{"id":10411,"date":"2021-02-25T14:19:47","date_gmt":"2021-02-25T19:19:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pathway2truth.com\/wp\/?p=10411"},"modified":"2021-02-25T14:24:01","modified_gmt":"2021-02-25T19:24:01","slug":"luke-71-10-does-this-contradict-the-account-in-matthew-85-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pathway2truth.com\/wp\/luke-71-10-does-this-contradict-the-account-in-matthew-85-13\/","title":{"rendered":"Luke 7:1-10 – Does this contradict the account in Matthew 8:5-13?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Problem:<\/strong> In the account of Jesus healing the centurion\u2019s 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?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Solution:<\/strong> Before answering this difficulty, it\u2019s first worthy considering the differences in the accounts. Key differences are bold and underlined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Differences between Matthew and Luke\u2019s Account of the Centurion<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Matthew\u2019s Account (Mt. 8)<\/em><\/h4>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Luke\u2019s Account (Lk. 7)<\/em><\/h4>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Jesus entered Capernaum and met the centurion (v.5)<\/td>\nJesus went to Capernaum (v.1)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The centurion asks Jesus to heal his servant who is tormented (v.6)<\/td>\nThe centurion\u2019s servant was sick (v.2), and he sends Jewish elders to speak to Jesus and ask his servant to be saved (v.3)<\/u><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
[Matthew makes no mention of this\u2026]<\/u><\/strong><\/td>\nThe Jewish elders tell Jesus that the centurion is worthy of this request, because he helped build them their synagogue (vv.4-5)<\/u><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jesus promises to heal him (v.7)<\/td>\nJesus was close to the man\u2019s house, so he walked over toward it to heal the centurion\u2019s servant (v.6)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The centurion tells Jesus<\/u><\/strong> that he\u2019s unworthy to accept him. Instead he should just command the miracle (v.8)<\/td>\nThe centurion sends friends to speak with Jesus,<\/u><\/strong> and they tell Jesus that the centurion is unworthy of letting Jesus come into his house (v.6)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Luke adds that the centurion didn\u2019t even view himself as worthy enough to speak directly with Jesus, but sent his servants instead<\/u><\/strong> (v.7)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He asks Jesus to just command the miracle (v.7)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

The centurion gives a comparison of how he is an authority over his troops. Likewise, he recognizes Jesus as the ultimate<\/em> authority, so why not just command a healing? (v.9)<\/td>\nThe centurion gives a comparison of how he is an authority over his troops. Likewise, he recognizes Jesus as the ultimate<\/em> authority, so why not just command a healing? (v.8)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jesus marvels at his faith and says he\u2019s never found it\u2014even in Israel (v.10)<\/td>\nJesus marvels at his faith and says he\u2019s never found it\u2014even in Israel (v.9)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jesus concludes that Gentiles will make it into the kingdom, while many Jews will be cast out because of their lack of faith (vv.11-12)<\/td>\n[Luke excludes these statements from Jesus]<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Remember that Luke was writing to the Gentiles<\/em>\u2014not the Jews<\/em>\u2014so this wouldn\u2019t have been relevant to them<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Jesus commands that the servant will be healed, and he is healed \u201cthat very moment\u201d (v.13)<\/td>\nThe servants return to the house and find that he is healed (v.10). Remember, Jesus was close to the house (v.6), so this wouldn\u2019t have been a very far trek<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

How can we resolve this difficulty?<\/p>\n

OPTION #1. The Centurion came AFTER sending emissaries. While the centurion originally felt shame in approaching Jesus (Lk. 7:6), it\u2019s possible that he could have come out to visit him after sending his servants. Remember, Jesus was \u201cnot far from the house\u201d (Lk. 7:6), so this is entirely possible. Poythress observes, \u201cHuman motivations and decision making are complex and often include some wavering or change of mind.\u201d[1]<\/p>\n

OPTION #2. The emissaries represented the Centurion. When Matthew records that the centurion was \u201cimploring Jesus,\u201d it never says that this was \u201cface to face\u201d or \u201cin person.\u201d Of course, the centurion did implore Jesus, but this was via a messenger or representative. We would use this same language today, when a newspaper states, \u201cThe President told the Prime Minister to support his foreign policy.\u201d We don\u2019t expect that the two people actually spoke to one another. They may have, or maybe the President sent his ambassadors to do it for him.<\/p>\n

Elsewhere in the gospels, we read, \u201cPilate took Jesus and scourged him\u201d (Jn. 19:1; cf. Mt. 27:26; Mk. 15:15; Lk. 23:16). Of course, this doesn\u2019t necessarily mean that Pilate held the whip himself, but rather, the order came from him to have Jesus scourged.<\/p>\n

A difference in purpose and emphasis
\nIn addition to this harmonization, the differences in the accounts can also be attributed to the purpose of the authors. Matthew was writing to the Jews, and Luke to the Gentiles.<\/p>\n

Matthew focus on the faith of the Gentile centurion (Mt. 8:10), and he serves as a contrast with the unbelieving religious leaders. Luke adds his detail about the Jewish elders coaxing Jesus, because he was trying to show their role in bringing this Gentile to Jesus (Lk. 7:9). If Matthew included this, perhaps his Jewish audience might have pointed to this act as an act of faith and righteousness, which wasn\u2019t his intention.<\/p>\n

Luke emphasizes how the Jewish leaders called the centurion \u201cworthy\u201d (Lk. 7:4). Of course, the centurion didn\u2019t have this view of himself (Lk. 7:6), but his Jewish friends did. This further fits with Luke\u2019s emphasis on the Gentiles being \u201cworthy\u201d of hearing the gospel. Additionally, it also fits with the notion that the humble (like the centurion) get into the kingdom (Lk. 1:52; 18:14). Poythress remarks, \u201cWe are richer by having the two Gospels draw attention to distinct aspects of the meaning of the events and the meaning of the kingdom of God. We can appreciate what God is doing more deeply than if we just had one account, or if we just paid attention to our reconstructed idea of the events and not to the Gospels\u2019 distinctive ways of explaining the events.\u201d[2]<\/p>\n

[1] Poythress, Vern S.\u00a0Inerrancy and the Gospels: A God-centered Approach to the Challenges of Harmonization. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012. 19.<\/p>\n

[2] Poythress, Vern S.\u00a0Inerrancy and the Gospels: A God-centered Approach to the Challenges of Harmonization. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2012. 24.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Problem: In the account of Jesus healing the centurion\u2019s 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 LukeContinue reading →<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[22,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-errors","category-jesus","no-thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pathway2truth.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pathway2truth.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pathway2truth.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pathway2truth.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pathway2truth.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10411"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pathway2truth.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10411\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pathway2truth.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pathway2truth.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pathway2truth.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}