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Understanding Apparent Contradictions in The Bible: I. Understanding Inspiration (What's at Stake)
Understanding Apparent Contradictions in The Bible: I. Understanding Inspiration (What's at Stake)
◦ John 5:36-40
▪ The purpose of Scripture is to point to Jesus
◦ Hebrews 1:1-2
▪ There are many methods God used to inspire the Scriptures
◦ 2 Timothy 3:14-17
▪ Praised for learning both from human teachers and Scripture
◦ The variation in the Gospels is consistent with what one expects from
legitimate historical testimony
◦ The Church had the opportunity to smooth over the Gospel differences and
chose not to
• Second century Gospel harmony, The Disatessaron by Tatian
• This helps show the integrity of the Church and how it valued the
original over the “perfect”
▪ Mark 16:1-4 vs. Matthew 28:1-2 vs. John 20:1 vs. Luke 24:1-2 –
Who discovered the empty tomb and how was the rock moved?
◦ Matthew 4:1-11 vs. Luke 4:1-13 – What order did the temptations of
Jesus take place in?
◦ Matthew 21:18-22 vs. Mark 11:12-14; 20-23 – How quickly did the
cursed fig tree whither?
5. All accounts are selective. No account will contain all the details –
apparent contradictions may present different viewpoints or reflect different
moments within the same event.
◦ Luke 23:39-41 vs. Matthew 27:44 and Mark 15:32 – Did both thieves
mock Jesus or just one?
◦ Matthew 7:21 vs. Acts 2:21 – Is everyone who calls on the Lord
saved or not?
◦ John 3:16-18 vs. Job 1:6 vs. Romans 1:14 – How many sons does
God have?
7. Progressive Revelation. God revealed His ultimate plan for salvation little
by little. As such, certain truths were hid during the earliest revelations,
only to be revealed later. We should be cautious to claim progressive
revelation, as God does not change His mind at random, but as long as there
is an underlying principle behind both revelations, we can propose such a
solution.
◦ 2 Samuel 24:1 vs. 1 Chronicles 21:1 – Who incited David to take a
census?
8. Miscellaneous cases. The above will resolve almost all issues. However, a
few issues may require understanding of the culture in which the text was
written.
◦ Mark 15:25 says Jesus was crucified at the third hour, while John
19:14 says Jesus was handed over for crucifixion at the six hour.
Time keeping was inexact and multiple systems were in place. In the
Jewish system, the 3rd hour would be 8:30–9am, while in the Roman
system the 6th hour would to 6am. Thus to two account complicate,
rather than contradict when understood in this way. (It took 2-3
hours for the crucifixion preparations to take place after Jesus was
handed over.)
◦ Resources: http://apologeticspress.org/AllegedDiscrepancies.aspx
& https://defendinginerrancy.com/bible-difficulties/
IV. Conclusion
◦ We can easily resolve almost all discrepancies, so if we encounter one we
can't immediately solve, we should have confidence that there is a solution.
◦ The Church has known and debated the discrepancies for millennia. All
have solutions and many have multiple suggested solutions.
◦ Leaving the difficulties instead of editing them out shows the honesty of the
Church and authenticity of the text.
◦ The Bible challenges us to test our faith, not just blindly believe a text was
handed down to us in divine “perfection.” Scripture passes the test
overwhelmingly.