Problem: Mark’s Gospel account says that it was the third hour (9 a.m. Jewish time) when Christ was crucified (15:25). John’s Gospel says that it was about the sixth hour (12 noon Jewish time) when Jesus was still on trial (19:14). This would make His crucifixion much later than specified by Mark. Which Gospel is correct?
Problem: John records that Jesus was still on trial at the “sixth hour” (Jn. 19:14). Likewise, Matthew records that the darkness fell from “the sixth hour… until the ninth hour” (Mt. 27:45; Lk. 23:44). However, Mark records, “It was the third hour when they crucified Him” (Mk. 15:25). Mark writes that Jesus was crucified at 9am or “the third hour” (Mk. 15:25), while John records that he was crucified at noon or “the sixth hour” (Jn. 19:14). Mark agrees that the darkness occurred from noon until 3pm (Mk. 15:33; cf. Lk. 23:44), yet they disagree on the beginning of Jesus crucifixion. How could John record that Jesus was on trial at the sixth hour, when Mark states that he was already being crucified? How can we resolve this?
Matthew and Mark both describe a drink offered to Jesus on the cross, which he refused. They both describe it as wine mixed with something, but they seem to disagree on what. Was the wine mixed with myrrh or mingled with gall? Let’s take a look: Continue reading →
Did Jesus or Simon of Cyrene carry the cross? Actually, both did.
Problem: Mark and John refer to Jesus’ robe as “purple” (Jn. 19:2; Mk. 15:17), while Matthew refers to it as “scarlet” (Mt. 27:28). Luke doesn’t mention the color, merely calling it a “gorgeous robe” (Lk. 23:11). Which color was Jesus’ robe?
There is no contradiction in the Bible regarding who arrested Jesus. All we need to do is look at the context.
Denies before cock crows
Mathew 26:34,74-75, “Jesus said to him, “Truly I say to you that this very night, before a cock crows, you shall deny Me three times…74 Then he began to curse and swear, “I do not know the man!” And immediately a cock crowed. 75 And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, “Before a cock crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.”
Problem: Jesus said, “This is My body” (Mt. 26:26). A literal reading of the text would mean that the bread became Jesus’ body. Catholic apologist David Currie writes, “If he had meant to teach Evangelicalism, he could have said in a clear way ‘This bread only represents my body.’ But he didn’t say either. Yet he was clear. In the clearest way he could say it, he said, ‘This is my body’ (Mt. 26:26-28).”[1] Is this the case?
Problem: Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place” (Mt. 24:34). If Jesus is referring to his hearers (“this generation”), then he falsely predicted his second coming to their lifetimes. Preterist interpreters argue that this passage supports the notion that Jesus made a secret coming in AD 70 at the destruction of the Jewish temple. For instance, Preterist Gary DeMar states,
Notice how many times Jesus uses the word you (second person plural) in Matthew 24 and in the parallel passages in Mark 13 and Luke 21… Now, if you heard Jesus say that all these things would happen to ‘this generation,’ and in every other instance of its use ‘this generation’ meant the present generation, and you also heard Him speak of when ‘you’ see these things, what would you conclude?[1]
Is this the case?
Problem: Jesus says, “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory” (Mt. 24:30). Futurists claim that Jesus will return literally on the clouds. However, Preterists claim that we shouldn’t press the words too literally. In the OT, clouds are often a symbol for God’s judgment—not a literal appearing (Ps. 104:3; Isa. 19:1).
Problem: Jesus said, “Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand)” (Mt. 24:15). Preterists claim that this occurred in AD 70, when the Roman military destroyed the Temple. Preterist Gary DeMar writes, “The Roman abomination hypothesis is the most popular since it parallels the actions of Antiochus Epiphanes.”[1] Likewise, Preterist Kenneth Gentry argues that it could have either been murderous zealots or the burning of the Temple by the Romans.[2] Is this the case?
(Mark 13:30-32), “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 31″Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. 32But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone,”
Problem: The Bible teaches that Jesus is God (John 1:1) and that He knows all things (John 2:24; Col. 2:3). On the other hand, He “increased in wisdom” (Luke 2:52) and sometimes did not seem to know certain things (cf. John 11:34). Indeed, He denied knowing the time of His own second coming here, saying, “but of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
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Problem: If the first three Gospels (synoptics) are correct, then Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper “on the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they killed the Passover lamb” (cf. Matt. 26:17; Luke 22:1). But John places it “before the feast of the Passover” (13:1), the day before the crucifixion on which “they might eat the Passover” (18:28).
Problem: Jesus said, “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Mt. 24:14). Preterists claim that the term “whole world” refers to the Roman Empire—not the entire globe. They reason that the NT authors use this expression in this way (Rom. 1:8; 10:18; 16:19; Col. 1:6, 23; Lk. 2:1). While the entire globe hasn’t been reached with the gospel, the NT authors used hyperbolic language to claim that the Roman Empire did heard about Christ. Is this a reasonable interpretation of this passage?