Lord’s Library editors offer a Matthew 18:11 meaning with commentary on why the verse is missing from new Bible versions, for your edification.
When trying to understand the meaning of Matthew 18:11 and see why it’s missing in modern versions, first see the verse: “For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.” This verse, like Matthew 17:21, is absent from most modern Bible versions. Its removal appears to be a theologically charged omission that undermines one of the essential truth of the Gospel: that Jesus Christ came into the world to save lost sinners.
In the King James Bible, this verse appears as part of a broader passage where Jesus is teaching about humility, care for children, and the value of every single soul. It ties directly into the parable that follows in verses 12-14, in which the shepherd leaves the ninety and nine to seek the one that went astray: “How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.”
Without verse 11, the parable lacks its stated purpose. The mission of Christ—to seek and to save the lost—is reduced to implication. But with the verse intact, the reason for the shepherd’s pursuit is made explicit: the Son of man came to save that which was lost. There is no confusion, vagueness, and the Gospel retains its place: front and center.
Matthew 18:11 Missing Meaning
The deletion of Matthew 18:11 in modern Bibles is typically justified on the same grounds as Matthew 17:21: it does not appear in a small number of Alexandrian manuscripts—chiefly Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus. These two fourth-century documents are regarded by modern textual critics as superior to the Byzantine manuscript tradition, which undergirds the Textus Receptus and the King James Bible. This scholarly preference has led to a stream of modern versions that follow a minority textual tradition and omit key verses like Matthew 18:11.
The doctrinal content of Matthew 18:11 is not only consistent with the whole of Scripture—it is declared with equal clarity in Luke 19:10: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Why omit it in Matthew? Why not preserve the same truth in both places, especially when it flows so naturally into the surrounding context?
Verses that plainly teach substitutionary atonement, the need for repentance, the reality of hell, and the exclusivity of Christ’s mission are frequently targeted in modern translations. The result is a gospel that is increasingly open-ended. Removing Matthew 18:11 contributes to a subtle but real shift away from Christ as Savior of lost sinners and toward a more generic moral teacher who simply values the marginalized.
The Biblical Gospel is that we are sinners, lost and incapable of saving ourselves, and that Jesus Christ came specifically to rescue us by His own blood. Take away Matthew 18:11, and you take away one of the purest expressions of that truth.
This is why the King James Bible matters—not just for its literary beauty, but because it preserves verses that modern editors stripped from the Word of God. The loss is not just textual, but spiritual. We are left with an emaciated gospel that fails to save souls.
When you alter the Son of man’s purpose—to save the lost—you remove the heart of the Gospel. Keep Matthew 18:11 in your Bible, and you keep the Gospel on the page, where it belongs.
Lord's Library is a Christian resource hub. Our editors use a variety of internet research methods like search engines, audio and video, AI, consultations with ministry leaders in the field, and more. Lord's Library should never be a substitute for reading your Bible daily as the Scriptures are to be our final authority on all matters. Lord's Library participates in affiliate programs. We may make a small commission from products purchased through this resource.
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