Problem: How can we resolve the apparent differences among the Gospels regarding the number of times the rooster would crow? A passage that sheds light on this question is Mark 13:35, which states the following:
Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming—in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning.
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Problem: According to the apostle John, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1,14, emp. added). Unquestionably, this Word (God), Whom John claims became flesh, was Jesus Christ (1:17). This same apostle recorded other statements in his account of the Gospel that convey the same basic truth. He wrote how, on one occasion, Jesus told a group of hostile Jews, “I and My Father are one” (10:30). Later, he recorded how Jesus responded to Philip’s request to see God by saying, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (14:9). He even told about how Jesus accepted worship from a blind man whom He had healed (9:38; cf. Matthew 8:2). And, since only God is to be worshipped (Matthew 4:10), the implication is that Jesus believed He was God (cf. John 1:29,41,49; 20:28; Mark 14:62).
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Problem: If the Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4) and thus omniscient (Psalm 139), why did Jesus say about His return, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mark 13:32, emp. added)? Why would the “Father alone” (Matthew 24:36, NASB) be aware of the time of Jesus’ Second Coming? Does this awareness exclude the Holy Spirit?
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Problem: If Jesus is God (John 1, Colossians 1, Hebrews 1, Philippians 2:5–8), then why was the Father greater than Jesus in John 14:28?
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Problem: If the Holy Spirit is God, why didn’t he know the time of Christ’s return? Matthew 24:36; Mark 13:32. The answer lies in two possibilities, the hypostatic union and also the wedding ceremony with its idiomatic phraseology about the wedding feast and the phrase “no one knows the time except the father.”
Matt. 24:36, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.”
Mark 13:32, “But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.”
There are two possible answers here. First, Jesus is both God and man (John 1:1, 14; 20:28; Col. 2:9), and during His ministry in Jerusalem, He was cooperating with the limitations of being a man. As a man, Jesus walked and talked. As God, He was worshipped (Matt. 14:33; 28:9; Heb. 1:6), prayed to (Zech. 13:9; 1 Cor. 1:2), etc. This is called the Hypostatic Union.
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Problem: The genealogies of Jesus in Matthew 1:1-16 and Luke 3:23-38 testify that Jesus was the “Son of David.” In fact, the book of Matthew begins with these words: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham” (1:1, emp. added). The New Testament is also abundantly clear that this Son of David is “the Christ” or “the Messiah.” When the Samaritan woman at the well said to Jesus, “‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When He comes, He will tell us all things.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to you am He’” (John 4:25-26, emp. added). What’s more, just before Jesus’ crucifixion, when the Jewish high priest asked Him directly, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” Jesus said, “I am.” (Mark 14:61-62, emp. added). Thus, the New Testament clearly affirms that Jesus was both “Christ” and the “Son of David.” [NOTE: The term “Christ” is transliterated from the Greek term Christos, while “Messiah” is transliterated from the Hebrew/Aramaic term Meshiach. Both have as their meaning, “the anointed One.”]
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Problem: At the conclusion of Jesus’ parable of the wicked vinedressers, Jesus asked His audience, “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?” (Matthew 21:40). According to Matthew, Jesus’ hearers responded: “They said to Him, He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons” (Matthew 21:41). However, according to Mark and Luke, Jesus answered His own question, saying, “He will come and destroy those vinedressers and give the vineyard to others” (Luke 20:16; Mark 12:9). Luke then added: “And when they heard it they said, ‘Certainly not!’” (Luke 20:16). How is the Bible reader to understand these differing responses? Did Jesus answer His own question or did others? And how did those who reacted to Jesus’ teaching actually respond?
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Problem: When Jesus cursed the fig tree, did it whither immediately or the next day?
The following passages give us some of the context for this supposed contradiction.
And seeing a fig tree by the road, He [Jesus] came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, “Let no fruit grow on you ever again!” Immediately the fig tree withered away. (Matthew 21:19)
Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.” (Mark 11:20–21)
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Problem: One of the most popular alleged Bible discrepancies pertaining to chronology—and one that skeptics are fond of citing in any discussion on the inerrancy of Scripture—is whether or not Jesus cleansed the temple early in His ministry, or near the end. According to Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus cleansed the temple during the final week leading up to His death on the cross (Matthew 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-17; Luke 19:45-46). John, however, places his record of the temple cleansing in chapter 2 of his gospel account, between Jesus’ first miracle (2:1-12) and His conversation with Nicodemus (3:1-21). How should John’s gospel account be understood in light of the other three writers placing the event near the end of Jesus’ ministry? Skeptics question, “Did Jesus enter the temple and drive out the money changers early in His ministry, or near the end?”
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Problem: The Gospel of John states that Jesus cleansed the temple early in His ministry, but the other Gospels place the temple-cleansing near the end of His ministry. Who is right?
The second chapter of John explains that during the Passover, Jesus went to the temple in Jerusalem, made a whip of cords, and drove out the money changers who were doing business there. He also poured out the money and turned over the tables (John 2:13–15). Jesus said to those who sold doves, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” (John 2:16).
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Problem: Critics note that Jesus chased out the money changers with “a scourge of cords.” Why was he so angry here?
Solution: The religious leaders were profiteering off of a poor culture. The historical background of this graft is important in understanding Jesus’ anger:
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Problem: In Matthew, the cursing of the fig tree occurs after the cleansing of the Temple. In Mark, Jesus curses the fig tree, and it withers 24 hours later. The major problem is that Matthew says that the fig tree withered “at once” (Mt. 21:20). Which was it? Did the tree wither immediately or did it take 24 hours?
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Problem: It is not uncommon for people who study the gospels to misconstrue matters of chronology that are contained within the four accounts. The fact of the matter is, the gospel writers never claimed to have recorded all of the events of Jesus’ life in the exact order in which they occurred. Unless an action or event is denoted by a specific marker (such as “the next day,” “ on the morrow,” “on the Sabbath,” etc.), there can be time gaps between the verses. One example of this is the account of the withered fig tree in Mark 11:12-14,20-21 and Matthew 21:18-20.
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Problem: Matthew places the cursing of the fig tree after the cleansing of the temple. But Mark places the cursing before the temple was cleansed. But, it cannot be both. Did one Gospel writer make a mistake?
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