John 1:42-43 – Where did Jesus first meet Simon Peter and Andrew?

here is no contradiction here at all between Matthew 4:18-19 and John 1:42-43. The chronology of events becomes evident when viewing the grid below. In John 1:35ff, John the Baptist was with his disciples. He tells them that Jesus is the “Lamb of God” (v. 36) and they stay with Jesus a while (v. 37). In John 1:40-42, Andrew goes and gets Simon Peter and they follow Jesus. Why? Because Andrew had spent time with Jesus and told Simon that Jesus was the Messiah (v. 41). Later, in Matt. 4:18, Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee and He sees Simon Peter and Andrew as they were fishing. He had not asked them to follow Him until this point in verse 4:19. They do (4:20). There is no contradiction.
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Posted by petra1000 in Bible Difficulty, Bible Study, Bible Teaching

John 1:40-42 – Recruiting Violation

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
John 1:31-33 – Did John the Baptizer Know Jesus or Not?

John 1:31-33 – Did John the Baptizer Know Jesus or Not?

Problem: Early on in Jesus’ ministry, John the Baptizer made one of the most beautiful and powerful declarations in all of Holy Writ about Jesus of Nazareth: “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). Following this glorious, redemptive statement, however, John makes two claims that have been problematic for some. He said about Jesus:

I did not know Him [previously—EL] but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water…. I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit’” (1:31-33, emp. added).

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Posted by petra1000 in Bible Difficulty, Bible Study, Bible Teaching

John 1:29-36 – Did John the Baptist Know Jesus Was the Messiah?

Problem: Some have tried to claim a biblical contradiction between John 1:29–36 and the parallel passages of Matthew 11:2–3 and Luke 7:19–20. “Did John the Baptist know Jesus was the Messiah?”

Seeing this is a potential issue, it’s important to ask: “Did John the Baptist know Jesus was the Messiah?”

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Posted by petra1000 in Bible Difficulty, Bible Study, Bible Teaching

John 1: 19-24 Wilderness or Wedding?

Problem: Mark’s Gospel claims Jesus was “immediately” driven into the wilderness after His baptism, but John seems to disagree. We will take a lot at this.

Immediately the Spirit drove Him into the wilderness. And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him. (Mark 1:12–13)

However, in his Gospel, John seems to say that Jesus was in Cana three days after His baptism. Is there a contradiction?
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Posted by petra1000 in Bible Difficulty, Bible Study, Bible Teaching

John 1:29-34 When did John find out Jesus was the Messiah

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. One possible explanation could be that though John initially seemed to realize Jesus was the Messiah (John 1:29-31), it is possible that he had his doubts since Jesus was not initially freeing the Jewish people from Roman oppression. One of the expectations of the Messiah was that he would set the people of the Jewish nation free. Of course, we know that this did not happen. The expectation of being freed was depended upon the covenant faithfulness of Israel. But Israel, as a nation, was not governmentally faithful to the Messiah. Instead, Jesus was then crucified.
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Posted by petra1000 in Bible Difficulty, Bible Study, Bible Teaching

John 1:19-21 – To the Wilderness—or a Wedding?

Problem: Most people who have done much study from the synoptic gospels are aware that following the baptism of Jesus, He “then” (Matthew 4:1; Luke 4:1) “immediately” (Mark 1:12) was sent out by the Spirit into the wilderness where He fasted for forty days while being tempted by the devil. Skeptics likewise are “well informed” of this story. In fact, some skeptics presume to know about this time in Jesus’ life so well, they have argued that the apostle John contradicted the synoptic writers (see “Inerrancy;” “Contradictions;” Wells, 2001). Allegedly, John placed Jesus at the wedding in Cana of Galilee just three days following His baptism (John 1:19-2:1), whereas Mark indicated that Jesus went into the desert for forty days “immediately” following His baptism. Is this a real chronological contradiction, as some suppose?
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Posted by petra1000 in Bible Difficulty, Bible Study, Bible Teaching

John 1:19-21 – Was John the Baptist really Elijah?

Problem: Some verses in the gospels seem to say that John the BaptistJohn the Baptist was Elijah, but others say he was not. Is this a contradiction? Let’s take a look:

  1. Yes, he was Elijah: Matthew 11:13-14, “For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14 “And if you care to accept it, he himself is Elijah, who was to come.”
  2. No, he was not Elijah: John 1:19-21, “And this is the witness of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 And he confessed, and did not deny, and he confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.”

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Posted by petra1000 in Bible Difficulty, Bible Study, Bible Teaching

John 1:18 – Seeing God “Face to Face”

Problem: In the Kyle Butt/Dan Barker debate, Dan Barker alleged that He “knows” the God of the Bible cannot exist because “there are mutually incompatible properties/characteristics of the God that’s in this book [the Bible—EL] that rule out the possibility of His existence” (2009). One of the supposed contradictions that Barker mentioned was that God claims invisibility, yet has been seen. (His assertion is found 10 minutes and 55 seconds into his first speech.) Since biblical passages such as Exodus 33:20-23, John 1:18, and 1 John 4:12 teach that God cannot be seen, while other scriptures indicate that man has seen God and spoken to him “face to face” (Exodus 33:11; Genesis 32:30), allegedly “the God of the Bible does not exist.
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Posted by petra1000 in Bible Difficulty, Bible Study, Bible Teaching

John 1:18 – Has Anyone Seen God?

Problem: Some argue that the Bible contradicts itself on whether a person can see God face-to-face—but all biblical data should be considered (in context) before leveling that charge.

My pastor asked “who has seen God (face to face)?” I replied that in Genesis several occurrences take place where several individuals talked, walked, and conversed with God as they would with you and/or me. Examples are Sarah (Sarai), Abraham, Jacob (later renamed Israel) just to name a few that come to mind right now. Needless to say the pastor call me out and quoted a Scripture that says that God has not let anyone see him directly to the face because they would surely die.

—Unknown

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Posted by petra1000 in Bible Difficulty, Bible Study, Bible Teaching