1. Are They the Same Thing
As we begin this exploration of the various ways in which apparent contradictions in the Bible can be shown to have clear answers, we look first at cases where seeming discrepancies are simply the result of our not realizing that the two supposedly conflicting accounts are actually talking about different situations rather than the same event. We will look at three examples of this type in the New Testament.
The Sermon on the Mount
Our first example is a very basic one, but it is instructive. Matthew's Gospel records the famous "Sermon on the Mount" given by Jesus soon after the choosing of his disciples (Matthew 5-7). This account appears to be paralleled by Luke, who records much the same sermon (Luke 6:17-49) – sometimes called the "Sermon on the Plain."
These names are not found in the actual New Testament writings – they have been given to the accounts to differentiate them because, although they are so similar, they do show differences. However, there are so many similarities that the two accounts are often presumed to record the same event and thought to show discrepancies where the details differ.
But there is no reason to believe that the two accounts do not record different sermons – or the same sermon given at different times. Just as modern-day pastors may give the same or a very similar sermon to different congregations, so we have no reason to think that Jesus could not have repeated important teachings to different groups of people.
The details of the two accounts support this likelihood. Matthew's account begins by saying: "Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them" (Matthew 5:1-2). Luke, on the other hand, begins his account by telling us: "He went down with them [the twelve disciples] and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people …" (Luke 6:17).
So it is perfectly possible that Jesus first ascended a mountain, with the twelve disciples, taught them in detail, then came back down and gave a shorter, summary version of the same sermon to the crowds at the foot of the mountain. Alternately, the two events could have occurred in different places and times – so there is no reason to see any contradiction in differing details of what was said in the two accounts.
The Feeding of the Crowds A similar situation can be seen in the account of the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand and that of the feeding of four thousand by Jesus, found in the Gospel of Matthew and in the parallel accounts in the other Gospels.
For those who believe the Bible, it is clear in the words of Jesus himself that these were two separate events – just as he reminded his disciples, afterwards: "Don't you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered?" (Matthew 16:9-10).
But those who try to find errors in the Bible often claim that these similar-sounding stories are examples of varying oral traditions regarding events of which no one knew exactly what had happened or if they had ever happened at all. Nevertheless, the stories of the miracles of the feeding of the crowds actually provide a good example of the fallacy of such thinking.
The "Feeding of the Five Thousand" is mentioned in all four Gospels (Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:31-44, Luke 9:10-17 and John 6:5-15). The story tells us that Jesus fed the hungry crowd that followed him by dividing five loaves of bread and two fish. After the miraculous feeding was completed, it is recorded that the disciples collected twelve baskets full of broken pieces that were left over.
The "Feeding of the Four Thousand" is recounted in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark (Matthew 15:32-39 and Mark 8:1-9), and that story tells us that seven loaves and several fish were divided among the crowd. After this miracle the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of pieces that were left over.
Those who claim these are garbled varying accounts of the same event or story miss an essential piece of information. Mark and John tell us that the first miracle occurred on the western – Jewish – side of the Sea of Galilee and that Jesus and the disciples then crossed over to the eastern – Gentile – side of Galilee where the second miracle was performed.
The eastern side of Galilee where Jesus went after feeding the five thousand was the region of the Syrian Decapolis – a separate Roman-controlled area inhabited almost exclusively by Gentiles. The people of that area were notorious to the Jews for their pagan beliefs and practices (Isaiah 65:3-4, 66:3; Mark 5:11; etc.), and most Jews of Jesus' day seem to have believed that the inhabitants of that area were the descendants of the seven ancient Canaanite nations driven out of the Promised Land in the time of Joshua (Joshua 3:10; Acts 13:19) – a tradition preserved by both the Jewish Talmud and some of the early Christian church fathers.
Nevertheless, Matthew and Mark both make it clear that Jesus went to these people, preached to them and compassionately healed their sick. His miracles on Galilee's far side also spoke to God's desire to include the people of that region in his outreaching mercy. So, just as we are told twelve baskets of leftover food were picked up on the western side of Galilee – doubtless suggesting the spiritual food available for the twelve tribes of Israel, so seven baskets of food were picked up on the eastern side of Galilee – doubtless symbolizing the traditional seven people-groups of the Gentile Decapolis.
A careful reading of the Gospel narratives shows that the details of the two similar miracles were not garbled but are describing two separate events that were extremely meaningful in what they both uniquely symbolized.
The Cleansing of the Temple All three Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) record that when Jesus went to the temple in Jerusalem, he was angered by the business being conducted there and that he overturned the tables of the money changers and drove out those who bought and sold – saying that they had turned the temple into a "den of thieves" (Matthew 21:12–13; Mark 11:15–17; Luke 19:45–46).
The Gospel of John also tells us that Jesus went to the temple in Jerusalem and, making a whip of cords, drove out the money changers who were doing business there and overturned their tables (John 2:13–15). Jesus also said to those who were selling doves: "Get these out of here! Stop turning my Father's house into a market!" (John 2:16).
While many people presume these two accounts describe the same event, skeptics are quick to point out that while Matthew, Mark, and Luke all describe the temple-cleansing as having taken place a few days before the crucifixion, John describes the cleansing of the temple as occurring during the first Passover of the three he says occurred during Christ's ministry.
But once again, simply because two accounts are very similar does not mean that they refer to the same event. There is nothing in the Gospel accounts to suggest that Jesus could not have cleansed the temple on two separate occasions – first (as described by John) near the beginning of his ministry, and then again (as described by the other three Gospel writers) near its end. In fact, the situation in the temple was likely so accepted and entrenched that it may well have developed again in the years after Christ first threw out the money changers and merchants.
This is especially likely as the accounts contain small, but important, differences in their descriptions of the events. While John says that Jesus made a whip to drive out the merchants, for example, none of the Synoptic accounts records that notable detail. Also, in John, after cleansing the temple Jesus was immediately confronted by the temple officials who asked him: "What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?" to which Jesus replied: "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days" (John 2:18-19). None of the Synoptic Gospels includes this important statement, indicating once again that they were recording a separate, different event.
If we read the stories carefully, we also find that what Jesus said to the temple merchants is quite different in John's account from those of the other Gospels. The two stories are similar – as they would be if the event occurred twice – but far from identical.
So it is likely that Jesus cleansed the temple on two occasions: once at the beginning and again at the end of his ministry. Because the events were so similar, it makes sense that a Gospel writer describing one event would not feel it necessary to describe the other.
This may be the simplest type of problem to untangle, but it is important to remember the principle we have seen here. Similar accounts may not reflect the same events, and if there is any reason to suspect that the two accounts are speaking of different things, then clearly they cannot be said to be in contradiction just because they differ in some of their details.