Contradictions in the Books of the Bible - Essay Example

?Full Telling the Christ Books of the Bible have been known to contradict each other. However, more in-depth study will surely bring a reader to the understanding that the approaches of the different authors in narrating the events that happened were basically dependent on the themes and objectives of each writer. There are actually no contradictions rather there are confirmations of the claims of each writer and sometimes complements to what has been witnessed and written. It is therefore important to do a thorough study of the differences and similarities of the gospels in order to put the jigsaw pieces in the big picture. The gospels of Matthew and Luke are examples of what has been mentioned earlier and to prove this point, it is encouraged that the authors’ approaches be considered in the retelling of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Reading Matthew 27:45 to the last verse of the book, one could see details of the accounts of Matthew from the time Jesus was crucified until He met with His disciples in Galilee after His resurrection. Luke, on the other hand gives a more detailed descriptive narrative starting from the same time Matthew used until Jesus ascension to heaven, found from the forty- fourth verse of chapter twenty three until the last verse of the last chapter. From these readings, one could determine some similarities and also differences which will bring a clearer picture of the circumstances as we look closer. Matthew and Luke both start their narratives by describing the setting, mentioning and confirming that there was darkness that fell on the land from the sixth to the ninth hour. The two authors probably have seen the importance of making mention of this because the darkness was a fulfillment of the prophecies during the ‘day of the Lord’ mentioned in Joel 2:10 and 31 and, Zephaniah 1:15. Both prophets mentioned the dreadful day of the Lord when the sun stops shining, the moon turns to blood and the stars fail to shine. This similarity is a confirmation of each other, making the claim strong and acceptable in the analysis of the scriptures. Following the introduction of the setting, the two authors mention two different utterances of Jesus as he was hanging on the cross. Matthew quotes Jesus saying, “Eli, Eli, Lema Sabachthani?” wherein he was understood by the spectators as calling unto Elijah for help. He was given a drink of wine vinegar and cried out in a loud voice before he gave up his spirit (Attridge, 1719). Luke on the other hand quoted Jesus saying, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” This does not mean that Matthew and Luke have different stories of the same event rather, Luke filled in the information that was just mentioned in passing by Matthew. Matthew mentioned Jesus crying in a loud voice before he died and Luke quoted the last words of Jesus. This is what is meant by what was mentioned earlier that the gospels complement each other. Another difference is the mention of Matthew of the guards who were paid to make sure that no one would steal the body of Jesus. The story continues to show that the guards witnessed the rolling away of the stone that covered the tomb and that they have seen the angel of the Lord who was like lightning in appearance. They told the chief priests what happened but they were paid to tell that the disciples stole the body of Jesus. Matthew went on to mention that the story circulated and was retold ‘until this day’, meaning even until the day the gospel was written. This part is not mentioned at all by Luke, showing that Luke had other things in mind that he wanted to emphasize in his gospel. Matthew on the other hand, showed how concerned he was in proving the authenticity of the story of the resurrection of Jesus so he made sure to mention the plot of the high priests against the claim of Jesus’ resurrection. After narrating the plot to deny the resurrection of Jesus, Matthew proceeds with his story to the arrival of the eleven disciples in Galilee, meeting with Jesus. He ends the story with the commission given by Jesus for them to go and preach the gospel, train and baptize disciples, teaching them to obey the commandments of Jesus. Luke on the other hand, took time to tell about the two disciples who encountered Jesus on their way to Emaus, where the disciples were unaware of the identity of Jesus until he sat down to dine with them and broke the bread as he did before he was captured by the Roman soldiers. This was after the women told the disciples about the resurrection of Jesus. The two disciples were found to be discussing and to be in wonderment about all the events from the crucifixion of Jesus until what had just happened that morning, Jesus’ resurrection, and they never realized they were talking to Jesus Himself. At this point, Luke might have considered how unbelief could blind a person to what he is facing and witnessing. Before the story of the two disciples going to Emaus, the disciples were mentioned to have unbelief after hearing the women’s testimonies so that Peter had to run to the tomb to verify what he heard. One of these disciples who met Jesus on their way to Emaus was Simon, another name of Peter, as mentioned in Luke 24:34. Although Simon was one among the closest disciples of Jesus, he was not able to recognize him because of his unbelief and this is probably one issue Luke wants to magnify in the life of Christians. After Jesus disappeared before the eyes of the two disciples, they went to Bethlehem and told their companions what happened. When they were still discussing things, Jesus appeared and greeted them. Matthew says the disciples worshipped him but some did not believe it was Jesus they were seeing. Luke on the other hand says they were frightened but Jesus reassured them that he was not a ghost. This shows the belief of the disciples in ghosts. Culturally, the disciples have yet to prove the reality of the ascension of Jesus because they still wondered, from their beliefs, that what they are seeing is just a ghost. However, Luke goes on to mention that Jesus assured them he has flesh and bones, contrary to ghosts. The gospel of Luke also mentions the ascension of Jesus as compared to Matthew whose narration seemed to have an abrupt end. Luke portrayed Jesus meeting with the disciples in a longer period of time as compared to what is shown by Matthew. He told more things in Luke, did not mention anything about his instructions of telling the good news to all rather portrays Jesus explaining to them the relationship of the Old Testament prophecies to what had happened to him. Instead of telling them to go and preach the gospel, Jesus tells the disciples in Luke to wait for the empowerment that was to come from on high. Then he brought them to Bethany where he blessed them and after which, he was taken to heaven in the presence of the disciples. Luke probably wanted to show what happened to Jesus after their last meeting and not just leave his readers wondering where Jesus ended after his resurrection. As mentioned, the disciples had the tendency of sticking to their cultural teachings and Luke probably wanted to make clear that Jesus went to heaven. Read More