Did Matthew get things wrong (23:35)? There is a mystery here to be solved.
Was Zechariah, ‘Son of Berekiah,’ the Martyred Prophet?
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Tag Archives: James Tabor
Did Mark Confuse the High Priest Abiathar with His Father Ahimelech?
Once again the hyper-critics pounce. But do we have a reasonable explanation?
Was Luke a Careless Historian? Three Accounts of Paul’s Conversion
There seems to be one tiny difference in two of the three accounts in Acts 9:1-9; 22:6-11; 26:12-18.
“You Will Not Complete Towns of Israel until Son of Man Comes”
That’s a puzzling verse, spoken when Jesus commissioned his twelve disciples to go out on a short-term mission trip and then come back. It seems as though the Second Coming will happen before they preach in all the towns of Israel. Was Jesus a failed prophet? How do we solve this problem?
“Some Shall Not Experience Death until They See Son of Man Coming”
Was Jesus a failed prophet? Matt. 16:28, Mark 9:1, and Luke 9:27 say that some standing there with Jesus would not experience death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. How can that be true, when the Second Coming has not happened in the past two thousand years (and counting)? The answer will surprise you because it goes beyond the “standard” one.
What Jesus Told High Priest and Sanhedrin Now Makes Sense
Was Jesus a failed prophet? Critics seem to think so because he told Caiaphas the high priest and the Sanhedrin (the highest court and council of Judaism) that they would see him coming, sitting in clouds of glory.
Matthew 27:52-53 and Appearance of Holy People: Pious Fiction or Fact?
Those two verses say that “many” bodies of holy people who had “fallen asleep” (i.e. died) were raised from their tombs and entered Jerusalem and appeared to many. Is this fact or pious fiction?
Did the Centurion or His Emissaries Approach and Speak to Jesus?
Three options can solve the puzzle. Scriptures: Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10.
Triumphal Entry: Did Jesus Straddle Two Animals?
The critics have such disrespect and low regard for the Gospels that they believe Matthew actually wrote that Jesus straddled two animals during his triumphal entry. But maybe a Greek noun and a pronoun can clarify the problem for openminded readers,
Solving Passover Chronology Problems Between John and Synoptics
How are the chronological differences to be reconciled?
Did the Prophets Predict That the Messiah Would Be Called a Nazarene?
Once again, the hostile critics pounce on Matthew’s perfectly legitimate and culturally acceptable use Old Testament themes and words.
Did Matthew Mistakenly Attribute Verses from Zechariah to Jeremiah?
Did Matthew commit an error? What does this mean for inerrancy, if he did? If ….
When Was the Temple Curtain Torn in Two?
Wow. Now we have entered the realm of nitpicking to the nth degree. We have to move grains of sand one at a time with tweezers.
Jairus’s Daughter in Three Gospels: Do the Differences ‘DESTROY’ the Truth of the Story?
There are definitely differences in the three accounts of Jairus’s daughter being raised from the dead, in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. But do these differences blind us to the central truth of the story?
Jesus Calls Certain Disciples in Four Gospels. Do the Accounts Contradict?
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?
A Leper in the Hands of an Angry Jesus?
Would Jesus show indignation or anger towards a leper, a needy man? Hostile readers pounce on some ambiguity.
Why Did Luke Switch the Sequence in the Temptation Passages?
Scripture: Matthew 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13. The second and third temptations were switched in Luke Gospel from the sequence in Matthew’s Gospel. Hostile critics and readers pounce on the differences and conclude that the Gospel are unreliable. Are the critics right?
Was Luke’s Report about a Worldwide Census Wrong?
Luke records that Caesar ordered a worldwide census, during the governorship of Quirinius, in Syria (Luke 2:1-2). Critics have spotted some chronological problems. Luke may have been wrong. Is the problem solvable with sound reason and historical digging?
Common Details in Matthew’s and Luke’s Birth Narratives
Did Matthew really believe that baby Jesus was never circumcised?
Differences in Gospel Parallels = Differences in OT Parallels
Hostile critics turn molehills into mountains. They apply unequal weights and measures to the Old Testament and the synoptic Gospels and John. That’s unfair. The Gospel writers were conforming to Old Testament precedence. Here’s the evidence.
What Happened to Judas Iscariot’s Body?
Another seeming Bible contradiction disappears, when we look closely at the accounts in Matthew 27 and Acts 1.
Book of Acts and Paul’s Epistles: Match Made in Heaven?
How closely and often do Acts and Paul’s epistles agree? Fifteen tables, plus two bonus tables, in this post, laying out the parallels.
The Historical Reliability of the Book of Acts
Is the book of Acts historically reliable, in comparison to its own Greco-Roman writing culture? Many tables are included, to answer the question.
1. Church Fathers and Matthew’s Gospel
The Church fathers quoted here lived in the second to third centuries. They are unanimous that Matthew wrote the first Gospel, and it was authoritative for them–so it should be for us too.
2. Church Fathers and Mark’s Gospel
The Fathers quoted here lived in the second to third centuries. They are unanimous that Mark wrote the second Gospel, and it was authoritative for them–so it should be for us too.
3. Church Fathers and Luke’s Gospel
The Fathers quoted here lived in the second to third centuries. They are unanimous that Luke wrote the third Gospel, and it was authoritative for them–so it should be for us too.
4. Church Fathers and John’s Gospel
The Fathers quoted here lived in the second to third centuries. They are unanimous that John wrote the fourth Gospel, and it was authoritative for them–so it should be for us too.
Reconciling Matthew’s and Luke’s Genealogies: Mission: Impossible?
Some scholars say they are irreconcilable, while others say reconciling them is not so difficult. I favor plausible harmonization. It’s all in the family. Bonus: see the American family “the Roosevelts” in a chart for parallels.
1. New Testament Manuscripts: Preliminary Questions and Answers
This article is the first in a four-part series on New Testament textual criticism. It provides the basics on this science and art. It also answers the question, How do I grow closer to God?
2. Basic Facts On Producing New Testament Manuscripts
This article comes second in a four-part series on New Testament textual criticism. It answers questions about the material and process of making the pages of a document, along with the scribal art of writing. It also answers the question: How does this post help me grow closer to God?
3. Discovering and Classifying New Testament Manuscripts
This article provides basic facts on how some of the New Testament manuscripts were discovered and how they are classified. The post answers this important question: How does this post help me grow closer to God?
4. The Manuscripts Tell The Story: The New Testament Is Reliable
This article, the last one in the four-part series, has a focused goal. It provides evidence from the best New Testament textual critics that it is possible to reach back to the original (autograph) books and letters of the New Testament, though the originals no longer physically exist. This post also answers the question: How do I grow closer to God?
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 