Manuscripts and the Text of the New Testament

Does the famous story of the adulteress belong in the New Testament? Did Jesus offer a cup after the bread in Luke’s account of the Last Supper? Does Luke’s Gospel refer to the ascension or not? How does Marks’ Gospel begin, and how does it end? These and other questions arise because the Greek manuscripts on which we depend for our New Testament are not in agreement here, nor in many other important passages. Why are there discrepancies in the manuscripts? Can we decide how or why these variations arose? Can we recover the truly original words of Matthew, Paul, Luke, and the other biblical authors? This introductory guide to the manuscripts is intended for general readers as well as students of the New Testament. It presumes no previous knowledge of either the subject or Greek.