Apparent Gospel Contradictions

[Crispus]

24) When was Christ crucified? Mark 15:25 "And it was the third hour and they crucified him." John 19:14-15 "And it was the preparation of the Passover, and about the sixth hour; and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your king…Shall I crucify your king?" John 19:14-15.

John wrote his gospel in Ephesus which was a Roman province and he was writing to a Hellenistic audience.

"...the Romans had always two modes of reckoning the day, one which agreed with the primitive, from evening to morning and morning to evening and was permitted at least by the law while it did not interfere with legal or religious purposes; and another prescribed by the law for the courts of justice, and for the offices and services of religion, and for public purposes in general, from midnight to midnight."
(fasti temporis catholici and orgines kalendariae by Edward Greswell, pp. 215 - 216)

At the beginning of Chapter 6 John says Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee, which was what it was called by the Jews. He then clarifies it to those he's writing by saying "that is, the Sea of Tiberias." That's a clear indication that he had the audience in mind. In the gospels the phrase "the Jews" is found many times. Excluding the eighteen times Jesus is called the "king of the Jews" the phrase "the Jews" is found once in Matthew, once in Mark, twice in Luke and more than sixty times in the gospel of John. John was speaking about a people who were of a different nationality than those to whom he was writing. That is why he mentioned ceremonial washing (2:6), a Jewish feast (5:1, 7:11), the Jewish Passover (2:13, 6:4, 11:55), defined the words Rabbi (1:38), Rabboni (20:16) and Siloam (9:7), gave the Greek equivalent for Thomas as Didymus (11:16, 20:24, 21:2) and commented on Jewish burial customs (John 19:40; cf. 2 Chron. 16:14). John also stated that the Feast of Dedication, or Hanukkah, was in winter (John 10:22); a fact which would have been known to the Jews.

The Romans did not use the midnight to midnight mode of timekeeping at the beginning of the Roman empire but, in the second century A.D., Aulus Gellius said the duration and limits of the days that were termed "civil" were reckoned differently all over the world (Attic Nights by Gellius, 3.2). He also quoted a lost work from Marcus Varro called "Antiquitates rerum humanarum et divinarum" in which Varro said "Persons who are born during the twenty-four hours between one midnight and the next midnight are considered to have been born on one and the same day." Marcus Varro lived from 116 - 27 B.C.

There is historical evidence that the Romans reckoned the hours in a day from midnight to midnight in the writings of Pliny the Elder:

"Different peoples measure the actual unit called 'a day' in different ways. The Babylonians reckon this as the interval between two sunrises; the Athenians, that between two sunsets; the Umbrians that from midday to midday; ordinary people everywhere, from dawn to dark. Roman priests and those who- fix the 'civil day', likewise the Egyptians and Hipparchus, reckon the day from midnight to midnight."
(Natural History: A Selection by Pliny the Elder, translated by John F. Healy, 1991, p. 35)

Gleason Archer gives the reference as Natural History, 2.77. Pliny the Elder wrote Natural History about 77 A.D, very close to the time that John wrote his account of the gospel. Hipparchus was a Greek astronomer, geographer and mathematician who lived from 190 to 120 B.C., during the Hellenistic period. Roman Historian Seneca lived in the first century and wrote this:

"I shall make myself better understood, if I say the month was October, the day was the thirteenth. What hour it was I cannot certainly tell; philosophers will agree more often than clocks; but it was between midday and one after noon."\
(Seneca, Apocolocyntosis, chapter 2)

"One after noon" would not refer to the first hour of the night or Seneca would have said it was between sunset and the first hour of the evening. Seneca was speaking of one o'clock in the afternoon. In the fourth century the Roman grammarian Macrobius said the Romans had declared the day began at the sixth hour of the night (Saturnalia 1:3). There is also evidence from the deaths of Polycarp and Pionius as well.

"Polycarp was martyred 'at the eighth hour' (Mart. Pol. XXL), Pionius at 'the tenth hour' (Acta Marl. p. 137); both at Smyrna. Such exhibitions commonly took place in the morning (Philo, II. 519); so that 8.0 and 10.0 A.M. are more probable than 2.0 and 4.0."
(The Gospel According to St. John: With Maps, Notes and Introduction by Alfred Plummer, 1902 ed., p. 341)

25) The two thieves reviled Christ. (Matthew 27:44 & Mark 15:32) Only one of the thieves reviled Christ. Luke 23:39-40.

It is possible that there were more than two robbers crucified with Jesus that day and only the words of those crucified directly next to him were recorded. The other possibility is that one thief had reason for a change of heart and repented. If the latter is true it may have been because Jesus asked his heavenly Father to forgive those who had crucified him (Luke 23:34).

26) In 1 Corinthians 1:17 ("For Christ sent me [Paul] not to baptize but to preach the gospel") Paul said Jesus was wrong when he said in Matthew 28:19 "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them…" Clearly one of these people is wrong, either way, it’s a contradiction.

Paul did not say Jesus was wrong when he said to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Not everyone in a given church participates in baptismal ceremonies. Baptizing people was not Paul's main ministry though he did baptize Crispus, Gaius and the whole household of Stephanas (1 Cor. 1:14-16).

27) When did Satan enter Judas? Satan entered into Judas while at the supper. John 13:27 Satan entered Judas before the supper. Luke 23:3-4 & 7

Both before and during the last supper. John 13:2 says the evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas to betray Jesus but John doesn't give any details of how Satan prompted Judas. In Luke 22 Satan entered into Judas and compelled him to go to the chief priests and ask for money in exchange for his help to have Jesus arrested. It doesn't say in any of the accounts of the gospel why Satan chose to leave Judas for a while. I believe that being in the presence of the Lord Jesus for any extended period of time would have made the devil extremely uncomfortable and it wasn't necessary for him to remain in Judas. When Jesus handed Judas the piece of bread Satan entered Judas again compelling him to carry out the plans he had made with the chief priests.

28) How many women came to the sepulcher? John 20:1 Only one woman went, Mary Magdalene. Matthew 28:1 Mary Magdalene and the "other Mary" (Jesus’ mother) went.

Mary Magdalene went alone at first and the other women later. Again, the authors use the literary style of compression which can be seen clearly by comparing the end of Luke to the beginning of Acts. Both were written by Luke to Theophilus and he makes no attempt to explain the ascension as recorded in Luke 24.

29) Mark 16:2 It was sunrise when the two women went to the sepulcher. John 20:1 It was still dark (before sunrise) when Mary Magdalene went alone to the sepulcher.

Mary Magdalene went by herself at first and she left while it was still dark.

31) How many angels were within the sepulcher? John 20:11-12 two, Mark 16:5 one.

These probably do not refer to the same exact moment since, in John 20, Mary Magdalene went and told Peter and John that the Lord's body was missing.

32) The Holy Ghost bestowed at Pentecost. Acts 1:5-8 & 2:1-4 The holy Ghost bestowed before Pentecost. John 20:22

The disciples received the Holy Spirit before Pentecost and He indwelled them. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and anointed with power on the day of Pentecost. John 20:22 says Jesus breathed on the disciples and said "receive the Holy Spirit." No mere man could breathe out the Holy Spirit who is referred to at least once in the Old Testament as the breath of God (Job 33:4).

33) Where did Jesus first appear to the eleven disciples? In a room in Jerusalem. Luke 24:32-37 On a mountain in Galilee. Matthew 28:15-17

He first appeared to them in the upper room. Not all events or details are recorded in any of the four accounts of the gospel and John records the first two appearances in the upper room in Jerusalem and the third on the shore of the Sea of Galilee (John 21:14). Matthew only mentions eleven disciples in Matt. 28 but the appearance on the mountain in Galilee was almost certainly to many people since, at that time, the eleven had no doubt that Jesus rose from the dead (cf. John 21:12, 1 Cor. 15:6).

35) Can all sins be forgiven? (Acts 13:39) All sins can be forgiven. Great, I’m happy to know God is so merciful, but wait (Mark 3:29) Cursing or blaspheming the Holy Spirit is unforgivable.

The blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is widely misunderstood and the author doesn't examine the context of Jesus' statement in Mark 3 nor does he pick the best verse to contrast with Mark 3:29. Colossians 1:13 says God forgave all our sins and 1 John 1:9 says if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Mark 3:29-30 - But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin." He said this because they were saying, "He has an evil spirit" (NIV).

Mark’s comment in verse 30 should always be part of any discussion on the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. A poster on another board explained it well:

In this passage the term refers to the declaration of the Pharisees who had witnessed undeniable evidence that Christ was performing miracles in the power of the Holy Spirit. Yet they attributed the miracles to Satan. In the face of irrefutable evidence they ascribed the work of the Holy Spirit to that of Satan.

Many scholars and theologians agree with this and don't believe the Holy Spirit can be blasphemed today. In his book, Eternal Security, Charles Stanley wrote a chapter about the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and his view agrees with the one above. The burden is on the author of that website to give an explanation of Mark 3:30.

[Crispus]

36) The Elijah mystery: (Malachi 4:5) Elijah must return before the final days of the world. (Matthew 11:12-14) Jesus said that John the Baptist was Elijah. (Matthew 17:12- 13) Jesus insists that Elijah has already come, and everyone understood him to mean John the Baptist. (Mark 9:13) Jesus insists that Elijah has already come. (John 1:21) John the Baptist maintained that he was not Elijah.

This is basically the same question as number 12.

37) Who purchased the potter’s field? Acts 1:18 The field was purchased by Judas. John 20:1 The potter’s field was purchased by the chief priests.

Judas threw it back into the temple as was prophesied and the chief priests purchased the field. In his commentary on Acts 1:18 Adam Clarke said...

"...in ordinary conversation, we often attribute to a man what is the consequence of his own actions, though such consequence was never designed nor wished for by himself: thus we say of a man embarking in a hazardous enterprise, he is gone to seek his death; of one whose conduct has been ruinous to his reputation, he has disgraced himself."
(The New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by Adam Clarke and Daniel Curry, 1883, p. 413)

An important point which is sometimes overlooked is the Greek words which are translated as bought and purchased in both Matt. 27 and Acts 1. The word in Matthew 27 is agorazo and is used to describe making purchases in a market such as those who bought in the temple when Jesus cleared it (Matt. 21:12, Mark 11:15, Luke 19:45; see also 1 Cor. 7:23 and Rev. 18:11). The word in Acts 1 is ktaomai which is sometimes translated as possess, provide or obtained. 'Purchased' is not a literal rendering in Acts 1:18 and IMO it is better translated as obtained or acquired.

From a poster on another discussion board:

"It is therefore much more likely that Peter is using typical Jewish metaphors in saying that Judas bought a field, whereas it was likely the priests (no reason to disagree with Matthew such as saying he gave the money to someone else and that person bought it)."

My comments: The NIV and NKJV attribute the comments in Acts 1:19-20 to Luke rather than Peter which makes good sense. In verse 19 it says "Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this" so it was unnecessary for Peter to tell his disciples about it. Also if the story of what happened to Judas' body was well known Luke could have interviewed many people who had first or second hand information. Luke also was a close companion of Paul and other Jews and would have been familiar with the prophecy in Zechariah 11:13 that said Yahweh would be valued for thirty pieces of silver. Judas probably did not live in Jerusalem since Jesus called his disciples from Galilee and much of his ministry was there. Judas would not have purchased a field in an area in which he didn't intend to stay and was probably more interested in what happened to Jesus immediately after his arrest.

38) Paul’s attendants heard the miraculous voice and stood speechless. Acts 9:7 Paul’s attendants did not hear the voice and were prostrate. Acts 22:9 & 26:14

This is one of the favorites of former evangelical preacher turned atheist Dan Barker. Barker says that the Greek word for hear (akou) doesn't mean understand, "hear" can be rendered loosely as "understand" in some special cases but this is done by context only and can't be done by grammar. After reading his article it's clear he has a very good understanding of Greek but is at odds with Greek scholars such as A.T. Robertson, W.E. Vine and W.F. Arndt on this issue. Like many words in Greek and Hebrew akou has more than one definition and at times doesn't just mean physical hearing but also understanding:

He who has ears to hear (akou) let him hear (akou). (Matthew 11:15, NASB, cf. Matt. 13:15-16, Mark 4:9, Luke 8:8, Luke 14:35).

"Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear (akouo)? And don't you remember?" (Mark 8:18)

"Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen (akou) to them.' (Luke 16:29)

Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware (akou) of what the law says? (Galatians 4:21, NIV)

Those who wanted to be under the law knew what the law said. Moses had been preached in every city (Acts 15:21) and the church in Galatia had heard of Paul's previous way of life in Judaism (Gal. 1:13). Paul was questioning if they fully understood what was in the law to which they wanted to subject themselves. In the NASB it says "do you not listen to the law?" (similar to the WEB) and in the ISV and God's Word Translation it's says "are you really listening."


A footnote for Gal. 4:21 in the Net Bible says "The Greek verb ἀκούω (akouw) means "hear, listen to," but by figurative extension it can also mean "obey." It can also refer to the process of comprehension that follows hearing, and that sense fits the context well here."

A verse that is similar to Acts 22:9 is John 12:28 where the voice of God, the Father, sounded like thunder to the crowd with Jesus. The late John F. Walvoord, Professor of Systematic Theology at Dallas Theological Seminary, summed it up well:

"Literally, that clause in 22:9 may be translated, "They did not hear the sound." The NIV correctly translates the verse, because the verb "to hear" with the genitive case may mean "to hear a sound" and with the accusative case "to hear with understanding." The genitive case is employed in 9:7, and the accusative is used in 22:9. So the travelers with Saul heard the sound (9:7) but did not understand what Christ said (22:9)."
(The Bible Knowledge Commentary by John F. Walvoord, and Roy B. Zuck, Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985)

A.T. Robertson was one of the most esteemed Scholars of his time and his comments are also noteworthy:

"The accusative here may be used rather than the genitive as in verse 7 to indicate that those with Paul did not understand what they heard (9:7) just as they beheld the light (22:9), but did not see Jesus (9:7). The difference in cases allows this distinction, though it is not always observed as just noticed about 22:14; 26:14. The verb akouw is used in the sense of understand (Mark 4:33; 1 Corinthians 14:2). It is one of the evidences of the genuineness of this report of Paul's speech that Luke did not try to smooth out apparent discrepancies in details between the words of Paul and his own record already in ch. 9."
(Word Pictures in the New Testament by A.T. Robertson)

39) Who bought the Sepulcher? Jacob, Josh 24:32 Abraham, Acts 7:16

Jacob. It was originally given to Abraham but he left the region and by the time his grandson Jacob returned someone had claimed the land because it hadn't been used. Jacob then had to buy the land.

40) Was it lawful for the Jews to put Christ to death? "The Jews answered him, we have a law, and by our law he ought to die." John 19:7 "The Jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death." John 18:31

The Jews believed Jesus had committed blasphemy which was punishable by death under the Mosaic law. See Adam Clarke's commentary on John 18:31 - http://studylight.org/com/acc/view.c...se=31#Joh18_31

Verse 32 says this happened so that the words Jesus had spoken indicating the kind of death he was going to die would be fulfilled.

41) Has anyone ascended up to heaven? Elijah went up to heaven: "And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven." 2 Kings 2:11 "No man hath ascended up to heaven but he that came down from heaven, even the son of man." John 3:13

There are different views on this and I agree with the one at http://www.rationalchristianity.net/contra14.html#142

42) Is scripture inspired by God? "all scripture is given by inspiration of God." 2 Timothy 3:16 compared to: "But I speak this by permission and not by commandment." 1 Corinthians 7:6 "But to the rest speak I, not the Lord." 1 Corinthians 7:12 "That which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord" 2 Corinthians.

See http://www.bible.ca/islam/islam-bibl...ns-refuted.htm - number 79

Also see http://www.rationalchristianity.net/contra14.html#143

[Crispus]

8) Who made the request? (Matthew 20:20-21) Their mother requested that James and John, Zebedee’s children, should sit beside Jesus in his Kingdom. (Mark 10:35-37) James and John, Zebedee’s children, requested that they should sit beside Jesus in his Kingdom.

I accidentally posted the objection twice rather than a response.

Their Mother made the request.

"In a similar way, in the ancient world it was perfectly understood and accepted that actions were often attributed to people when in fact they occurred through their subordinates or emissaries-in this case through the Jewish people."
(Craig Blomberg in The Case For Christ by Lee Strobel, 1998, p. 46)

In the case of James and John it was the request was made by someone who had some authority over them, that is their Mother. The same is true of the Centurion though it was through his emissary (Matt. 8:5-9, Luke 7:2-10).