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NT Contradictions
WHAT DID JOHN THE BAPTIST KNOW ABOUT JESUS AND WHEN DID HE KNOW
IT?
John's first encounter with Jesus was while both of them were
still in their
mothers' wombs, at which time John, apparently recognizing his
Saviour,
leaped for joy (Luke 1:44). Much later, while John is baptizing,
he refers
to Jesus as "the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the
world", and "the
Son of God" (John 1:29,36). Later still, John is thrown in
prison from which
he does not return alive. John's definite knowledge of Jesus as
the son of
God and saviour of the world is explicitly contradicted by Luke
7:18-23 in
which the imprisoned John sends two of his disciples to ask
Jesus, "Are you
the one who is coming, or do we look for someone else?"
THE LAST SUPPER
A. WHEN - BEFORE OR DURING PASSOVER?
In Matthew, Mark and Luke the last supper takes place on the
first day of
the Passover (Matthew 26:17, Mark 14:12, Luke 22:7). In John's
gospel it
takes place a day earlier and Jesus is crucified on the first day
of the
Passover (John 19:14).
B. THE LORD'S SUPPER - INSTITUTED BY JESUS OR PAUL?
In Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus institutes the Lord's Supper
during the
Passover meal (in John's gospel the Lord's Supper is not
instituted - Jesus
was dead by the time of the Passover meal).
In 1 Corinthians 11:23 the apostle Paul writes, "For I
received from the
Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in
the night in
which He was betrayed took bread..." Here Paul claims that
he got the
instructions for the Lord's Supper directly from Jesus (evidently
from one
of his many revelations). Paul writes these words about twenty
years after
Jesus' death, and had the church already been celebrating the
Lord's Supper
he certainly would have been aware of it and would have had no
need to
receive it from the Lord. Some apologists try to play games with
the text to
make it seem like Paul actually received the instructions from
the other
apostles, but one thing Paul stresses is that what he teaches he
receives
from no man (Galatians 1:11-12).
The Lord's supper was not invented by Paul, but was borrowed by
him from
Mitzrim, the mystery religion that existed long before
Christianity and
was Christianity's chief competitor up until the time of
Constantine. In
Mithraism, the central figure is the mythical Mithras, who died
for the sins
of mankind and was resurrected. Believers in Mithras were
rewarded with
eternal life. Part of the Mithraic communion liturgy included the
words, "He
who will not eat of my body and drink of my blood, so that he
will be made one with me and I with him, the same shall not know
salvation."
The early Church Fathers Justin Martyr and Tertullian tried to
say that
Mithraism copied the Lord's Supper from Christianity, but they
were forced
to say that demons had copied it since only demons could copy an
event in
advance of its happening! They could not say that the followers
of Mithras
had copied it - it was a known fact that Mithraism had included
the ritual a
long time before Christ was born.
Where did Mithraism come from? The ancient historian Plutarch
mentioned
Mithraism in connection with the pirates of Cilicia in Asia Minor
encountering the Roman general Pompey in 67 BC. More recently, in
1989
Mithraic scholar David Ulansey wrote a book, The Origins of the
Mithraic
Mysteries, in which he convincingly shows that Mithraism
originated in the
city of Tarsus in Cilicia. That this is also the home town of the
apostle
Paul cannot be a coincidence.
Paul admits that he did not know Jesus during Jesus' lifetime. He
also says
that his gospel was not taught to him by any man (Galatians
1:11-12). All of
Paul's theology is based on his own revelations, or visions. Like
dreams,
visions or hallucinations do not come from nowhere, but reveal
what is
already in a person's subconscious. It is very likely that the
source of
most of Paul's visions, and therefore most of his theology, is to
be found
in Mithraism. That we find Jesus at the Last Supper saying more
or less the
same thing Paul said to the Corinthians many years later is
another example
of the church modifying the gospels to incorporate the theology
of Paul,
which eventually won out over the theology of Jesus' original
disciples.
JUDAS ISCARIOT
It is very unclear in the gospels just what Judas Iscariot's
betrayal
consisted of, probably because there was absolutely no need for a
betrayal.
Jesus could have been arrested any number of times without the
general
populace knowing about it. It would have been simple to keep tabs
on his
whereabouts. The religious authorities did not need a betrayal -
only the
gospel writers needed a betrayal, so that a few more
"prophecies" could be
fulfilled. The whole episode is pure fiction - and, as might be
expected, it
is riddled with contradictions.
1. The prophecy
Matthew says that Judas' payment and death were prophesied by
Jeremiah, and
then he quotes Zechariah 11:12-13 as proof!
2. Thirty pieces of silver
According to Matthew 26:15, the chief priests "weighed out
thirty pieces of
silver" to give to Judas. There are two things wrong with
this:
a. There were no "pieces of silver" used as currency in
Jesus' time - they
had gone out of circulation about 300 years before.
b. In Jesus' time, minted coins were used - currency was not
"weighed out."
By using phrases that made sense in Zechariah's time but not in
Jesus' time
Matthew once again gives away the fact that he creates events in
his gospel
to match "prophecies" he finds in the Old Testament.
3. Who bought the Field of Blood?
a. In Matthew 27:7 the chief priests buy the field.
b. In Acts 1:18 Judas buys the field.
4. How did Judas die?
a. In Matthew 27:5 Judas hangs himself.
b. In Acts 1:18 he bursts open and his insides spill out.
c. According to the apostle Paul, neither of the above is true.
Paul says
Jesus appeared to "the twelve" after his resurrection.
Mark 14:20 makes it
clear that Judas was one of the twelve.
In Matthew 19:28, Jesus tells the twelve disciples, including
Judas, that
when Jesus rules from his throne, they will sit on twelve thrones
judging
the twelve tribes of Israel.
5. How did the Field of Blood get its name?
a. Matthew says because it was purchased with blood money
(Matthew 27:6-8).
b. Acts says because of the bloody mess caused by Judas' bursting
open (Acts
1:18-19).
JESUS' TRIALS, DEATH AND RESURRECTION
A. THE TRIALS
Before listing the contradictions regarding the trials of Jesus,
it should
be stated that the whole episode is quite obviously a
fabrication. Anyone
familiar with Jewish law recognizes the impossibility of the
chief priests
and scribes arresting Jesus and assembling to question him during
the most
holy of Jewish festivals.
1. Where was Jesus taken immediately after his arrest?
a. Matthew, Mark and Luke say that Jesus was taken directly to
the high
priest (Matthew 26:57, Mark 14:53 and Luke 22:54).
b. John says that Jesus was taken first to Annas, the
father-in-law of the high priest (John 18:13) who, after an
indeterminate period of time, sent
Jesus to the high priest (John 18:24).
2. When did the priests and scribes gather together to question
Jesus?
a. Matthew 26:57 says that on the night Jesus was arrested the
priests and
scribes were gathered together prior to Jesus being brought to
the high
priest.
b. Mark 14:53 says the priests and scribes gathered together on
the night of
Jesus' arrest after Jesus was brought to the high priest.
c. Luke 22:66 says the priests and scribes assembled the day
after Jesus was
arrested.
d. John mentions only the high priest - no other priests or
scribes play a
role in questioning Jesus.
3. Was Jesus questioned by Herod?
a. Luke says that Pilate sent Jesus to Herod who questioned Jesus
at length
and then returned Jesus to Pilate (Luke 23:7-11).
b. Matthew, Mark and John make no mention of Herod. This, in
itself, means
nothing, but it brings about another contradiction later.
4. Who was responsible for Jesus' death, Pilate or the Jews?
The gospel writers go to every conceivable length to absolve the
Romans in
general, and Pilate in particular, of Jesus' crucifixion and to
blame it on
the Jews. The reason, of course, was that Christianity was going
to have to
exist under Roman rule for many years, which is why the New
Testament
contains nothing critical of the Romans, even though they were
hated for
their heavy taxation, and Pilate was hated for his brutality.
For the church, the Jews made an appropriate scapegoat because
the Jews were
a thorn in side of the early church. The Jews, of course, had far
greater
knowledge of Jewish laws and traditions than the largely gentile
church, and
were able to call attention to some of the errors being taught by
the
church.
The Biblical account of Pilate's offer to release Jesus but the
Jews
demanding the release of Barabbas is pure fiction, containing
both
contradictions and historical inaccuracies.
a. What had Barabbas done?
1. Mark 15:7 and Luke 23:19 say that Barabbas was guilty of
insurrection and
murder.
2. John 18:40 says that Barabbas was a robber.
b. Pilate's "custom" of releasing a prisoner at
Passover.
This is pure invention - the only authority given by Rome to a
Roman
governor in situations like this was postponement of execution
until after
the religious festival. Release was out of the question. It is
included in
the gospels for the sole purpose of further removing blame for
Jesus' death
from Pilate and placing it on the Jews.
c. Pilate gives in to the mob.
The gospels have Pilate giving in to an unruly mob. This is
ridiculous in
light of Pilate's previous and subsequent history. Josephus tells
us that Pilate's method of crowd control was to send his soldiers
into the mob and
beat them (often killing them) into submission. Pilate was
eventually
recalled to Rome because of his brutality.
5. Who put the robe on Jesus?
a. Matthew 27:28, Mark 15:17 and John 19:2 say that after Pilate
had Jesus
scourged and turned over to his soldiers to be crucified, the
soldiers
placed a scarlet or purple robe on Jesus as well as a crown of
thorns.
b. Luke 23:11, in contradiction to Matthew, Mark and John, says
that the
robe was placed on Jesus much earlier by Herod and his soldiers.
Luke
mentions no crown of thorns.
B. THE CRUCIFIXION
1. Crucified between two robbers
Matthew 27:38 and Mark 15:27 say that Jesus was crucified between
two
robbers (Luke just calls them criminals; John simply calls them
men). It is
a historical fact that the Romans did not crucify robbers.
Crucifixion was
reserved for insurrectionists and rebellious slaves.
2. Peter and Mary near the cross
When the gospel writers mention Jesus talking to his mother and
to Peter
from the cross, they run afoul of another historical fact - the
Roman
soldiers closely guarded the places of execution, and nobody was
allowed
near (least of all friends and family who might attempt to help
the
condemned person).
3. The opened tombs
According to Matthew 27:51-53, at the moment Jesus died there was
an
earthquake that opened tombs and many people were raised from the
dead. For
some reason they stayed in their tombs until after Jesus was
resurrected, at
which time they went into Jerusalem and were seen by many people.
Here Matthew gets too dramatic for his own good. If many people
came back to
life and were seen by many people, it must have created quite a
stir (even
if the corpses were in pretty good shape!). Yet Matthew seems to
be the only
person aware of this happening - historians of that time
certainly know
nothing of it - neither do the other gospel writers.
C. THE RESURRECTION
1. Who found the empty tomb?
a. According to Matthew 28:1, only "Mary Magdalene and the
other Mary."
b. According to Mark 16:1, "Mary Magdalene, and Mary the
mother of James,
and Salome."
c. According to Luke 23:55, 24:1 and 24:10, "the women who
had come with him
out of Galilee." Among these women were "Mary Magdalene
and Joanna and Mary
the mother of James." Luke indicates in verse 24:10 that
there were at least
two others.
d. According to John 20:1-4, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb
alone, saw the
stone removed, ran to find Peter, and returned to the tomb with
Peter and
another disciple.
2. Who did they find at the tomb?
a. According to Matthew 28:2-4, an angel of the Lord with an
appearance like
lightning was sitting on the stone that had been rolled away.
Also present
were the guards that Pilate had contributed. On the way back from
the tomb
the women meet Jesus (Matthew 28:9).
b. According to Mark 16:5, a young man in a white robe was
sitting inside
the tomb.
c. According to Luke 24:4, two men in dazzling apparel. It is not
clear if
the men were inside the tomb or outside of it.
d. According to John 20:4-14, Mary and Peter and the other
disciple
initially find just an empty tomb. Peter and the other disciple
enter the tomb and find only the wrappings. Then Peter and the
other disciple leave
and Mary looks in the tomb to find two angels in white. After a
short
conversation with the angels, Mary turns around to find Jesus.
3. Who did the women tell about the empty tomb?
a. According to Mark 16:8, "they said nothing to
anyone."
b. According to Matthew 28:8, they "ran to report it to His
disciples."
c. According to Luke 24:9, "they reported these things to
the eleven and to
all the rest."
d. According to John 20:18, Mary Magdalene announces to the
disciples that
she has seen the Lord.
THE ASCENSION
According to Luke 24:51, Jesus' ascension took place in Bethany,
on the
same
day as his resurrection.
According to Acts 1:9-12, Jesus' ascension took place at Mount
Olivet,
forty
days after his resurrection.
MISCELLANEOUS
A. THE UNCHANGEABLE LAW
According to Matthew 5:18, Jesus said that not the tiniest bit of
the
Law
could be changed. However, in Mark 7:19 Jesus declares that all
foods
are
clean, thereby drastically changing the Law.
The church tries to get around this obvious contradiction by
artificially
separating the Mosaic Law into the "ceremonial" law and
the "moral" law,
a
separation which would have abhorred the Jews of Jesus' time. The
Mark
passage and similar ones like Acts 10:9-16 were added to
accommodate the
teaching of Paul regarding the Law (which was diametrically
opposed to
the
teaching of Jesus on the Law) and to make the gospel palatable to
the
Gentiles.
B. NO SIGNS, ONE SIGN, OR MANY SIGNS?
At one point the Pharisees come to Jesus and ask him for a sign.
1. In Mark 8:12 Jesus says that "no sign shall be given to
this
generation."
2. In contradiction to Mark, in Matthew 12:39 Jesus says that
only one
sign
would be given - the sign of Jonah. Jesus says that just as Jonah
spent
three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so he will
spend
three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Here Jesus
makes
an
incorrect prediction - he only spends two nights in the tomb
(Friday and
Saturday nights), not three nights.
3. In contradiction to both Mark and Matthew, the gospel of John
speaks
of
many signs that Jesus did:
a. The miracle of turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana
is
called
the beginning (or first) of the signs that Jesus did (John 2:11).
b. The healing at Capernaum is the "second sign" (John
4:54).
c. Many people were following Jesus "because they were
seeing the signs
He
was performing" (John 6:2).
C. SON OF DAVID?
Matthew, Mark and Luke all contain passages which have Jesus
quoting
Psalm
110:1 to argue that the Messiah does not need to be a son of
David
(Matthew
22:41-46, Mark 12:35-37 and Luke 20:41-44).
1. This contradicts many Old Testament passages that indicate
that the
Messiah will be a descendant of David. It also contradicts
official
church
doctrine.
2. In Acts 2:30-36 Peter, in what is regarded as the first
Christian
sermon,
quotes Psalm 110:1 in arguing that Jesus was the Messiah, a
descendant
of
David.
D. THE FIG TREE
After Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem a sees a fig tree
and wants
some figs from it. He finds none on it so he curses the tree and
it
withers
and dies (Matthew 21:18-20, Mark 11:12-14, 20-21).
1. Since this occurred in the early spring before Passover, it is
ridiculous
of Jesus to expect figs to be on the tree.
2. Matthew and Mark cannot agree on when the tree withered.
a. In Matthew, the tree withers at once and the disciples comment
on
this
fact (Matthew 21:19-20).
b. In Mark, the tree is not found to be withered until at least
the next
day
(Mark 11:20-21).
E. THE GREAT COMMISSION
In Matthew 28:19 Jesus tells the eleven disciples to "go
therefore andmake
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and
the
Son and the Holy Spirit."
1. This is obviously a later addition to the gospel, for two
reasons:
a. It took the church over two hundred years of fighting
(sometimes
bloody)
over the doctrine of the trinity before this baptismal formula
came into
use. Had it been in the original gospel, there would have been no
fighting.
b. In Acts, when people are baptized, they are baptized just in
the name
of
Jesus (Acts 8:16, 10:48, 19:5). Peter says explicitly that they
are to
"Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of
Jesus Christ for
the
forgiveness of your sins" (Acts 2:38).
2. This contradicts Jesus' earlier statement that his message was
for
the
Jews only (Matthew 10:5-6, 15:24). The gospels, and especially
Acts,
have
been edited to play this down, but the contradiction remains. It
was the
apostle Paul who, against the express wishes of Jesus, extended
the
gospel
(Paul's version) to the gentiles.
F. ENOCH IN THE BOOK OF JUDE
Jude 14 contains a prophecy of Enoch. Thus, if the Book of Jude
is the
Word
of God, then the writings of "Enoch" from which Jude
quotes, are also
the
Word of God. The Book of Enoch was used in the early church until
at
least
the third century - Clement, Irenaeus and Tertullian were
familiar with
it.
However, as church doctrine began to solidify, the Book of Enoch
became
an
embarrassment to the church and in a short period of time it
became the
Lost
Book of Enoch. A complete manuscript of the Book of Enoch was
discoveredin
Ethiopia in 1768. Since then, portions of at least eight separate
copies
have been found among the Dead Sea scrolls. It is easy to see why
the
church
had to get rid of Enoch - not only does it contain fantastic
imagery
(some
of which was borrowed by the Book of Revelation), but it also
contradicts
church doctrine on several points (and, since it is obviously the
work
of
several writers, it also contradicts itself).
G. THE APOSTLE PAUL'S CONVERSION
The Book of Acts contains three accounts of Paul's conversion on
the
road to
Damascus. All of three accounts contradict each other regarding
what
happened to Paul's fellow travelers.
1. Acts 9:7 says they "stood speechless, hearing the
voice..."
2. Acts 22:9 says they "did not hear the voice..."
3. Acts 26:14 says "when we had all fallen to the
ground..."
Some translations of the Bible (the New International Version and
the
New
American Standard, for example) try to remove the contradiction
in Acts
22:9
by translating the phrase quoted above as "did not
understand the
voice..."
However, the Greek word "akouo" is translated 373 times
in the New
Testament
as "hear," "hears," "hearing" or
"heard" and only in Acts 22:9 is it
translated as "understand." In fact, it is the same
word that is
translated
as "hearing" in Acts 9:7, quoted above. The word
"understand" occurs 52
times in the New Testament, but only in Acts 22:9 is it
translated from
the
Greek word "akouo."
This is an example of Bible translators sacrificing intellectual
honesty
in
an attempt to reconcile conflicting passages in the New
Testament.
H. JESUS CALLS THE DISCIPLES
1. In Matthew 4:18-22 and Mark 1:16-20, Peter and Andrew are
casting
nets
into the sea. Jesus calls out to them and they leave their nets
and
follow
him. Jesus then goes on a little further and sees James and John
mending
their nets with their father. He calls to them and they leave
their
father
and follow him.
2. In Luke 5:1-11, Jesus asks Peter to take him out in Peter's
boat so
Jesus
can preach to the multitude. James and John are in another boat.
When
Jesus
finishes preaching, he tells Peter how to catch a great quantity
of fish
(John 21:3-6 incorporates this story in a post-
resurrectionappearance).
After Peter catches the fish, he and James and John are so
impressed
that
after they bring their boats to shore they leave everything and
follow
Jesus.
3. In John 1:35-42, Andrew hears John the Baptist call Jesus the
Lamb of
God. Andrew then stays with Jesus for the remainder of the day
and then
goes
to get his brother Peter and brings him to meet Jesus.
I. SHOULD THE TWELVE DISCIPLES TAKE STAFFS?
When Jesus summons the twelve disciples to send them out to
proclaim the
kingdom of God, he lists the things the disciples should not take
with
them.
1. In Matthew 10:9-10 and Luke 9:3-5, a staff is included in the
list of
things not to take.
2. In contradiction to Matthew and Luke, Mark 6:8 makes a
specific
exception
- the disciples may take a staff.
J. THE APOSTLE PAUL GETS CONFUSEDIn Romans 7:1-6 the apostle Paul
tries to compare a Christian's "dying
to
the Law" to a woman who marries again after her husband has
died. In
doing
so, Paul gets hopelessly confused about whether the Christian
corresponds to
the wife (by being released from the Law), or corresponds to the
husband
(by
having died). One scholar has referred to the passage as
"remarkably
muddle-headed." This just goes to show that, although a
brilliant man,
Paul
did have his bad days.
K. THE SECOND COMING
1. During the disciples' lifetime
There are several passages in the gospels where Jesus says he
will
return inthe disciples' lifetime (Mark 13:30, Matthew 10:23,
16:28, 24:34, Luke
21:32, etc.).
The same expectation held during the period the apostle Paul
wrote his
letters. In 1 Corinthians 7:29-31 Paul says that the time is so
short
that
believers should drastically change the way that they live. But
Paul had
a
problem - some believers had died, so what would happen to them
when
Jesus
returned?
Paul's answer in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 shows that Paul expected
that
at
least some of those he was writing to would be alive when Jesus
returned
-
"we who are alive, and remain..." The same passage also
indicates that
Paul
believed that those believers who had died remained "asleep
in Jesus"
until
he returned. However, as the delay in Jesus' return grew longer,
the
location of Jesus' kingdom shifted from earth to heaven and we
later
find
Paul indicating that when believers die they will immediately
"depart
and be
with Christ" (Philippians 1:23).
It is quite obvious that Jesus never intended to start any type
ofchurch
structure since he believed he would return very shortly to rule
his
kingdom
in person. It is also quite obvious that Jesus was wrong about
when he
was
coming back.
2. The earth in the Book of Revelation
Revelation 1:7 says that when Jesus comes with the clouds,
everybody on
earth will see him. Some Christians have said that this will be
literally
fulfilled because the event will be broadcast by satellite over
all the
world's TV stations (We interrupt this broadcast...). Actually,
the
passage
reflects the flat-earth cosmology of the time, as does also
"the four
corners of the earth" in Revelation 7:1 and 20:8.
[Isa. 11:12 also speaks of the four corners of the
earth.............]
Here, and in many gospel passages, Jesus is spoken of as coming
with or
on
the clouds. This is because the Bible's view of heaven is
"up" and Jesus
has
to pass through the clouds to get back, just as in Acts 1:9 Jesus
ascended
up through a cloud.