Selected Statements in the Bible Erroneously Attributed to Jesus
The Book of Matthew

     The New Testament in the Bible contains numerous instances in which statements were attributed to Jesus that he did not make. Some of the erroneous statements supposedly made by Jesus are listed below. Some early Christians held stringent views on certain topics and they did not hesitate to attribute their beliefs to Jesus. In many instances statements supposedly made by Jesus are partly true and partly false.

     But first, a question: Was Jesus conceived by the Holy Ghost?
     Matthew 1:18-25: There is much erroneous information in these passages. Mary was not "found with child of the Holy Ghost." Joseph was not "minded to put her [Mary] away." Joseph was not told in a dream "that which is conceived in her [Mary] is of the Holy Ghost."
     Verse 23 quotes a passage from Isaiah 7:14: ". . . Behold a virgin shall conceive, . . ." This passage in Isaiah may be one of the many predictions that was inserted into the Old Testament after Jesus lived on earth. Then the statement in Matthew 1:22 was either written into the record or an existing statement was revised to make it appear that Jesus had fulfilled a prophecy that was written before he was born.
     Jesus never stated that he was conceived by the Holy Ghost. And in fact, he was not conceived by the Holy Ghost. He was conceived in the same manner as all children born before him and after him. This superstitious belief was developed by very primitive men thousands and thousands of years ago and faithfully handed down from generation to generation even unto the present day. [See my paper (9) "Origin of Present-Day Beliefs."] [119:7:5] [122:4:4]

1. Matthew 5:21-26: Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.
    See Paper 140:6:4 in The Urantia Book to read what Jesus actually said.

    The following statements by Jesus are of the utmost importance both to Christians and all other persons on earth. It is my understanding that the number of casualties resulting from the Lucifer Rebellion because of soul death will be horrendous. A soul death occurs because the person did not create a soul with survival value. The only way a mortal can create a soul with survival value is to live a moral life, and additionally, strive daily to follow the leadings of the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit, and the Thought Adjuster [Indwelling Spirit].
    Said Jesus in answer to a question by Peter:
    You have heard it said by those who teach the law: "Thou shall not kill; that whosoever kills shall be subject to judgment." . . . I declare to you that every one who is angry with his brother is in danger of condemnation. He who nurses hatred in his heart and plans vengeance in his mind stands in danger of judgment. . . . [140:6:4]

    The following items pertaining to the personality of Jesus are taken from my paper [19]: "Spiritual Development."

    A. As Jesus mingled with the people, they found him entirely free from the superstitions of that day. He was free from religious prejudices; he was never intolerant. He had nothing in his heart resembling social antagonism. Though fearless, Jesus did not give vent to destructive criticism or manifest an utter disregard of the religious, social, economic, and political usages of his day.

    B. He was simple, manly, honest, and fearless. With all of this physical and intellectual influence manifest in the Master's presence, there were also all those spiritual charms of his being which have become associated with his personality: tenderness, patience, meekness, gentleness, and humility.

    C. He was a calm and happy laborer; only rarely was he in a hurry. He comforted his fellow men as he passed by. He made his friends feel at ease. He was a charming listener. He spread good cheer everywhere he went. He was full of grace and truth.

    D. The Master was a perfected specimen of human self-control. When he was reviled, he reviled not; when he suffered, he uttered no threats against his tormentors; when his enemies denounced him, he simply committed himself to the righteous judgment of his Father in heaven. He lived in the midst of stress and storm, but he never wavered.

    E. He refused to take unfair advantage of an opponent: he was utterly free from all egoistic desire to win an argument merely to experience logical triumph over his fellows.

    F. He spent at least five evenings each week at intense study in the synagogue where there were many new books. [This was in later years when he was no longer directly responsible for his younger brothers and sisters and his mother.

    Every person on earth can follow the example of Jesus in his/her daily life. It is imperative that each mortal create a soul with survival value if the mortal wishes to be resurrected in heaven following physical death. [Different rules apply to children who die young.]

    Matthew 5:29,30: Jesus: And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee; for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee; for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
   Jesus did not make these statements. As there is no such place as hell, Jesus would never use the words "cast into hell." Further, Jesus would never suggest that anyone engage in such horrendous self-mutilation.
   [Also see Item 6 in my Paper 36.]

2. Matthew 5:31,32: It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement. But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of adultery; and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
    In Jesus' time divorce practices were lax in Palestine and throughout the Roman Empire. He repeatedly refused to lay down laws regarding marriage and divorce, but many of Jesus' early followers had strong opinions on divorce and did not hesitate to attribute them to him. [140:8:14]

Note:
     Jesus was not a political reformer; he did not come to reorganize the world. Even if he had done this, it would have been applicable only to that day and generation. Nor was Jesus an economic reformer, although he did frequently call attention to the injustice of the unequal distribution of wealth. But he did not offer any suggestions by way of remedy. Jesus worked, lived, and traded in the world as he found it. [140:8:10,15]]
     Jesus was not a sociologist, but he did labor to break down all forms of selfish isolation. [140:8:11]
     Jesus would make all men Godlike and then stand by sympathetically while these sons of God solve their own political, social, and economic problems. [140:8:18]
     The Master offered no solutions for the nonreligious problems of his own age nor for any subsequent age. [140:8:31]

3. Matthew 6:16-18: Moreover when ye fast be not as the hypocrites of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head and wash thy face. That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
    Said Jesus: Fasting is not a part of the gospel of the kingdom of heaven. . . . Fasting may be an appropriate part of the law of Moses, but in the coming kingdom the sons of God shall experience freedom from fear and joy in the divine spirit. [147:7:2]
    Jesus propounded to his apostles the truth that it was their faith that made them secure in the kingdom of the present and the future, and not their affliction of soul nor fasting of body. [147:8:5]

4. Matthew 10:8: Said Jesus to his twelve Apostles: Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
    During the ordination sermon Jesus said to the Apostles: In kindness and mercy minister to all who are in distress and in need.  [140:2:14]
    The Master's consecration charge to the Apostles was: Go into all the world and preach the glad tidings of the kingdom. Liberate spiritual captives, comfort the oppressed, and minister to the afflicted. Freely you have received, freely give.  [140:9:2]
    Jesus taught the Apostles to recognize: Diseases of the flesh; Troubled minds; The possession of evil spirits.  [141:4:4]
    As part of his instructions to the Seventy as they prepared to leave on their first mission, Jesus warned them that "I am about to send you to Jew and gentile as lambs among wolves."  [163:1:3]  [Matthew 10:16]
    During the ordination of the Twelve, Jesus warned them: Behold I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves; be you therefore as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves.  [140:9:3]  [Matthew 10:16]  [Luke 10:3]
    When the Seventy returned from their first mission, they reported how "even the devils were subject" to them, they referred to the wonderful cures they had wrought in the cases of victims of nervous disorders. But there had been a few cases of real spirit possession relieved by them.  [163:6:2]
    We know that Jesus did not tell the Apostles to raise the dead. Only one person has been raised from the dead and that was Lazarus.
    If any of the Twelve or the Seventy cleansed one or more lepers, I did not find it mentioned in The Urantia Book. However, perhaps I overlooked it.

5. Matthew 10:15: Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city.
    Jesus did not make this statement. [See Item 2 in my paper 36.]

6. Matthew 10:34,35: Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
    Jesus did not say he came to send a sword. Neither did he make the statements in verse 35. The devil [Caligastia] has excelled in setting one person against another person. Always: The devil's goal has been to ferment as much hostility, resentment, physical abuse . . . as possible.

7. Matthew 12:40-42: For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
    Jesus knew that Jonah was not three days and three nights in the whale's belly. Neither did Jesus say he would be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Nor did he make the statements in verses 41 and 42.

8. Matthew 13:37-42: Jesus is quoted as explaining the parable of the wheat and the tares. " He that soweth the good seed is the Son of Man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of Man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth."
    An early Christian writer apparently took it upon himself to present his version of the explanation of the parable of the wheat and the tares. Jesus certainly did not make these erroneous statements. There is no "furnace of fire." The concept of a furnace of fire, as with so many other primitive concepts, was developed by primitive man and faithfully handed down from generation to generation, even to the present day. There will be no end of this world although on the Day of Armageddon ["the great and dreadful day of the Lord" Malachi 4:5,6] the world will end as we know it.
    Matthew 13:24-30 is a more accurate rendition of this parable. [151:4:1]

9. Matthew 16:15-19: He (Jesus) saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
    This is not exactly what Jesus said on this momentous occasion. The Urantia Book at 157:3:5 and 157:4:5-7 explains in more detail what Jesus said.
    Over a period of time, the early Christians developed the concept that only members of the Christian church can be "saved." This is an erroneous concept: Membership in the Christian church is not necessary for a person to develop a soul with survival qualities. A mortal anywhere in the world, in the Christian church or not, by following the leading of his Indwelling Spirit [his Thought Adjuster], the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit of Truth, can develop a soul with survival value so that when he dies, he will be resurrected in heaven. [5:5:14] [36:6:5] [111:3:1] [133:6:5]

10. Matthew 18:6-9: But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe unto the world because of offenses! for it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh! Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee; it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.
     Jesus definitely did not make these erroneous statements.
     It may be that whoever wrote the passages at Matthew 5:29,30 also wrote the verses at Matthew 18:6-9. Note their similarity. [158:8:1]

11. Matthew 19:6,9,12: Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery. For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake.
     Jesus definitely did not make these comments.
     Some groups of mortals have conceived of marriage as being consummated by divine action. God does not join a man and woman in marriage. If God has once joined any two things or persons together, they will remain thus joined until such a time as the divine will decrees their separation. Marriage is a civil institution subject to the laws of man. At this time we do not know who wrote these comments. Certainly they were not inspired by God. [83:8:4]

12. Matthew 19:28: Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
     Jesus did not make this promise. There never were more than three or four "tribes of Israel." [97:9:1]

13. Matthew 24:21-31: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
     Jesus did not make these comments. Regarding the phrase "but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened:" Outside of the Bible, I have not read anywhere that those days will be shortened. In order to survive the Day of Armageddon, a person must be in the Third Garden of Eden.
     You are invited to read my Paper [1]: "Is Israel Flirting with Armageddon?" This paper describes in some detail what awaits our planet on the day of the worldwide holocaust.

14. Matthew 24:37-41: But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
     Jesus did not make these comments. These passages, among others, are often cited to support the theory of the Rapture. However, the Rapture as described by Christians will not occur.

15. Matthew 25:1-13: The parable of the ten virgins.
     Jesus did not teach this parable to the Apostles. The authors of Part IV in The Urantia Book describe the circuitous route by which this parable found its way into the Bible. [176:2:8]

16. Matthew 25:45,46: Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
     It is true that the righteous who are resurrected in heaven and who choose eternal life will have life everlasting. But there is no such thing as an everlasting punishment. There is no bottomless pit, no hell, no furnace of fire, no lake of fire burning with brimstone. If a person does not create a soul with survival value his universe career ends at death.

17. Matthew 26:24: The Son of Man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.
     This erroneous statement was not made by Jesus. Someone simply made the comment, wrote it into the record, and attributed it to Jesus.

18. Matthew 26:28: For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
     Jesus definitely did not make this comment. As the authors of Part IV of The Urantia Book make clear, Jesus did not die on the cross to pay for the sins of mankind. [See Item 15 in my paper 36.]

19. Matthew 28:19,20: Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.
     This passage is partly true and partly false. I am assuming that "baptizing" refers to baptism by water as practiced by John the Baptist and his followers. The Apostles of Jesus did not baptize converts in water until the Apostles of John the Baptist joined them. When the two groups united, they hammered out the rules they would follow henceforth. It is not necessary to be baptized in water as a requirement for entering the Kingdom of Heaven. This unnecessary ritual was included at the insistence of John's Apostles. [144:6:7-10]
     "and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." Jesus' statement was: . . . And I will be with you always, even to the ends of the earth." This fifth appearance of Jesus after his resurrection occurred at the home of Joseph. [190:3:1] There is a definite distinction in meaning between the phrase "even unto the end of the world" and the phrase "even to the ends of the earth." Perhaps the phrase "even to the ends of the earth" could be written "even to the uttermost parts of the earth."
     In other appearances after his resurrection Jesus said ". . . for I am with you always, even to the end of the ages . . . [191:4:4] [191:6:3]

20. Matthew 4:1-11: In this account after Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, he then retired into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. According to verse 2 he fasted forty days and forty nights. In verses 8 and 9 the devil supposedly offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if only Jesus would fall down and worship him.
      First, Jesus did not fast forty days and forty nights. [Can a person survive a fast of forty days?]
      Second, the devil did not tempt Jesus by offering him "all the kingdoms of the world." This statement clearly reveals a lack of knowledge of Jesus' true position in our local universe: Jesus has been the ruler of our local universe since he created it billions upon billions of years ago. There now are more than three million inhabited planets in our local universe for which Jesus is responsible. Why would Jesus be tempted by the offer of only the kingdoms of our world?
      [These passages seem to suggest that the devil and Satan are the same person. But the devil (Caligastia) and Satan are definitely two different persons.] [32:2:9] [134:8:The Sojourn On Mount Hermon. See especially Paragraph 6.]

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Beginning of Paper

SOURCE:
     The Urantia Book, published by Uversa Press 2003. Uversa Press is a subsidiary of Urantia Book Fellowship.
http://www.urantiabook.org .
fellowship@urantiabook.org .
     The King James Study Bible, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville TN.

Note: Numerous statements in this paper were quoted verbatim from the source.

Revised September 5 2006