Are the four Gospel writers all that clumsy, or do they employ the story teller’s art to narrate the story of these disciples from the writers’ own point of view?

Hostile readers have pounced on the differences between the four accounts and claim they contradict each other. One of these readers used the word “looney.”

I don’t know if I can convince hostile readers, but maybe seekers or semi-friendly readers would like to know about the differences.

How do we explain them?

The translations are mine. If you don’t read Greek, scroll past the bottom of the tables. For more translations, go to biblegateway.com.

This post is long because I quote the four accounts and include the Greek. Please be patient.

Now let’s begin.

Jesus Calls Certain Men to Be His Disciples
Matthew 4:18-22	Mark 1:16-20	Luke 5:1-11
18 Walking along the Lake of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting their net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 Then he said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of people.” 20 And they left their nets and followed him. 21 Then he went ahead from there and saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, repairing their net, and he called them. 22 And instantly they left the boat and their father and followed him.	16 As he was going by the Lake of Galilee, he saw Simon and Simon’s brother Andrew, throwing their net into the lake; they were fishermen. 17 Jesus said to them, “Come, follow me, and I’ll make you become fishers of people.” 18 Instantly, they left their nets and followed him. 19 Going on ahead a little ways, he saw James, the son of Zebedee and his brother John, and they were in their boat preparing the nets. 20 Then he called them; and leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, they departed after him.	1 And so it was that while the crowds pressed around him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret. 2 He saw two boats sitting by the lake. The fishermen left them and were washing the nets. 3 Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to push out a little. Then he sat down, and from the boat he began teaching the crowds. 4 When he finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Launch out to the deep and let down your nets for a catch!” 5 In reply, Peter said, “Master, we have worked hard the whole night and caught nothing! But at your word, I’ll lower the nets!” 6 After they did this, the nets closed up around a large number of fish, and their nets were about to tear. 7 Then they signaled to their partners in the other boat, to come out to help them. They came and filled both boats, so that they were about to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus, saying, “Depart from me, because I am a sinful man, Lord!” 9 For fear overcame him and everyone with him at the catch of fish which they caught. 10 Likewise also for James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t fear. From now on, you shall be catching people alive!” 11 When they brought up their boats on to the land, they left everything and followed him. ”
18 Περιπατῶν δὲ παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν τῆς Γαλιλαίας εἶδεν δύο ἀδελφούς, Σίμωνα τὸν λεγόμενον Πέτρον καὶ Ἀνδρέαν τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ, βάλλοντας ἀμφίβληστρον εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν· ἦσαν γὰρ ἁλιεῖς. 19 καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· δεῦτε ὀπίσω μου, καὶ ποιήσω ὑμᾶς ἁλιεῖς ἀνθρώπων. 20 οἱ δὲ εὐθέως ἀφέντες τὰ δίκτυα ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ. 21 καὶ προβὰς ἐκεῖθεν εἶδεν ἄλλους δύο ἀδελφούς, Ἰάκωβον τὸν τοῦ Ζεβεδαίου καὶ Ἰωάννην τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ, ἐν τῷ πλοίῳ μετὰ Ζεβεδαίου τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτῶν καταρτίζοντας τὰ δίκτυα αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐκάλεσεν αὐτούς. 22 οἱ δὲ εὐθέως ἀφέντες τὸ πλοῖον καὶ τὸν πατέρα αὐτῶν ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ.	16 Καὶ παράγων παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν τῆς Γαλιλαίας εἶδεν Σίμωνα καὶ Ἀνδρέαν τὸν ἀδελφὸν Σίμωνος ἀμφιβάλλοντας ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ· ἦσαν γὰρ ἁλιεῖς. 17 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς· δεῦτε ὀπίσω μου, καὶ ποιήσω ὑμᾶς γενέσθαι ἁλιεῖς ἀνθρώπων. 18 καὶ εὐθὺς ἀφέντες τὰ δίκτυα ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ. 19 Καὶ προβὰς ὀλίγον εἶδεν Ἰάκωβον τὸν τοῦ Ζεβεδαίου καὶ Ἰωάννην τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ αὐτοὺς ἐν τῷ πλοίῳ καταρτίζοντας τὰ δίκτυα, 20 καὶ εὐθὺς ἐκάλεσεν αὐτούς. καὶ ἀφέντες τὸν πατέρα αὐτῶν Ζεβεδαῖον ἐν τῷ πλοίῳ μετὰ τῶν μισθωτῶν ἀπῆλθον ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ.	1 Ἐγένετο δὲ ἐν τῷ τὸν ὄχλον ἐπικεῖσθαι αὐτῷ καὶ ἀκούειν τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ αὐτὸς ἦν ἑστὼς παρὰ τὴν λίμνην Γεννησαρὲτ  2 καὶ εἶδεν δύο πλοῖα ἑστῶτα παρὰ τὴν λίμνην· οἱ δὲ ἁλιεῖς ἀπ’ αὐτῶν ἀποβάντες ἔπλυνον τὰ δίκτυα. 3 ἐμβὰς δὲ εἰς ἓν τῶν πλοίων, ὃ ἦν Σίμωνος, ἠρώτησεν αὐτὸν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς ἐπαναγαγεῖν ὀλίγον· καθίσας δὲ ἐκ τοῦ πλοίου ἐδίδασκεν τοὺς ὄχλους. 4 Ὡς δὲ ἐπαύσατο λαλῶν, εἶπεν πρὸς τὸν Σίμωνα· ἐπανάγαγε εἰς τὸ βάθος καὶ χαλάσατε τὰ δίκτυα ὑμῶν εἰς ἄγραν. 5 καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς Σίμων εἶπεν· ἐπιστάτα, δι’ ὅλης νυκτὸς κοπιάσαντες οὐδὲν ἐλάβομεν· ἐπὶ δὲ τῷ ῥήματί σου χαλάσω τὰ δίκτυα. 6 καὶ τοῦτο ποιήσαντες συνέκλεισαν πλῆθος ἰχθύων πολύ, διερρήσσετο δὲ τὰ δίκτυα αὐτῶν. 7 καὶ κατένευσαν τοῖς μετόχοις ἐν τῷ ἑτέρῳ πλοίῳ τοῦ ἐλθόντας συλλαβέσθαι αὐτοῖς· καὶ ἦλθον καὶ ἔπλησαν ἀμφότερα τὰ πλοῖα ὥστε βυθίζεσθαι αὐτά. 8 Ἰδὼν δὲ Σίμων Πέτρος προσέπεσεν τοῖς γόνασιν Ἰησοῦ λέγων· ἔξελθε ἀπ’ ἐμοῦ, ὅτι ἀνὴρ ἁμαρτωλός εἰμι, κύριε. 9 θάμβος γὰρ περιέσχεν αὐτὸν καὶ πάντας τοὺς σὺν αὐτῷ ἐπὶ τῇ ἄγρᾳ τῶν ἰχθύων ὧν συνέλαβον, 10 ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ Ἰάκωβον καὶ Ἰωάννην υἱοὺς Ζεβεδαίου, οἳ ἦσαν κοινωνοὶ τῷ Σίμωνι. καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς τὸν Σίμωνα ὁ Ἰησοῦς· μὴ φοβοῦ· ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν ἀνθρώπους ἔσῃ ζωγρῶν. 11 καὶ καταγαγόντες τὰ πλοῖα ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἀφέντες πάντα ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ.

Now let’s look at John’s version:

Andrew and Peter Hear Jesus’s Call (John 1:35-42)

35 Τῇ ἐπαύριον πάλιν εἱστήκει ὁ Ἰωάννης καὶ ἐκ τῶν μαθητῶν αὐτοῦ δύο 36 καὶ ἐμβλέψας τῷ Ἰησοῦ περιπατοῦντι λέγει· ἴδε ὁ ἀμνὸς τοῦ θεοῦ. 37 καὶ ἤκουσαν οἱ δύο μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ λαλοῦντος καὶ ἠκολούθησαν τῷ Ἰησοῦ. 38 στραφεὶς δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς καὶ θεασάμενος αὐτοὺς ἀκολουθοῦντας λέγει αὐτοῖς· τί ζητεῖτε; οἱ δὲ εἶπαν αὐτῷ· ῥαββί, ὃ λέγεται μεθερμηνευόμενον διδάσκαλε, ποῦ μένεις; 39 λέγει αὐτοῖς· ἔρχεσθε καὶ ὄψεσθε. ἦλθαν οὖν καὶ εἶδαν ποῦ μένει καὶ παρ’ αὐτῷ ἔμειναν τὴν ἡμέραν ἐκείνην· ὥρα ἦν ὡς δεκάτη. 40 Ἦν Ἀνδρέας ὁ ἀδελφὸς Σίμωνος Πέτρου εἷς ἐκ τῶν δύο τῶν ἀκουσάντων παρὰ Ἰωάννου καὶ ἀκολουθησάντων αὐτῷ· 41 εὑρίσκει οὗτος πρῶτον τὸν ἀδελφὸν τὸν ἴδιον Σίμωνα καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ· εὑρήκαμεν τὸν Μεσσίαν, ὅ ἐστιν μεθερμηνευόμενον χριστός. 42 ἤγαγεν αὐτὸν πρὸς τὸν Ἰησοῦν. ἐμβλέψας αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν· σὺ εἶ Σίμων ὁ υἱὸς Ἰωάννου, σὺ κληθήσῃ Κηφᾶς, ὃ ἑρμηνεύεται Πέτρος.

35 The next day, John was standing again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus walking by, he said, “Look! The lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him speaking and followed Jesus. 38 But Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi (which means Teacher), where are you staying? 39 He said to them, “Come and see.” So they went and saw where he was staying and stayed with him on that day. (It was the tenth hour.) 40 Andrew, one of the two disciples who had heard John and followed Jesus, was the brother of Simon. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. When Jesus saw him, he said, “You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which means Peter).

Comments:

Matthew’s and Mark’s Versions

They compress their narratives, compared to Luke’s and John’s versions. In Matthew 4:16, when Jesus launched his ministry, he was the great light. Light shining out of the soul and spirit of Jesus can draw people. They felt something coming from him.

Matthew’s and Mark’s compressions are based on the story-teller’s art. In my translation of the entire Gospel of Matthew I have learned to call him “the Trimmer,” because he trims out details that other Gospel writers leave in. In this case he stayed close to Mark’s version, which, history says, was based on Peter’s accounts. If so, then it looks like Peter did not go into detail. These are biographies of Jesus, not autobiographies.

So the two best explanations regarding Matthew’s and Mark’s versions: the story-teller’s art of narrative editing out (compression) and genre (biographies, not autobiographies).

No problem in these two accounts for reasonable and semi-friendly readers (hostile readers are another matter).

Luke’s Version

Luke fills out the picture a lot more. His account speaks of Peter’s surrender to Jesus’s call to discipleship because of the miraculous catch of fish. Luke inserts details that Matthew and Mark edited out. The differences do not add up to a contradiction, for Matthew’s and Mark’s omissions cannot contradict Luke’s inclusions. Silence cannot contradict speech. No words cannot contradict words.

Why the inclusion of the details about Peter’s call to discipleship? In Luke’s book of Acts, Peter will play a prominent part. He will be instrumental in receiving God’s revelations to include Gentiles in God’s plan of salvation (Acts 10-11, 15). The inclusion of this monumental mystery revealed about salvation for Gentiles will be so important for Paul in his epistles (Ephesians 2-3, Romans 9-11, and Galatians 3-4).

Luke included more details about Peter’s conversion story (and later betrayal and restoration), so Theophilus, the one to whom Luke dedicated his Gospel and Acts, can get a fuller picture of the lead apostle in Luke’s double work. Theophilus learned that a man who calls himself sinful and kneels before Jesus can become great in the kingdom and God’s plan for the ages. Peter humbled himself, and God exalted him.

Peter begged Jesus to depart from him because Peter was a sinful man. “Instead of having his wish granted that Jesus depart from him, Simon ends up following him … ‘The same power that prompted Simon to fall at Jesus’ knees now lifts him into God’s service’” (Garland, quoting Craddock in his commentary).

Hypothetically, if Saul-Paul had become Jesus’s disciple during his ministry on earth, then Luke would have revealed more details about his following Jesus. Instead, Saul-Paul converted in the book of Acts, after the ascension, so Luke was sure to include his conversion story three times in his second volume (Acts 9:1-19; 22:1-22; 26:1-23).

Paul was one of two main characters in Acts, the other being Peter.

In planning out his long story from Luke 1 to Acts 28, Luke could foresee the cooperation between Paul and Peter in Acts, particularly the door to salvation being open to Gentiles. Therefore, here in the fifth chapter of his Gospel, Luke sets the stage for the longer story.

As to the Last Supper and Peter’s betrayal, here are two gems of verses and half of one that Matthew and Mark do not have:

³¹ “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. ³² But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:31-32, NIV)

Peter does strengthen his brothers, particularly in Acts.

And on the third denial that Peter even knew Jesus, Luke writes:

⁶¹ The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” Luke 22:61, NIV)

It’s the Lord’s look and Peter’s response, which the other Gospels don’t have.

Those verses are further evidence that Luke highlights Peter’s life more than do any other synoptic Gospels. The one exception is Peter’s confession (Matt. 26:23-33 / Mark 8:28+34 // Luke 9:18-23), but Luke has two volumes to work with. It is true that John records Peter’s restoration in detail (21:15-23), while Luke does not in his Gospel, but here again then Luke has the first fifteen chapters of the book of Acts available to him.

So the best explanation for Luke filling out the details in Peter’s call to discipleship: the story-teller’s art in light of his purpose to introduce the lead character (Peter) in the longer story of God. Once again, call it the story-teller’s narrative art.

John’s Version

I see no problem in John’s art of story telling, as it compares to the synoptic versions of Matthew, Mark and Luke. Once again John compresses his story. John never writes that Peter converted then and there. Monumental decisions take time. For example, after Jesus was raised from the dead and appeared to his disciples and breathed on them to receive the Holy Spirit, Peter decided to go up north to Galilee (John 21:1-2) and return to fishing (21:3). Simple as that. He returned to his previous job. This is John’s way of teaching us that it takes time for his disciples to go all in to follow Jesus, even after the resurrection appearances.

Thus it seems that after hearing about Jesus in 1:40-43, Peter went back to fishing, a sequence that John omits, but which Luke inserts. John compressed his narrative, just as Matthew and Mark did. John does not even include the responses of James and John (also the Gospel writer), two other fishermen. So this is evidence that we are looking at two different callings of Peter: (1) an early one, after which Peter was thinking things through; and (2) a later one with a miraculous catch of fish, which finally convinced him.

But John does not omit the detail of Peter returning to fishing after the resurrection in 21:1-3, while the synoptic Gospels do omit this brief episode. Matthew records, however, that the eleven went to Galilee (28:18) and so does Mark (16:7). John included this detail about Peter going back to fishing, but his account does not contradict Matthew’s and Mark’s silence about Peter doing this.

And so in John 1:35-42, Peter is not depicted as responding to Jesus’s nickname of Cephas (v. 42). The name change was private, but Peter was still sorting things out. Later in Peter’s life of discipleship, Jesus reaffirms this new name, in a more public setting (Matt. 16:18). Peter was ready and accepted it. One thing is certain: Peter was the lead apostle, in all the Gospels and in the first fifteen chapters of Acts. By God’s grace, he lived up to his name change, after Pentecost (Acts 2). He was the rock.

Peter’s full name was Simon bar-Yoḥanan (Jonathan), which can come into Greek abridged as John (v. 42) or Jonah (Matt. 16:17). So here we have agreement between John and Matthew, in this tiny detail. Call it an undesigned coincidence.

Once again, the best explanation for the differences is the story teller’s art, to reveal his own purposes.

Conclusion and Recommendation

An account having information, while another account covering the same broad topic that does not have the same information in the details do not add up to a contradiction. A difference, yes, but not a contradiction, particularly when the differences can possibly be reconciled or at least reasonably explained.

Here is an example of a contradiction:

1.. Jesus never called Simon “Cephas.’

2.. Jesus called Simon “Cephas.”

Contradictions are not found in these simple equations, as follows:

Information in one account + Silence in another account ≠ Contradiction

Boiled down:

Information + Silence ≠ A Contradiction

But

Information + Silence = A Difference

Or

Information + An omission = A Difference

A Difference ≠ A Contradiction ≠ An Error

Here are differences that do not add up to a contradiction:

1.. Jesus called Simon “Cephas” at their first meeting, in private.

2.. Jesus called Simon “Cephas” later in their relationship, in public.

Easily reconciled.

Differences are guided by the purpose of the biblical authors. Or we may not know why an author omits or includes bits of information. Whatever the case, we should not get panicky about them or deny the truthfulness of the accounts. This mindset is too fussy and demanding, not recognizing the texts as they present themselves. We unwisely impose our modern concerns on them.

Please don’t listen to hostile readers of the Gospels or the entire Bible. Reasonable answers are available.

I choose to be a reasonable, friendly reader of the Bible.

I’m happy the Gutenberg Printing Press wasn’t invented until the mid-1400s. Now we can breathe the air of these oral stories being transmitted and eventually written down. To me, these differences seem authentic and follows biblical precedence in the OT. The Synoptic writers did not intend to copy each other verbatim in every verse. They went their own way.

Differences in Gospel Parallels = Differences in OT Parallels

And so, for Christians, your faith in God and his written word should not be brittle. It should not break when these differences emerge. Call it the dramatist’s art. All four Gospel writers took small liberties to tell their stories, their own way.

Please relax a lot more about this. Don’t get stuck in a groove laid down by hyper-inerrantists, who nervously force all the small details to fit together. Keep the plain thing the main thing.

Recommendations

My view of Scripture: It’s very high, but I don’t believe in “total inerrancy” or “hyper-inerrancy”:

‘Total’ Inerrancy and Infallibility or Just Infallibility?

Begin a series on the reliability of the Gospels. Start with the Conclusion which has quick summaries and links back to the other parts:

15.. The Historical Reliability of the Gospels: Conclusion

See this part in the series that puts differences in perspective:

13..  Are There Contradictions in the Gospels?

The Gospels have a massive number of agreements in their storylines:

14.. Similarities among John’s Gospel and the Synoptic Gospels

But the bigger picture is, as noted, to not allow your faith to become so brittle that it snaps in two because of these puzzles and differences. It’s time to stop demanding no discrepancies or else you will leave the Christian faith.

Bottom line: in my opinion, there are no contradictions in the four Gospels covering the call to discipleship of these men–just differences.

We should focus on and celebrate the similarities and the differences. This makes the Gospels breathe with authenticity; they are not fakes but reveal the stories from different angles.

SOURCES

For the bibliography of each Gospel, please click on these links and scroll down to the bottom:

Matthew 4

Mark 1

Luke 5

John 1