Month: April 2024

Matthew 5:1-3 – Did Jesus Go Up or Down the Mountain?

Problem: The Gospel of Matthew indicates Jesus “went up on a mountain” before preaching the famous Sermon on the Mount. Meanwhile, the Gospel of Luke reveals that Jesus “came down” before delivering this message. Furthermore, Matthew showed that Jesus “was seated” before teaching while Luke stated that Jesus “stood on a level place.” How can both accounts possibly be accurate? Let’s take a look at the two passages and then find out why these are not contradictions.
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Posted by petra1000 in Bible Difficulty, Bible Study, Bible Teaching

Matthew 4:18-22 – Where Did Jesus Actually Meet and Recruit Andrew and Peter?

Problem: Current American culture is saturated with reports of significant recruiting violations occurring across the collegiate sports world. A new scandal appears to break as soon as the litany of investigations into another scandal comes to an end. Throughout such an investigative process, institutions are monitored extensively in order to discover if any illegal or inconsistent activity occurred. Virtually every time such an investigation is conducted, the program in question is found to have violated protocol. From time to time, however, investigations prove that slander and false accusations are all that truly exists.
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Posted by petra1000 in Bible Difficulty, Bible Study, Bible Teaching

Matthew 4:5-8 – Where did the devil take Jesus first, the pinnacle or somewhere else?

Problem: 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. Take a look at the chart below.
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Posted by petra1000 in Bible Difficulty, Bible Study, Bible Teaching

Matthew 2:22-23 – Did the OT prophecy Jesus coming from Nazareth?

Problem: Where is Nazareth spoken of in the Old Testament that states that Jesus would be called a Nazarene?

“…and being warned by God in a dream, he [Joseph] departed for the regions of Galilee, and came and resided in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, ‘He shall be called a Nazarene,’” (Matt. 2:22,23).
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Posted by petra1000 in Bible Difficulty, Bible Study, Bible Teaching

Matthew 2:13–16 – Introduction

Problem: It is a popular view these days. Many people have the impression that the Bible is simply an outdated book of fairytales and contradictions.
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Posted by petra1000 in Bible Difficulty, Bible Study, Bible Teaching

Matthew 1:17 – Problems with Basic Math?

Problem: Was Matthew incapable of basic math in his genealogy?

Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus says there were three groups of 14 people from Abraham to Christ, but when you add them up, there are only 41 people, not the expected 42. How do you explain that?
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Posted by petra1000 in Bible Difficulty, Bible Study, Bible Teaching

Matthew 1:16 – Why are there different genealogies for Jesus in Matthew 1 and Luke 3?

Problem: Both Matthew 1 and Luke 3 contain genealogies of Jesus. But there is one problem – they are different. Luke’s genealogy starts at Adam and goes to David. Matthew’s genealogy starts at Abraham and goes to David. When the genealogies arrive at David, they split with David’s sons: Nathan (Mary’s side?) and Solomon (Joseph’s side). There are differences of opinion with two main options being offered.  The first is that one genealogy is for Mary and the other is for Joseph. It was customary to mention the genealogy through the father even though it was clearly known that it was through Mary.
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Posted by petra1000 in Bible Difficulty, Bible Study, Bible Teaching

Malachi 3:6 – Does the Lord change or not?

Problem: Does the Lord change or not? God does not change His nature. But he does change in how he deals with people. They are different categories of change and present no contradiction.
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Posted by petra1000 in Bible Difficulty, Bible Study, Bible Teaching

Zechariah 11:12–13 – Did Matthew (27:9) falsely attribute a prophecy to Jeremiah that came from Zechariah (11:12-13)?

Problem: Many skeptics and liberal scholars have suggested that Matthew’s gospel contains an error:

Matthew 27:9–10
Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, and gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.”

The quotation about the thirty pieces of silver is highly reminiscent of Zechariah, and it is, therefore, assumed that Matthew made a mistake. If Matthew did make a mistake, then the concept of scriptural inerrancy is undermined.
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Posted by petra1000

Zechariah 9:9 – Were one or two animals brought to Jesus?

Problem: The gospels all mentioned that Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem. However, Matthew mentioned that there were actually two donkeys (mother and colt) while the other three gospels only mentioned colt. There is no contradiction in this. Let’s take a look:
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Posted by petra1000 in Bible Difficulty, Bible Study, Bible Teaching

Jonah 3:10 – Does the Lord change or not?

Problem: Does the Lord change or not? God does not change His nature. But he does change in how he deals with people. They are different categories of change and present no contradiction.
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Posted by petra1000 in Bible Difficulty, Bible Study, Bible Teaching