with doubt or omitted in some modern editions. Treating both as simple KJV additions would blur the evidence.

“All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men.” — Matthew 12:31

“Forgiven unto men”

The phrase τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, “unto men,” has firm support. Codex Vaticanus and a few witnesses add “unto you,” but the critical editors reject that expansion. The Textus Receptus and the standard critical text agree.

The saying does not promise that every sin is forgiven to every person. Jesus is contrasting the pardon available for every kind of sin with the settled blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. “Unto men” names the human objects of divine mercy; the next clause names a sin that will not be forgiven.

The messenger at the door

Verse 47 says, “Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.” Several weighty early witnesses omit the whole sentence. Because verse 46 has already told the reader that the family stood outside seeking to speak, the story can pass straight to Jesus’ answer in verse 48.

The repeated ending gives a plainer account of loss. Verse 46 ends with the family “desiring to speak with him”; verse 47 ends with them “desiring to speak with thee.” In Greek the corresponding phrases repeat the same verb. A copyist’s eye could jump from the first to the second and remove the messenger’s words. The result is smooth, which helps an accidental omission survive.

Modern editors have felt the force on both sides. Some print the verse in brackets; others leave it in a footnote. The received tradition keeps it. The sentence is not needless repetition. Verse 46 gives the narrator’s report; verse 47 brings the report to Jesus and prompts his question, “Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?”

The verse also guards the manner of the scene. Jesus does not ignore knowledge supplied only by the narrator. A person speaks to him, and he answers publicly. That is ordinary narrative craft, not an embellishment.

Both disputed places should therefore be read as received. Yet their defenses differ. “Unto men” is barely disputed in the editions that matter most; verse 47 requires an answer to substantial early omission. The same doctrine of preservation permits both judgments because it asks what the evidence says at each line.

The blasphemy warning should not be used to trap tender consciences. In context the Pharisees see the Spirit’s liberating work and knowingly call it Satanic. The settled moral reversal is far from the grief of a person who fears he has sinned beyond pardon. Concern itself often shows that the heart has not reached the hardness being warned against.

Verse 47 then turns from hostile teachers to Jesus’ natural family. The messenger’s interruption gives Christ the occasion to identify those who do his Father’s will as brother, sister, and mother. The statement honors spiritual kinship without insulting Mary or denying ordinary duties.

The received messenger line therefore carries narrative causation. A report reaches Jesus; he turns it into teaching. Omitting the report leaves the answer understandable, but it makes the turn less embodied and reduces the public exchange to an unexplained response.

Sources and further reading

• Matthew 12:22–50; Mark 3:31–35; Luke 8:19–21.
• Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, notes on Matthew 12:31 and 12:47.
• John William Burgon, The Causes of the Corruption of the Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels.