Complete textual-variant dossier
Adverse entailment established
Sections distinguish readings, edition history, evidence, theological consequences, and the Research Center's evaluation. CBGM is an analytical tool; editorial committees—not the software—make textual decisions.
1Passage and issue
Passage
Issue
> “And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.”
Variant class
Punctuation
2Textus Receptus
Greek reading
The exact TR reading has not yet been entered in the structured field.
Authorized Version
“And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.” — Matthew 28:9
Edition note
The Research Center uses the received Greek text underlying the Authorized Version as its baseline; edition-specific differences are recorded when the variation unit requires them.
Historical annotation witness
Erasmus’s Annotationes
Erasmus’s printed Greek text, his Latin annotation, and the Research Center’s evaluation are distinct evidence. Each edition remains separately identified because Erasmus revised the Annotationes across his five editions.
Not yet assessed. No inference about Erasmus’s silence has been made. A Latin annotation and translation will appear here only after an edition and exact locus have been verified.
The Erasmus annotation audit has not yet been completed for this locus. Do not infer from this status that Erasmus was silent.
Westminster and Dutch annotation witnesses
Westminster Annotations
Not yet assessed. No inference from silence is made.
Dutch Annotations
Not yet assessed. No inference from silence is made.
3NA28 baseline and critical-text rationale
NA28 baseline reading
The critical text omits the pronoun, leaving “they worshipped.”
Translation or explanation
The critical text omits the pronoun, leaving “they worshipped.”
Metzger’s report of the UBS committee
Metzger reports the UBS4 committee's treatment of 3 variation units within this record's range. The notes ground the relevant decisions in the weight and distribution of external attestation, a proposed mechanism of accidental omission, the likelihood of scribal or liturgical expansion, authorial usage, grammar, or immediate context; the printed confidence ratings represented here are {B}, {C}. This is a controlled synopsis rather than a quotation.
Locator: Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, 2nd ed., notes on Matthew 28:9, 28:17, 28:20
ECM / CBGM evidence and editors
No passage-specific ECM/CBGM editorial explanation is attached to this record. Official method sources describe the CBGM as a set of coherence procedures, not a decision-maker: editors define variation units and local stemmata and evaluate pre-genealogical, genealogical, and stemmatic coherence together with transcriptional, intrinsic, and other philological evidence.
4UBS6 and intended NA29 revision
UBS6 retains the NA28 / UBS5 Greek main-text wording in Matthew, so no main-text change is shown for this passage. The separate project ledger covers Acts, Mark, and Revelation.
No change row is attached to this passage.
UBS6 is published, and the German Bible Society identifies its Greek main text as identical to the intended NA29 main text. The complete NA29 volume and its apparatus remain forthcoming. Project-ledger rows retain their source and verification statements until they are checked against the published UBS6 text and, when available, the NA29 apparatus.
5Doctrinal and four-point analysis
Effect class
No meaningful doctrinal effect
Exact proposition affected
The triune identity of the Father, the Son/Word, and the Holy Ghost.
Doctrinal analysis
No doctrine hangs on the last four Greek letters, but a fitting word need not be dismissed because it later became liturgical. The heart of the resurrection commission remains whole, and the full frame belongs around it. The longer transition shows that resurrection faith is not paralysis before wonder.
Controlled source-list matches
Doctrinal significance and Westminster use
This passage is listed in one or both controlling research files. Their claims are reported with exact source identity and confessional use; list membership does not by itself establish the original reading or the Research Center’s final entailment.
Westminster proof-text listMatthew 28:20
A List of Omissions and Changes Found in the Critical Text to Verses Used as Proof Texts in the Westminster Standards
Seth Stark — supplied source file pp. 31–34
Textual wording marked in the source
Received/NKJV side: Amen
Westminster doctrines and propositions supported
WCF 7.6 — Of God's Covenant with Man
Portion identified in the source as supported by this proof text:
- was exhibited, the ordinances in which this covenant is dispensed are the preaching of the Word, and the administration of the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper:
WCF 25.3 — Of the Church
Portion identified in the source as supported by this proof text:
- Unto this catholic visible Church Christ has given the ministry, oracles, and ordinances of God, for the gathering and perfecting of the saints, in this life, to the end of the world: and does, by His own presence and Spirit, according to His promise, make them effectual thereunto.
WCF 25.5 — Of the Church
Portion identified in the source as supported by this proof text:
- Nevertheless, there shall be always a Church on earth to worship God according to His will.
WCF 27.3 — Of the Sacraments
Portion identified in the source as supported by this proof text:
- and the word of institution, which contains, together with a precept authorizing the use thereof, a promise of benefit to worthy receivers.
WCF 28.1 — Of Baptism
Portion identified in the source as supported by this proof text:
- Which sacrament is, by Christ's own appointment, to be continued in His Church until the end of the world. Source marks this portion as relying only on this cited proof text
WCF 28.2 — Of Baptism
Portion identified in the source as supported by this proof text:
- The outward element to be used in this sacrament is water, wherewith the party is to be baptized, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, by a minister of the Gospel, lawfully called thereunto.
WCF 30.1 — Of Church Censures
Portion identified in the source as supported by this proof text:
- The Lord Jesus, as king and head of His Church, has therein appointed a government, in the hand of Church officers, distinct from the civil magistrate.
WLC 35 — How is the covenant of grace administered under the New Testament?
Portion identified in the source as supported by this proof text:
- and the administration of the sacraments of Baptism Source marks this portion as relying only on this cited proof text
WLC 42 — Why was our Mediator called Christ?
Portion identified in the source as supported by this proof text:
- and so set apart, and fully furnished with all authority and ability,
WLC 53 — How was Christ exalted in his ascension?
Portion identified in the source as supported by this proof text:
- and giving them commission to preach the gospel to all nations Source marks this portion as relying only on this cited proof text
WLC 62 — What is the visible church?
Portion identified in the source as supported by this proof text:
- The visible church is a society made up of all such as in all ages and places of the world do profess the true religion,
WLC 108 — What are the duties required in the second commandment?
Portion identified in the source as supported by this proof text:
- The duties required in the second commandment are, the receiving, observing, and keeping pure and entire, all such religious worship and ordinances as God hath instituted in his Word;
WLC 154 — What are the outward means whereby Christ communicates to us the benefits of his mediation?
Portion identified in the source as supported by this proof text:
- The outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicates to his church the benefits of his mediation, are all his ordinances; especially the Word, sacraments, and prayer; all which are made effectual to the elect for their salvation.
WLC 176 — Wherein do the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s supper agree?
Portion identified in the source as supported by this proof text:
- and to be continued in the church of Christ until his second coming.
WSC 50 — What is required in the second commandment?
Portion identified in the source as supported by this proof text:
- The second commandment requireth the receiving, observing, and keeping pure and entire, all such religious worship and ordinances as God hath appointed in his Word.
WSC 88 — What are the outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption?
Portion identified in the source as supported by this proof text:
- The outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption are, his ordinances, especially the Word, sacraments, and prayer; all which are made effectual to the elect for salvation.
Editorial qualification: This establishes a confessional proof-text and reception connection. It does not by itself establish the original reading, and its English-version comparison must be checked against the Greek variation unit.
Bahnsen four-point examination
Arbitrariness
At Matthew 28:9–20, the critical choice avoids arbitrariness only to the extent that it states public manuscript, transcriptional, and intrinsic grounds. The critical text starts with “And behold, Jesus met them.” Critics see the longer words as a natural bridge from the angel’s command in verse 7. The critical text omits the pronoun, leaving “they worshipped.”
Inconsistency
The criteria used at Matthew 28:9–20 must be applied to comparable readings as well. A principle such as age, difficulty, brevity, or coherence cannot be decisive here and quietly reversed elsewhere merely to escape a historical, grammatical, or theological difficulty.
Consequences
No meaningful doctrinal effect: No doctrine hangs on the last four Greek letters, but a fitting word need not be dismissed because it later became liturgical. The heart of the resurrection commission remains whole, and the full frame belongs around it. The longer transition shows that resurrection faith is not paralysis before wonder.
Preconditions of intelligibility
The argument presupposes stable authorship, meaningful language, objective logical norms, transmissible evidence, and a coherent account of how Scripture can be received and identified by the church. The analysis tests whether the method can make those conditions intelligible without reducing the text to an indefinitely revisable editorial construct.
This framework examines an argument and its conditions; it does not claim to read an editor's private motives.
6Argument for the received reading
External and historical evidence
No manuscript debate removes baptism in the triune name or Christ’s promise to be with his church unto the end of the world. Some witnesses vary the pronoun’s case, which critics take as a sign that it was added. The repeated act links first witnesses and commissioned apostles: both meet the risen Christ and worship him.
Internal and transcriptional evidence
Because Amen often ends prayers, readings, and copied books, addition is easy to imagine. Its absence at the physical end of a codex can arise through damage or through a copyist’s treatment of a closing subscription.
Reception and ecclesiastical use
No manuscript debate removes baptism in the triune name or Christ’s promise to be with his church unto the end of the world. On the road from the tomb The Textus Receptus begins verse 9, “And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them.” The final Amen The Textus Receptus ends with Ἀμήν.
Providential-preservation analysis
Providential preservation is not used as a substitute for evidence at Matthew 28:9–20. It supplies the confessional context in which manuscript transmission, broad reception, and the church's actual possession of Scripture are evaluated together.
Canonical coherence with the rest of Scripture
Canonical coherence remains an explicit test: a proposed reading must make grammatical and theological sense within the immediate context and the rest of Scripture. No conflict is asserted merely because two editions differ; the claimed incoherence must be demonstrated at this passage.
Canonical-coherence verdict
The Authorized Version is retained where its representation of the TR forms a coherent reading within the immediate context and the rest of Scripture. Any competing form must demonstrate an equal or better canonical fit rather than merely invoke an edition or method label.
Response to the principal critical argument
The critical text starts with “And behold, Jesus met them.” Critics see the longer words as a natural bridge from the angel’s command in verse 7. The critical text omits the pronoun, leaving “they worshipped.”
Passage-specific evidence from consulted works
Core 0.6.3 supplied-source audit complete: 1 passage-specific note attached. Incidental citations and global-method sources are retained in the audit report rather than presented as local textual evidence.
A List of Omissions and Changes Found in the Critical Text to Verses Used as Proof Texts in the Westminster StandardsWestminster proof-text and translation comparison
Seth Stark — supplied PDF pp. 31–34
At Matthew 28:20, it compares the NKJV/TR-oriented wording “‘Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen.”” with the ESV/critical-text wording “‘Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."” and associates the passage with WCF 7.6, WLC 35, WSC 50.
Editorial use: This establishes a confessional proof-text and reception connection. It does not by itself establish the original reading, and its English-version comparison must be checked against the Greek variation unit.
Conclusion
The worship scene holds doubt and homage together without explaining every individual. Resurrection appearances are not myths produced by a group unable to imagine questions. Matthew records the hesitation within the same company that sees and worships. The explicit pronoun keeps Christ as the object before the command is given.
The final promise is literally “all the days” unto the consummation of the age. The Amen receives a presence that covers ordinary days, hostile days, and mission across nations. The church does not finish Matthew by supplying its own strength. It answers the authority and presence of Jesus with assent, then goes because he spoke.
Logical entailment
The Authorized Version serves as the faithful English representation. The preservation claim applies immediately to the authentic Hebrew and Greek texts—not to an English translation as though it were the inspired source.
Canonical-status rule: Physical printing is not canonical inclusion. If an edition prints a passage in double brackets while judging it secondary or non-original, it disagrees with the received text concerning the identity and extent of inspired Scripture.
Status: Established
Immediate textual or doctrinal consequence
At Matthew 28:9–20, the received text reads and its Authorized Version representation reads “And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.” — Matthew 28:9”. The assessed critical reading is “The critical text omits the pronoun, leaving “they worshipped.”. The immediate consequence is that the critical text no longer states the received wording at this locus. No local Christian doctrine is lost; the immediate effect is confined to this textual difference.
Necessary reasoning chain
- At Matthew 28:9–20, the received Hebrew/Greek form is ; the Authorized Version represents it as “And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.” — Matthew 28:9”. The assessed critical form is “The critical text omits the pronoun, leaving “they worshipped.”.
- The received and critical forms are not the same at this locus. Therefore, if the competing critical form is original, the received form is secondary rather than the authentic wording at this place. The immediate consequence is: At Matthew 28:9–20, the received text reads and its Authorized Version representation reads “And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.” — Matthew 28:9”. The assessed critical reading is “The critical text omits the pronoun, leaving “they worshipped.”. The immediate consequence is that the critical text no longer states the received wording at this locus. No local Christian doctrine is lost; the immediate effect is confined to this textual difference.
- If the received form at this place is secondary rather than original, then the authentic Hebrew/Greek text was not kept pure at this place in the received textual tradition; therefore the unqualified confessional preservation claim must be denied or redefined.
Ultimate preservation consequence
If the competing reading is original and the received reading is secondary, then God did not preserve and keep pure the authentic text at this place in the received textual tradition. The unqualified confessional claim that Scripture was kept pure in all ages must therefore be denied or redefined.
Sources
- Westminster Confession of Faith (1647)Chapter 1, section 8 — Governing confessional preservation claim
- German Bible Society — UBS6 publications and relation to NA29Current critical-edition, ECM, or editorial documentation
- A List of Omissions and Changes Found in the Critical Text to Verses Used as Proof Texts in the Westminster Standardssupplied PDF pp. 31–34 — Westminster proof-text and translation comparison
- German Bible Society — The Sixth Edition of the Greek New TestamentCurrent critical-edition, ECM, or editorial documentation
- INTF — Online Tools for the ECMCurrent critical-edition, ECM, or editorial documentation
Read the full research essay and its sources
“And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.” — Matthew 28:9
Matthew closes with meeting, worship, command, and promise. Three received details are disputed: the women meet Jesus “as they went to tell his disciples”; the eleven worship him in Galilee; and the Gospel ends with Amen.
The Great Commission itself stands in every Greek text at issue. No manuscript debate removes baptism in the triune name or Christ’s promise to be with his church unto the end of the world.
On the road from the tomb
The Textus Receptus begins verse 9, “And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them.” The critical text starts with “And behold, Jesus met them.” Critics see the longer words as a natural bridge from the angel’s command in verse 7.
The bridge is natural because it tells what happened. The women are not wandering when Jesus meets them; they are obeying. Their errand and his appearance belong together. A run of short common words can fall, and the sentence remains smooth after their loss.
They worshipped him
At verse 17 the received Greek says προσεκύνησαν αὐτῷ, “they worshipped him.” The critical text omits the pronoun, leaving “they worshipped.” The object is still Jesus, but the received wording names him.
Some witnesses vary the pronoun’s case, which critics take as a sign that it was added. Case variation can also follow restoration or grammatical smoothing. Matthew has used the same explicit construction when the women take Jesus’ feet. The repeated act links first witnesses and commissioned apostles: both meet the risen Christ and worship him.
“Some doubted” does not mean that another group worshipped an unknown object. It records hesitation or uncertainty within the encounter. The named object makes the contrast sharper, not safer.
The final Amen
The Textus Receptus ends with Ἀμήν. Many early witnesses stop after “the end of the world,” and modern editors omit the liturgical close. Because Amen often ends prayers, readings, and copied books, addition is easy to imagine.
Yet Amen is also an ordinary biblical seal: truly, so be it. Matthew’s final promise invites it. The risen Lord has all authority, sends his church to all nations, and remains with it through all days. The church answers not by improving the promise but by receiving it.
The word has broad and ancient ecclesiastical use. Its absence at the physical end of a codex can arise through damage or through a copyist’s treatment of a closing subscription. No doctrine hangs on the last four Greek letters, but a fitting word need not be dismissed because it later became liturgical.
Matthew’s received ending moves without ornament: the women obey and meet Jesus; the disciples worship him; the Lord commands; the church says Amen. The variants touch the frame. The heart of the resurrection commission remains whole, and the full frame belongs around it.
The women’s errand also answers their fear. They leave with fear and great joy, then move toward obedience before Jesus meets them. The longer transition shows that resurrection faith is not paralysis before wonder. They carry a word, and the risen Lord confirms it on the road.
The worship scene holds doubt and homage together without explaining every individual. Resurrection appearances are not myths produced by a group unable to imagine questions. Matthew records the hesitation within the same company that sees and worships. The explicit pronoun keeps Christ as the object before the command is given.
The final promise is literally “all the days” unto the consummation of the age. The Amen receives a presence that covers ordinary days, hostile days, and mission across nations. The church does not finish Matthew by supplying its own strength. It answers the authority and presence of Jesus with assent, then goes because he spoke.
Sources and further reading
- Matthew 28:1–20; Luke 24:36–53; John 20:19–29.
- Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, notes on Matthew 28:9, 28:17, and 28:20.
- Westminster Confession of Faith 2.3, 25, and 28.
7Related materials
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- Record
- VAR-1075
- Status
- Preliminary
- Version
- 1.1-dossier
- Review
- Level B — Editorial synthesis
- Editor
- Chris Thomas
- Reviewer
- Independent reviewer pending assignment
- First date
- 2026-07-22 · Exact Day
- Last revised
- 2026-07-22
Evidence and editorial controls
- Verification
- Recovered project data; bibliographic and source-level verification remains record-specific. Metzger commentary entries were matched by exact passage where present; ECM/CBGM rationale is passage-specific only when an official editorial explanation is cited. Ledger rows are identified as UBS6 / intended NA29 data but retain their row-level verification caveats pending direct collation. Supplied-source audit completed in Core 0.6.3. Accepted local notes were matched by canonical passage and manually bounded; source claims remain attributed where current apparatus verification is pending.
- Rights and access
- Original editorial synthesis; cited sources retain their stated rights.
- Known limitations
- Staging record; independent review remains open.
Links from this record
No public outgoing links are recorded.
Records that cite or connect here
No public backlinks are recorded.
Corrections and evidence submissions
No correction submission is presently attached to this record. Submit evidence or read the correction policy.
Chris Thomas, “Matthew 28:9–20 — Meeting, Worshiping, and the Closing “Amen”: Variants in the Resurrection Commission,” VAR-1075, Confessional Bibliology Research Center, version 1.0-staging.
Revision history
- — Chris Thomas
- — Chris Thomas