CLAIM: Jesus said, “You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet” (Lk. 7:45). If a woman kissed your feet, wouldn’t this stimulate a sexual response in some way? Critics argue that passages like this demonstrate that Jesus had a sexual relationship with this woman. Is this the case?
Problem: We do not know exactly when John the Baptist finally figured out that Jesus was the Messiah. Even after John was arrested and was in prison, he still wasn’t sure.
Problem: Who brought the Centurion’s request to Jesus as is depicted in Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:2-101?
Problem: In the account of Jesus healing the centurion’s servant, there appear to be differing accounts. Of course, the biggest difference between the accounts is in the fact that Luke mentions that there are intermediaries between the centurion and Jesus. Matthew makes it seem like the centurion and Jesus met face to face, but Luke explains that they met through messengers. Which is it?
Problem: In this text, Jesus told His disciples that people would speak evil of them, as they had of the prophets before them. On the other hand, Solomon taught that “A good name is better than precious ointment” (Ecc. 7:1). But if a good name is to be chosen over riches (Prov. 22:1), then why did Jesus tell His disciples to rejoice when people spoke evil of them? Continue reading →
Problem: Luke’s version of the first beatitude states “Blessed are you poor.” While Matthew’s account says “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” Luke appears to be speaking about poverty in a financial sense and Matthew about poverty in a spiritual sense.
Problem: Here, Jesus said, “A pupil is not above his teacher” (Lk. 6:40). However, elsewhere, Jesus told the disciples: “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father” (Jn. 14:12). Are we able to do greater works than Jesus or not?
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Problem: Luke says that Jesus “stood on a level place” to preach. But Matthew recorded that “when He was seated … He opened His mouth and taught them” (Matt. 5:1–2).
Problem: Luke affirms that Jesus “stood on a level place” when He gave this famous sermon, but Matthew says “He went up on a mountain” to deliver it (Matt. 5:1). How can this discrepancy be resolved?
Why are the lists of disciples different? There are four lists of the disciples found in the Bible. They sometimes differ in order, but this is not a problem since listing people in a different order still demonstrates that the people were the same. Matthew, Mark, and Luke, each contains a list of 12 disciples. However, Acts contains only 11. This is because Judas Iscariot, who had betrayed Christ, had died and was not listed. Acts 1:21-26 tells how they replaced Judas with Matthias thus retaining 12 disciples.
Problem: Was the tax collector named Matthew or Levi?
Problem: When Jesus cited this prophecy, He lopped off the rest of the verse in Isaiah 61:2 which adds, “And the day of vengeance of our God.” Why didn’t He quote it accurately? Continue reading →
Problem: There are differences in Jesus’ rejection between the Synoptic gospels. Matthew and Mark place this event in the middle of Jesus’ ministry, but Luke places it at the beginning. Moreover, Matthew and Mark state that Jesus left quietly (Mt. 13:58; Mk. 6:5), while Luke explains he was chased by a mob (Lk. 4:30). What should we make of these? Are they contradictions?
There is no contradiction or difficulty here between Matthew 4:5, 8, and Luke 4:5, 9 and when the devil took Jesus to the Temple. All we need to do is put the verses from each gospel side by side to see the order of events. When we do that, we see that Jesus was led to high places three times.
Problem: Jesus cites three passages from the OT. Did he cite them in context or out of context?