Problem: Matthew states, “[Judas] went away and hanged himself” (Mt. 27:5). However, Luke writes, “[Judas] burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out” (Acts 1:18). New Testament critic Bart Ehrman refers to these passages as “flat out contradictory.”[1]
How did Judas die, by hanging or falling down? Matthew 27:3-8 and Acts 1:16-19. He died by hanging, then fell down afterward.
Problem: Peter said, “the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus” (Acts 1:16). Later, he quotes Psalm 69:26 and 109:8 to support this. If Judas’ decision to betray Christ was predicted in the OT, then doesn’t this eliminate his freewill?
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.
A pastor brought a can of coke-cola and held up and ask the audience if they knew what this was.
They cheered and said yes
Then the pastor them who has ever been to another country and about 4 people raised their hands.
OK name them, some one said New Zeland, Congo, Greece, Israel
Then the minster asked if they had coca cola, they all said yes
The pastor said then as of today only 2 countries (North Korea, Cuba) do not have coke-cola
The Pastor said when was coke-cola invented. Someone yelled 1886, pastor said correct.
That would make it about 135 years old
The pastor then asked If Coke-cola was good for you, Most of the audience said no not really.
The pastor then is Jesus good for you, most of the people said YES!!!
The pastor then said open your bibles and let us read Matt 28:19-20 Here is the great commission that the lord has given his church about 2,000 years ago. How has the church done? No so well, Only about 50% of the worlds population have heard and know who Jesus is.
Maybe Coca-cola should be spreading the gospel
The audience gasped and go silent.
Problem: Luke says Jesus ascended from Bethany (Luke 24:50), but Acts 1:9–11 affirms that He ascended from the Mt. of Olives near Jerusalem.
Problem: According to Luke, the apostles were told to “tarry in the city of Jerusalem” until Pentecost. But Matthew tells us that they went into Galilee (Matt. 28:10, 16).
Problem: The phrase “He appeared” means “He made Himself visible” to them (cf. 1 Cor. 15:5–8). Jesus also disappeared (Luke 24:31). Some take this to mean that Jesus was not essentially material, but simply materialized when He appeared to His disciples and dematerialized when He disappeared. However, other passages declare that Jesus had the same continuously material body of flesh and bones in which He died (Luke 24:39; John 20:27).
Problem: These two disciples walked with Jesus, talked with Him, and ate with Him and still did not recognize Him. Other disciples had the same experience (see verses below). If He rose in the same physical body (cf. Luke 24:39; John 20:27), then why didn’t they recognize Him.
Problem: Jesus could not only suddenly appear after His resurrection (cf. John 20:19), but He could also instantly disappear. Is this evidence, as some critics claim, that Jesus dematerialized on these occasions?
Problem: Jesus spoke of His resurrection body having “flesh and bones” (Luke 24:39). He ate physical food (v. 42) and was touched by human hands (Matt. 28:9). But Luke calls it a “vision” in this passage, which implies that it was not a real physical appearance. In addition, some point to the fact that those who were with Paul during his Damascus road experience did not see Christ (see Acts 9:7).
The first one to see Jesus after His resurrection was Mary Magdalene just as it says (Mark 16:9).
Critics of the New Testament often suggest that the gospels present contradictory narratives regarding Jesus‘ resurrection. One such argument (which is honestly rather weak but comes up surprisingly often) involves the detail of who it was that discovered Jesus’ empty tomb. The claim is that each gospel lists a different set of women and that the story, therefo re, cannot be trusted. This argument, however, breaks down almost immediately on even the slightest examination. The truth is that, while each of the four gospels includes unique details on the matter, they all are perfectly consistent with one another on who it was who first found the stone rolled away and the body of Jesus missing. The gospels are definitely in agreement on this.
Did or did not the women tell what happened at the tomb and the resurrection of Jesus? Continue reading →
When Jesus‘ empty tomb was discovered, the gospels all agree that an angelic message was delivered to a woman named Mary. Exactly what the angel’s words were, however, differs between the gospels. Is this a contradiction? Let’s take a look: